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- Dec 14, 2020
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We now have 3 cats - one we've had 13 years, one for 6 years, and one a little over 1 yr. We did have 9 but 6 (mama and 5 kittens) were recently adopted. All of the cats have been acting fearsome towards my husband. They are fine when he is not home but they all duck and hide when he is around. He doesn't even have to make eye contact. If they just see him move or hear his voice they kind of freak out. The only one that was ok with him and actually wanted his affection was our 1yo male (the rest are female) until about a week ago. Now even he is doing the same as the others. My husband has never been aggressive to any of them. He even tries to bribe them with chicken or treats. They will accept the food and let him pet them until they finish then they run away. Our oldest cat (13yo) we've had since she was a kitten. She used to adore and demand attention from my husband up until about a year ago when she started acting skittish around him and would only come to him when he would look for her. Now she will hide and only go near him if I'm in the room. His job requires him to work away from home for days or weeks at a time. Last year he was away for nearly 3 months at one point, before coming home to leave again not long after. At first I associated it with him being away a lot plus her old age, but we also have other the cats that we haven't had as long. The one we've had 6 years sort of cycled thru our family members since she was a kitten due to moves and finally settled with us. She is very laid back and nothing ever seems to bother her. She has never been afraid of anything or anyone before until recently when she too started running away at the sight of my husband. The rest have all been strays that we (I) have taken in over the past couple of years. They all started off good with him but over time have became wary of him (this includes the ones that were recently adopted). I would joke with him saying he just has an intense alpha presence that intimidates them.. which I guess could make sense except for our male not being effected until recently and our others that have never had problems with him before.. I mean he hasn't become more intimidating or anything with in the last few years. He's still the same. He has always loved cats and has never harmed any of them. Plus my father lived with us until about a month ago and he is much bigger than my husband but they never had a problem with him. So I don't understand, why just him? And why only recently? My husband has become a bit distraught over it, especially since he likes to cuddle with them at bedtime but now no one will cuddle with him Does anyone have any suggestions? I don't like that my husband is feeling bad over this and I don't want the cats to only feel at ease when he is out of town. Thank you all for reading. I appreciate any help you can give.