Hi,
I'm new here, I've been browsing around the net looking for information about cat behavior. It seems like you folks here probably have some important and valid opinions about cats and why they do what they do.
The short version of my story:
I have two barn cats, brothers, the loves of my life. They are 2 1/2 years old. Cirrus, the white one, doesn't want to be my friend no more. It sucks because he used to be such an affectionate cat. He would sleep on the bed everynight and you could always count on him being in the house for at least 12 hours a day. The rest of the time he's out hunting varmits, catching them, and then bringing them home to show me. He recently learned that he could eat them, too.
Anyway, for the last 4 months he has spent less and less time at home. As of last week I barely saw him for 10 minutes a day, and sometimes he would skip dinner time entirely. Then I found out my crazy neighbor has been letting him live with her. She has been feeding him and taking him in at night and letting him sleep on her bed. It seems like he is making a transition from me to her.
A week ago Cirrus had an abcess and I didn't know about it until it burst because I never see him anymore. Either his "new mom" didn't notice the golf ball sized lump on his face or she did but chose not to mention it to me or take him to the vet.
The whole situation makes me really sad and nervous. I am the one who pays all his vet bills and I am the one who has to give him medicine and clean his wounds, so of course he would rather hang out with her. Plus she has these giant, curling fingernails that are painted blue and it probably feels really good when she scratches him.
I need to talk to her about not letting him in her house, but in the meantime, why do you folks think that Cirrus wants to hang out with her instead of me? Maybe because here he has to share the house/food/affection with his brother?
I'm stumped.
Toni
I'm new here, I've been browsing around the net looking for information about cat behavior. It seems like you folks here probably have some important and valid opinions about cats and why they do what they do.
The short version of my story:
I have two barn cats, brothers, the loves of my life. They are 2 1/2 years old. Cirrus, the white one, doesn't want to be my friend no more. It sucks because he used to be such an affectionate cat. He would sleep on the bed everynight and you could always count on him being in the house for at least 12 hours a day. The rest of the time he's out hunting varmits, catching them, and then bringing them home to show me. He recently learned that he could eat them, too.
Anyway, for the last 4 months he has spent less and less time at home. As of last week I barely saw him for 10 minutes a day, and sometimes he would skip dinner time entirely. Then I found out my crazy neighbor has been letting him live with her. She has been feeding him and taking him in at night and letting him sleep on her bed. It seems like he is making a transition from me to her.
A week ago Cirrus had an abcess and I didn't know about it until it burst because I never see him anymore. Either his "new mom" didn't notice the golf ball sized lump on his face or she did but chose not to mention it to me or take him to the vet.
The whole situation makes me really sad and nervous. I am the one who pays all his vet bills and I am the one who has to give him medicine and clean his wounds, so of course he would rather hang out with her. Plus she has these giant, curling fingernails that are painted blue and it probably feels really good when she scratches him.
I need to talk to her about not letting him in her house, but in the meantime, why do you folks think that Cirrus wants to hang out with her instead of me? Maybe because here he has to share the house/food/affection with his brother?
I'm stumped.
Toni