cat jumping away from food

Hi

A cat that I have looked after for about 15 years (he moved in, aged about
1-2 years, but allowed me to stay!!) has always been a very scary/wary
creature, not comfortable having humans, including me, in the same room. But
he has always allowed me to serve him food in his bowl.

Of late he has been behaving oddly towards food. At first he was seemingly
not eating and I was going to take him to vet to be checked. Now he is not
called the cat from hell for nothing - getting him into a cat box is not a
job for the faint-hearted.

Anyway he has been drinking OK, and I was offering him a wide variety of
food types and textures, but he would come and sniff at it and literally
jump away as though it had bitten him, or he would sniff at it from a
distance and slink away. But with perseverance I have discovered that if I
put a small amount on the floor near him, but well away from me, he will
come and eat it quite happily, no sign of pain or discomfort. And that way
he gets through a whole meal, just one bit at a time, off the floor. I can
get him started eating like this and then try to revert to a bowl - and
no-go, but he will drink from that same bowl!!

In another life I am dealing with an ageing parent who has had some small
strokes and is getting into dementia issues - with some very odd behaviour
at times.

Cat is also getting on of course - and I wondered if this jumping away from
the bowl might be something similar - brain failing, mixing up strange
perceptions/responses? anyone ever come across it?

Thanks

On Tue, 30 Nov 2010 06:56:51 -0000, "wasted"
wrote:

Hi

A cat that I have looked after for about 15 years (he moved in, aged about
1-2 years, but allowed me to stay!!) has always been a very scary/wary
creature, not comfortable having humans, including me, in the same room. But
he has always allowed me to serve him food in his bowl.

Of late he has been behaving oddly towards food. At first he was seemingly
not eating and I was going to take him to vet to be checked. Now he is not
called the cat from hell for nothing - getting him into a cat box is not a
job for the faint-hearted.

Anyway he has been drinking OK, and I was offering him a wide variety of
food types and textures, but he would come and sniff at it and literally
jump away as though it had bitten him, or he would sniff at it from a
distance and slink away. But with perseverance I have discovered that if I
put a small amount on the floor near him, but well away from me, he will
come and eat it quite happily, no sign of pain or discomfort. And that way
he gets through a whole meal, just one bit at a time, off the floor. I can
get him started eating like this and then try to revert to a bowl - and
no-go, but he will drink from that same bowl!!

In another life I am dealing with an ageing parent who has had some small
strokes and is getting into dementia issues - with some very odd behaviour
at times.

Cat is also getting on of course - and I wondered if this jumping away from
the bowl might be something similar - brain failing, mixing up strange
perceptions/responses? anyone ever come across it?

Thanks

Cats certainly can get minor strokes that cause them to be weirder
than they already are. The behavioral issues certainly do seem to
point towards a vet visit. Get the bandaids ready.

"dgk" wrote in message ...


Cats certainly can get minor strokes that cause them to be weirder
than they already are. The behavioral issues certainly do seem to
point towards a vet visit. Get the bandaids ready.


It's not band-aids mate - it's plaster casts and book limb replacement
operations.

I suspect the cat was a feral. He appeared on the scene when my own cat was
about 2 and had become the one who saw off the locals from entering his
space (you see I used to think it was "my" garden). And then one day this
stranger appeared, and he was allowed in with no questions asked. For some
reason, from day 1, they became inseparable friends - see one, the other was
no more than 30 seconds behind. It was obvious that the "visitor" was not
being fed elsewhere, and my kids persuaded me to start forking out for his
shots and welfare payments! The cats had the occasional spat/flurry when
"my" cat just let the other one know who was boss, but they just moved
together, slept side-by-side in the garden or in the basket indoors in
winter. But through all this the "visitor" remained wary of me and the rest
of my family - no matter how many times I fed him, I was the monster not to
be trusted.

The cat that I was supposed to own died about 2 years ago. The visitor had
some clear reactions for a while but then seemed to get over it, and fed and
behaved normally - meaning he kept his wary distance - but would come in and
allow me to feed him. But now the problems I reported have arisen.

I guess it's a vet trip then - does Iron Man rent his suit out?

"wasted" wrote in message
o.uk...

"dgk" wrote in message ...


Cats certainly can get minor strokes that cause them to be weirder
than they already are. The behavioral issues certainly do seem to
point towards a vet visit. Get the bandaids ready.


It's not band-aids mate - it's plaster casts and book limb replacement
operations.

I suspect the cat was a feral. He appeared on the scene when my own cat was
about 2 and had become the one who saw off the locals from entering his
space (you see I used to think it was "my" garden). And then one day this
stranger appeared, and he was allowed in with no questions asked. For some
reason, from day 1, they became inseparable friends - see one, the other was
no more than 30 seconds behind. It was obvious that the "visitor" was not
being fed elsewhere, and my kids persuaded me to start forking out for his
shots and welfare payments! The cats had the occasional spat/flurry when
"my" cat just let the other one know who was boss, but they just moved
together, slept side-by-side in the garden or in the basket indoors in
winter. But through all this the "visitor" remained wary of me and the rest
of my family - no matter how many times I fed him, I was the monster not to
be trusted.

The cat that I was supposed to own died about 2 years ago. The visitor had
some clear reactions for a while but then seemed to get over it, and fed and
behaved normally - meaning he kept his wary distance - but would come in and
allow me to feed him. But now the problems I reported have arisen.

I guess it's a vet trip then - does Iron Man rent his suit out?



Is there a way that you could wrap him in a large towel to get him in the
carrier?

Per wasted:

I guess it's a vet trip then - does Iron Man rent his suit out?

Welding gloves.

My son-in-law habituated the (feral?) cat that we have now to
human contact by putting on welding gloves and handling it.
--
PeteCresswell

"Phyllis Stone" wrote in message
...




Is there a way that you could wrap him in a large towel to get him in the
carrier?


Yeah that's how I've done it before - but he KNOWS what's coming - I think
he reads my mind!

On Wed, 01 Dec 2010 10:45:57 -0500, "(PeteCresswell)"
wrote:

Per wasted:

I guess it's a vet trip then - does Iron Man rent his suit out?

Welding gloves.

My son-in-law habituated the (feral?) cat that we have now to
human contact by putting on welding gloves and handling it.

Great idea. Oven gloves are pretty good too.

On Dec 1, 7:45*am, "(PeteCresswell)" wrote:
Per wasted:



I guess it's a vet trip then - does Iron Man rent his suit out?

Welding gloves.

My son-in-law habituated the (feral?) cat that we have now to
human contact by putting on welding gloves and handling it.


I will second this one. We rescued a feral cat for a friend awhile
back, and we used heavy duty welding gloves that went up the arm. And
extra layers everywhere else.

You might also ask the vet if there is anything that you can give him
in advance that will help him calm down, but not ruin any bloodwork
tests.

"(PeteCresswell)" wrote in message
...
My son-in-law habituated the (feral?) cat that we have now to
human contact by putting on welding gloves and handling it.

Let the cat see that the cat carrier can be a safe, good object for him.
Leave the cat carrier on the floor, open at all times, in a floor space that
is quiet; not a walk-through araea. Put catnip inside the carrier. Put a
snuggly blanket in the carrier for the cat to lay on. Leave the carrier in
place for several weeks, ignoring it completely.