A few months ago my wife and I ‘adopted’ a small kitten who wandered into our yard. We named the kitten (Foxy), fed it, housebroke it and cared for it. Up until last Friday, Foxy pretty much just slept around the house, played and ate her food. She would go out into the yard for no more than an hour or two at the most and always returned. She was VERY affectionate.
Well, last Friday Foxy went out into our backyard and never returned until today and when I saw her outside the window, as soon as I tried to open the door to get her, she ran away from me. About an hour ago I saw her again, she started to walk in the house and she darted away again.
Foxy is about 6-7 months old and a female. Keep in mind up until last Friday she LOVED being around people always purred, etc.
She has an appointment to be spayed next week and I don’t know if I’ll be able to catch her now. Do you think this behavior is permanent? Will she come home?
Someone told me she may be in heat but my vet told me it was doubtful. He said that cats usually need over 13 hours of daylight to throw them in heat so it usually occurs beginning in late March and lasts through summer and into early fall.
She’s quite young, so most likely she just fancied exploring, got scared witless by someone or something and decided to come home. Being scared might also explain her reluctance to come near you. The good thing to remember is that she did come home. Of course, she might have had too good a night on the tiles, in which having her speyed might be a little too late?
Put some food and water out for her and see if you can tease her back into the house.
Cats are very eccentric, so who knows whats going on! Tease her back in with soft snacks, can of tuna or catnip. Or see if the vet has a safe trap you can use. Many people never let their cats outdoors for fear of FIV and other diseases. If you have an FIV cat, it can never be around other cats again (so I’m told). Plus, there are cars, dogs, etc. Some cats do well on leashes, but that looks to silly to try for me.
Catnip on a string can work. Once you get her inside and she associates you with the indoor environment, she will probably be back to the old kitten again. But until then, it will be a struggle getting her to trust you. There is just too much stimuli for her to associate the old you with the new environment. Big things (people) in noisy world are a threat and not to be trusted.
I have had some luck when one of my wife’s cats did this by lying flat on my back on the ground below her normal head level and talking to her as I would when I am in bed. By my being below her head level she sometimes recognizes me and doesn’t feel as threatened- I don’t recommend this in the middle of the street.
Agree with previous posts. Also, it’s a good idea to make cats strictly indoors due to the dangers out there (as mentioned before–cars, dogs, FIV, leukemia, and of course, mean people). Interesting statistic: indoor cats that receive good care can live to be 16 or 17 years old; average lifespan for a cat outdoors is only 2 years. Having said that, if you can get her back in, she will most likely “come around”, and you should have her for many wonderful years.
