As most know, I have a Blue Persian which lost a leg to a dog attack last year.
Since then the backyard has been cat proofed in that three legged cats cannot escape- and while not impossible, it is unlikely a stray cat could get in.
Since the attack, the Blue Persian (BP) has had regular nightmares. He would be sound asleep and then start meowing pretty loudly but still asleep. Generally, go and wake him up and sit with him for a few minutes and he would be right.
Last night he was asleep outside in the protected backyard while we were inside. There was a hell of a lot of noise sounding like a cat fight. I went outside and found him in the dark as he tried to jump up on the side fence which is about six feet high. He got up but couldn’t hang on and slid back into our yard. Just as well as the drop next door is deeper and onto brickwork.
Strange thing is that there was no sight or evidence of another cat. And the BP is not a fighter- he has never had a cat fight since we had him. All I can imagine is he was having a nightmare and had imaginary cats chasing him. Certainly when we got him he was not hyped up- it was more like he had just woken up.
However, what can we do? I guess the vet could give him valium but that seems like overkill. It is the first time he has done such a thing in a physical fashion. I could treat it as a one off, but if he does escape the yard he is pretty defenseless and I think we could kiss him goodbye.