DCat hates our house

[AttackCat]

I don’t know what has got into DCat, I need some input!

DCat is a very friendly, confident, loving cat who we have had for a few years along with two other DCats who all get along well.

Little by little, DCat has started spending less and less time in the house. He used to lounge on the beds and sofas like the other DCats. Then he stopped going upstairs. Then he only came into the kitchen. And now he doesn’t even really like to do that.

Even in the cold and the storms over the last few days he’s been mostly outdoors. I often have to carry him in to get him indoors.

I cannot work out what’s got into him. There have been no changes in the house I can think of, no tension with the other cats, nothing.

Any ideas what might be going on in his little cat brain and what we might be able to do to help him get comfortable in the house again?

Is it worth trying the stuff you sprinkle on food to reduce stress? Zylkene - capsules but you can break open and add the powder to food. Or the pet remedy diffusers work wonders for mine too. One of mine did the opposite and absolutely refused to go outside for a few months a few years back, vet said she'd most likely had a traumatic experience outside either with another cat, a fox or a human 😭

Doesn't sound like that's the case for yours but maybe a vet check if you haven't already, and does he have somewhere he can go to be away from the others if he wants to?

They are so stressful when they're not right, hope you get to the bottom of it soon 🐾

Edited to add name of supplement because I'm an idiot and forgot to type it 😂

With two other cats in the house he probably doesn’t feel it’s his own territory and it’s very possible he has another place he can go. Maybe a neighbour is feeding him or otherwise making him feel welcome. He’s got a connection with you but his territory is elsewhere.

I do wonder if there's some underlying issues with the other cats but they're invisible to me if there are. DCat and one other came together as a bonded pair and the third cat we got about a year later - there were a few mild squabbles for the first few months but since then no sign of any issues. DCat and the newer cat will sit and groom each other, happily shared litter trays (even though I give them options of multiple litter trays) - it's all very harmonious.

He does sometime visit a neighbour but she is adamant she doesn't feed him and she brings him back to us. Most of the time he's just sat under a bush in the garden!

It does really feel like there's something about the house itself he's not comfortable with. I joke that we've got a ghost and only he knows about it!

@hilariousnamehere we had one of those plug-in difuser things when we first got DCat3, I can try getting one of them and see if that helps, good idea.

Have you had him checked by a vet? He could be in pain or unwell.

He doesn't seem to be - he's happily running about and climbing trees and normal cat things outdoors. But I am at the stage of thinking about taking him in for a check to be sure.

I would definitely get him looked at - it's likely nothing but at least you've ruled it out if you get him looked at.

Have you changed where he eats or made any small changes in the house? I read an article about a cat who stopped eating and became withdrawn but seemed otherwise healthy. The owners worked out that after they had building work done the cats bowl was now next to a massive sliding door to the garden. The cat felt really stressed and threatened and didn’t want to eat there. They moved the bowl to somewhere quieter with no windows and the cat was better overnight! So it could be something that seems really small and inconsequential to you but is huge for your DCat that has changed his behaviour.