What happen to my cat??

Question

I left my cat with some friends for a week when I went on vacation. I recently returned to my cat not acting the same at all. He is way jumpy now and doesn't come to his name. He seems scared of everyone and everything. What happen to him? My friends say he was fine and they didn't hurt him or anything. They did put him a closet for punishment for 15 mins one night.. would this cause his behavior? Will he ever be the same? What can I do for him?? I want my kitty back... Thank you all for your help..

Answer 1

He probably needs to get used to his suroundings again. Give him some time to adjust. He doesn't have the thinking skills that we do, so to him all of this moving around and being around different people can be a little scary. Give him time and he should come around. Good Luck.

Answer 2

Chances are that 99% of this comes from beng moved to a strange place and then moved again (back to your home). Cats LOVE routine and familiarity and get very scared of changes. While the "closet punishment" probably failed to teach your cat anything, I personally doubt that it was actually responsible for your cat's behavior, or as traumatic as people here are claiming. I still would not recommend using such treatment, but the responses here are an overreaction.

Every December I take my cat with me to my parent's house, and every time he is reclusive and cross for the first several days, on both sides of the trip. However, after he adjusts to the new surroundings, he is perfectly happy and returns to being the cat we know and love. I am sure that, given a few days or maybe a week, you cat should be fine. If his behavior becomes more erratic or if he does not show significant improvement by a week's time, *then* think about a trip to the vet. I would NOT do it right now, however, because this will set him back if he is just re-adjusting to his new surroundings (as I suspect he is). Keep the house as quiet and as calm as you can (eg, this would not be the time for a big noisy party), and keep your routine as regular as possible. That will help his adjustment go as smoothly and as quickly as possible. Good luck!

Answer 3

Never, ever leave your cat with these people again. They're pretty dumb to think that leaving a cat alone in a closet works as punishment.

I have had to lock my cat in the bathroom before, but it was because there were people working on the door to my apartment and she would have escaped otherwise. She was a little jumpy and needy for about a week afterwards. Being trapped REALLY scares cats, since they are naturally in need of wide open spaces.

Also, if your friends are loud or have other animals, that could traumatize the cat as well if he is not used to such things. And, your friend COULD be lying about not having hurt the cat--he may have accidentally (or intentionally) injured the cat and doesn't want to tell you.

Sorry about your kitty! Give him lots of extra love and he should calm down after a little while.

Answer 4

Well, first of all....I would NEVER ask those friends to watch my cat again! I am not saying that you are to blame. You did the right thing by trying to find someone you trust to watch over him while you were on vacation.:) However, them putting him in a closet for 15 minutes just sounds cruel. I would be furious is anyone treated my cats in that manner! I am sure that they are sugar coating the way that they behaved toward him. No animal lover would do that!

I think that your little kitty is probably just a little freaked out about having been left with people that did not show him the love that you normally give him. I am sure that with a little time and a lot of attention....he will resume his regular behavior. The poor little guy can't speak, so he has no way of telling you why he is upset.:( Give him lots of love and keep your "friends" away from him in the future.

I hope he gets back to normal soon! Best wishes to you both!

Answer 5

Only your cat knows what happened-
Best thing to do is take him to the vet and get some blood work done. When a cat is stressed, they can become deathly ill. Once that is checked out and if his lab work comes back okay, then you won't have to worry so much.
It might be wise to start over and reacquaint him to your home by keeping him in one quite room for a few days until he gets used to his surroundings again. Of course you'll want to feed him in there and give him a couple of litter boxes (remember the rule, one litter box more than the number of cats) and keep the litter box well away from the feeding area. Go in and visit with him and play with him and bond with him a lot, spend lots of time petting him, talking to him, giving him little treats and playing his favorite game. Then slowly bring him out into the rest of the house until he becomes accustomed to it again.
The next time you have to leave, it would be worth your money to hire a qualified pet sitter that will come into your home.
By the way, you can't teach a cat anything by closing it up in a closet, I think there's more to this story than your friends are telling you and if I were you, I'd look for better friends, their story sounds fishy.

Answer 6

It could be that he isn't use to being seperated from you and will come around in time.

Is he use to your friends? If not, that could be it.
And putting him in the closet probably made it worse.

He probably didn't understand why you were gone and why strange people were putting him in a closet. He may have thought that you had abandoned him. And it could be that, even though you're back, he is now afraid that you will leave him.

Are you absolutely sure that your friends have the patience to deal with a cat without resorting to mistreatment? Only ever leave kitty with people who you know, without a doubt, that you can trust.

Kitty will be okay. He just needs some time and reassurance that you still love him.

****I agree with the people above who are saying that "closet punishment" is mistreatment, so I should have worded my post a little better. I also agree with the person who suggested that you take your cat to the vet just to make sure nothing is wrong with him.

Answer 7

I think it's best to consult a vet, personally I'd never shut my cat in a closet so I don't have any idea on how this would effect him, but being done once for 15 minutes should not cause such a dramatic change in a cat's behavior. Get the poor thing to a vet asap.

Answer 8

I've left my cat with Friends before, and she's a shy cat to begin with. She never came back with any problems. She was alittle shy at there house, cause I wasn't with her. As soon as she was back home, with me, things were fine. I think something might have happened to her. I don't know if the closet did it, or something more. They might have hit her, before they put her in the closet.

Try not to raise your voice much. You'll have to be gentle with her, so she doens't think she's getting harmed. Cat nip might help bring her closer to you, so you can have some bonding time. Try treats, if she likes them. Make her come to you, and give her the treat. Maybe a new toy, play with her, let her know she's loved. In time, I'm sure she'll come back around. Don't ever let those friends watch her again. I think they harmed her, in some way.. Good luck to you and Kitty...

Answer 9

I don't see what's wrong with isolating the kitty so he can cool down....I put my kitty in the bathroom for ten minutes if she freaks out so she can calm down and recharge by herself. She comes out of the bathroom happy and relaxed. However, the bathroom contains her litter box, toys, food, and water, so it's not like she's deprived of anything while she's in there. It's not abuse, it's giving her a chance to relax and let off some steam in a controlled environment. I don't have anything in the bathroom that she can destroy.

If your kitty has never left your house, this may be causing him to freak out. A cat that wasn't taken to a variety of places as a kitten won't be very happy going to new places as an adult. He may calm down after a few days, just show him some extra love and attention.

Answer 10

Our cat Jack had a HUGE behavioral change a few months ago when we allowed a friend to live with us for a short time. Cats become very accustomed to their "usual" environment and the slightest change can throw a cat into neurotic fever. Jack went insane while our friend lived here. Attacking anyone and anything that moved, clawing the walls, ripped the shower curtain to pieces, you name it.

If you dropped your cat off at a strange place with strange people, he probably went into panic over-load. Believe it or not, pets can get separation anxiety just like people.

I would just pay him as much positive attention as possible, give him treats, toys, and keep the environment as quiet and calm as possible. Eventually, he will snap out of it when he realizes he is home and he is safe.

Jack, our cat, took about a week to re-adjust after our friend moved out of our apartment. Now he's back to his old self. (^_^) Good luck!

Answer 11

It could be that he's reacting to you leaving him. But I'm willing to bet that either A) your friend did more than he said he did, or B) Something happened that your friend doesn't know about. Closing him in a closet can't have helped either.

Give your kitty a lot of love, and as much attention as he'll accept from you. And next time, board him with a kennel. Some vets offer boarding services as well.

Good luck.