Help our cat find her mojo again!!!!!

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Emma
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Help our cat find her mojo again!!!!!

Post by Emma »

Hi

Would be so grateful for any advice.

We got two kittens, sisters, a year and a half ago. We leave on the second floor of an apartment with a cat flap leading to a corridor. At the end of the corridor is a flight of stairs then a door to outside with another cat flap.

Everything was going fine till about a year ago and both kittens were exploring and going outside. Until one evening they got chased by a dog in the corridor owned by the woman upstairs.

They cats were fine. One of them had no problem going back into the corridor and has been going in and out no problem.

The other cat though never got over it and is still terrified of going into the corridor! The dog has been gone months. We've tried everything. Giving her treats in the corridor, playing with her there but she's still terrified.

Since it's happened she is scared of everything. If she could she would spend all day hiding in one room.

We play with her in the sitting room and give her loads of attention but she's going a bit crazy being inside all the time.

She also pees in everyone's bed as she must be really anxious.

One of our friends suggested just locking her out till she gets used to it. But she is so terrified I don't think this would do any good

She so curious going everywhere till the dog incident and we just don't know how to help her!
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greenkitty
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Re: Help our cat find her mojo again!!!!!

Post by greenkitty »

Please don't lock her out, in my opinion that's really bad advice, she's already scared so why put her in a situation she's obviously terrified of? You may need to accept that she will never go back out there again, she needs to be the one that decides when to do that, please don't force it. Have you tried Feliway, Pet Remedy or Zylkene?

It may be worth taking her a vet to check that there's no medical reason for the inappropriate peeing but it's most likely linked to the dog incident.

There's some advice here: http://www.catchat.org/urination.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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meriad
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Re: Help our cat find her mojo again!!!!!

Post by meriad »

I totally 100% agree with Greenkitty. The worst thing you could do would be to lock your cat out of the house and force her to be where she is utterly terrified - poor thing!

All the advice given by Greenkitty is spot on; get her to the vet for a quick once over and then try the remedies suggested.

Also, if you have pet insurance they may cover the cost of a cat behaviourist; maybe contact one and see if they can help.

Fusses to your girl
Emma
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Re: Help our cat find her mojo again!!!!!

Post by Emma »

We have brought her to the vet and everything is fine with her medically.

Thanks for all the other tips. Going to try the Felliway and hopefully that will help her!
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Baggypants
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Re: Help our cat find her mojo again!!!!!

Post by Baggypants »

Bagheera became terrified of our bedroom for a few weeks once - it was horrible especially since it was always her 'safe room' prior to this incident.
This was completely irrational though - nothing like a dog! I'd been moving things out from underneath our bed and I unfastened one of those vacuum storage bags with our spare duvet in - as the air started seeping into the bag it was making a hissing noise - all 3 of the cats were milling about under the bag having a good nose around but then Bagheera backed into one of the other cats and didn't know what it was. She jumped backwards and I think banged into one of the others and they all shot out of there like there was a monster!!! It took ages for Bagheera to trust under the bed again even though we moved everything and showed her it was all safe. In her mind, better safe than sorry. It might take some time but you can't force them to trust a space especially if last time she was confronted by a dog!
Pinkglitter1
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Re: Help our cat find her mojo again!!!!!

Post by Pinkglitter1 »

I can wholly recommend Feliway-it really will help with the anxiety. Good luck! Buy online as opposed from the vets-much cheaper! x
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