My cat is behaving peculiarly!

[Catslave]

My cat went out today as normal, did not come in this evening so when I found her near by in thick undergrowth she was very scatty and did not seem to recognise us ! She was very quick on her feet so doesn't appear injured but the fact she didn't recognise us is baffling! Anyone else heard of this before? Many thanks.

[Jacks]

I would imagine she'd been frightened by something and was reacting on impulse at the arrival of large humans - so basically self-preservation was taking a precedence over sense! Did you get her back inside? I think you'll find that once she's home in a safe environment she will be very happy and relieved and back to her normal self.

I have had a couple of occasions where my cats got trapped somewhere - on one occasion she came straight home when released (I put leaflets through doors - she's very nosey) but on another occasion was found disoriented some way from home, just hiding.

[Kay]

I agree - sounds like a bit of post-traumatic stress going on, which is not uncommon in cats when they've had a nasty fright

[bobbys girl]

My OH recently bough a new winter coat. It is a pale grey and it rustles - something to do with the waterproofing. His other coats are darker and less 'noisy'.

The first time he wore it the cats shot out of the house as if the devil was after them. Purdy (daddy's girl) still doesn't like it and treats Dave like a total stranger when he wears it.

It does sound as if your cat has had a shock of some kind. I hope she comes around soon.

[mr_frisky]

One of my cats acted a bit like this a few weeks ago. She didn't greet me when I came home, and I found her skulking under a car. I tried to access her for about an hour but she kept on going under another car. Eventually a neighbour and I managed to clear a path into the house. She slept a bit, had some food and was her normal self the next day. I didn't find out what was wrong, but assumed she had had a scare with another cat or something.