Cat trouble

[ElizabethJane]

Hi Tessar thanks for asking about the cats. I am in the conservatory as I write this and Phoebe is sitting with me. She hasn't really progressed with her socialisation. She hides when she hears the postman/dust man / any man she doesn't like but not the builder last year. Bertie or Bertismus as I now call him has got very large. That is partly my fault as I leave the dry food for them both to graze on. He is very placid but does not like the Burmese cat from across the road and runs away when he approaches. Night time is brilliant. I call 'bed' and both cats usually come.Phoebe makes for the dog bed and hisses as Bertie wants to join her in it. He sleeps on the fridge and mews if you come into the kitchen. Both cats use the same litter tray at night. That is a result. EJ

---------- Post added at 20:25 ---------- Previous post was at 20:24 ----------

ElizabethJane; How r things with Phoebe & Bertie's behavioural problems?
Our cat still gets terrorised by a local Tom..... She also misbehaves .... Scratches the settee .... Not sure how to stop that happening??!!

You could try buying a leather sofa. Our cats do not scratch the leather. EJ

[Tessar]

A lot of cats hide from people suddenly appearing, ours doesnt like it if she hears the postman coming up the steps! but then it can sometmes make me jump if it's quiet! The dust cart always makes her wary but i think all the cats I've had have been like that.
funny that you call Bertie 'Bertismus' as we make up silly names for our cat too! oh dear about him being very large. perhaps he'll have to go on a diet? ours had to as she was fat when we got her but now is looking much more trim. you wont believe it but we do have a leather sofa. she has been attacking that! bad girl!!!
i love the way your cats come to bed! ours usually is on the bed at night too. in the day, she will sleep in one place for a few weeks & then favours another. funny how they have a fav. place for a while & then they change it.

[Edie]

Some cats will always be timid. As long as she feels safe in the home, she'll be OK. How do you respond when she hides? If you try to comfort her then you only reinforce that she needs you to feel safe. But if you let her do what she wants and carry on with things, she's more likely to realise there's nothing wrong, and she feels safe in her hiding place in the meantime.

Dry food can lead to obesity. I would recommend switching to a mostly wet diet. My cat has gone from being very overweight to a healthy weight by just switching from dry to wet, I do not restrict quantity at all. You can still leave dry food as a treat, but if you put it in a puzzle feeder it slows them down eating, and keeps them active. You can buy puzzle feeders, but mine loves fishing her biscuits out of an egg box or toilet roll feeder. You don't need to buy an expensive brand of wet food, but with dry food you want one with a high meat content, the best one you can afford. Encore and Applaws dry foods are both very good.

I'm glad you've got things sorted at night though, that's progress!