Terrified Cat

[justustwoandmoo]

My cat is around 1.5 yrs old. She was very poorly when we first got her so it took a while longer than normal to get her to the point of going outside. Finally she did and seemed to be enjoying it.

Over the last week she has become terrified of another cat in the neighbourhood. I mean TERRIFIED!!

I think this cat is either trying the cat flap or actually getting into the house at night. About an hour ago my cat started screaming from downstairs. I went down and heard another cat run off through the cat flap. My cat had been so scared that she weed and pooped herself all over the sofa 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️. Hid the smell 🤢🤢. Just been cleaning, scrubbing and blocking off the cat flap again!

I just don't know what to do about this. I can't see her ever wanting to go outside again tbh 😞

Any advice? Xx

Oh, the poor baby!

I’m sure wiser people than me will be along shortly with more advice about encouraging her to go outside but what strikes me is that her home should be her safe place. So if another cat is trying the cat flap, I would want to make sure that is secure, either by locking it at night or using a smart cat flap that recognises my cat’s collar or chip to let them in and keep others out.

I thought that removable/replaceable sofa covers were great for kids but they have been even more useful with my cats. If you have them, strip washing works very well.

Poor thing. I'd focus on deterring the other cat from your garden and house. Think about the set up and ways you can prevent it from coming in. Our used to be terrorised by a huge cat. We spent a lot of 5ime blocking off entrance and going out with thw cat to be there to scare off the other if it turned up.

I would definitely start by getting a microchip cat flap.We had the same issue with a huge bully of a cat coming in our catflap wo eat our cats' food, one of them I'm particular got very nervous about going out. The catflap helped a lot because the bully cat stopped coming around as much once he was blocked off from the food source.

Yes you need a microchip flap asap, poor girl being attacked in her safe place.

It’s like someone breaking in and attacking us.

If it's possible I would cat proof your garden, also check whether the other cat is owned and if not then go about getting them neutered and possibly rehomed and fed elsewhere to stop it coming in (it could also just be a chancer, but may be genuinely hungry) if they aren't done, an unneutered cat causes much more stress to other cats

Thank you all. I probably should have said that the cat flap is magnetic so technically only she should be able to get through it.

I blocked it off last night and propped something up against it so that it wouldn't even rattle if the other cat tried again.

She must have been so so scared to her in the state she did bless her 😞.

Thank you so much for the advise though. This is actually the first cat I have ever owned (I'm 40) so it's all a bit new to me. I keep hoping to get rid of the litter tray but I don't think that will happen for a while!!

I would stick with the litter tray, especially with a nervous cat, ours will often go out and come in to use the tray as they must feel more secure. It's a good indicator of any potential health issues too, e.g. upset tummy or cystitis/bladder blockage which can be fatal if not treated.

@Stickytreacle

I would stick with the litter tray, especially with a nervous cat, ours will often go out and come in to use the tray as they must feel more secure. It's a good indicator of any potential health issues too, e.g. upset tummy or cystitis/bladder blockage which can be fatal if not treated.

Thank you. That is good advice. Particularly as she was so poorly when we got her. She was taken away from her mother much too early and sold on and then to us. She's done so well and now this.

Part of me wonders if she might be better as a house cat anyway tbh as she is quite content at home xx

If its magnetic can another cat with magnetic collar get through?
We had terrible trouble with an unknown cat getting in, in the night.
It killed DS 🐹 hamster.
Microchip cat flap solved the problem.

@trumpisagit

If its magnetic can another cat with magnetic collar get through? We had terrible trouble with an unknown cat getting in, in the night. It killed DS 🐹 hamster. Microchip cat flap solved the problem.

Gosh that's terrible about the hamster 😞

Think that might be the way to go tbh. Until then I'll have to lock it at night to prevent last night happening again.