My sweet 10 year old kitties cuddled together pre- BlogHer & Summer vacation.
Jujubee, the Siamese, and Itty Bitty Gray Kitty are shy kitties and most people, if it wasn’t for the litter box, would never know I had cats. They, in fact, are downright anti-social. I didn’t think it could get worse. It did.
While I was away at #BlogHer13 and then vacationing in MN with my daughter, Hubby was in charge of feeding and poop-scooping. He as a care-giver and the presence of our Neapolitan Mastiff in the usually cat-only bedroom drove the Siamese over-the-edge.
She moved in under the bed and apparently only came out to eat when neither Hubby nor dog were in the house. She left evidence of through-put on the rug next to the bed. Apparently the trip out of our bedroom, across the hall, into and through my office, and into the bathroom off the office where the litter-boxes are, was a gauntlet she was just too afraid to run without the presence of the Human-Mama-NotCat somewhere in the house.
Once I returned home Jujubee was out from under the bed in about 10 minutes. It took her about 20 minutes to come cuddle with me. A thorough cleaning with bleach seems to have the litter-box back on her radar-scope.
She is a rescue, so we don’t know what the first 10 to 15 weeks of her life were like, and she sat in a closet staring at a wall for a week after her spaying. We think it was a neural reaction to the anesthetic used. My daughter spent the week with her, soothing her and nudging her into the world of interaction. She is damaged, no doubt. But we don’t know how, exactly. Perhaps this is separation anxiety. I suspect it is because it did not manifest for a few days after I left, and it is dissipating now that I am back.
I am going to try to create some activity in my cat’s life that does not involve me so that the next trip will not be as traumatic for her.