Cat Training and Behavior (Domestic and Feral)/Scared cat

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Expert: Dear Tabbi - 3/16/2009


Question
Hello. My cat is very scared of even the slighist things. I can barely pet her for a minute. She pees on eveything in the play room, so we put up a fence. She only goes in my parents' room, the kitchen, and the living room. She will run away at the sight of anybody, especially if they're standing up. Whenever she gets scared, she runs under my parents' bed. What can i do to help her not be so scared, and be able to not hide very often? She also is very old, i don't know if that changes anything though.
Thank you for your help!
Sincerley,
Nick

Answer
Nicholas,

That is just her personality, you won't be able to change her. Just accept that is the way she is and be understanding and patient about it, especially if she is old.

I would say it is time to take her to the vet for a checkup. It sounds like she may have a urinary tract infection or urinary crystals. Both are very painful and the cat associates that pain with the litterbox so she goes elsewhere. They are common and can be treated with medication. She may also have a kidney related problem..
And as they age, they can't hold it as long as a younger cat can so they go more often. They also get arthritis which makes getting in and out of a litterbox painful.

With an old cat things can start giving out. You should have an "older cat checkup" done by a vet that specializes in geriatric cats and their problems...not all vets do. She needs to have her thyroid, liver, and kidney function checked, and blood tests done. As a cat ages this checkup should be done about every 6-8 months. In doing that, a lot of age related problems can be caught early. They can be given treatment or medication that can continue their quality of life and ease any pain, and give you more time together.

Being prepared and knowledgeable about elderly cats will make things easier for the cat and for you. I am including some very good links about elderly cats. Copy and paste, or type, the whole links into your address bar:

http://www.sniksnak.com/resources/geriatric.html

http://www.messybeast.com/towards-end.htm

http://www.2ndchance.info/oldcat.htm

I hope this helps.
Tabbi  

Cat Training and Behavior (Domestic and Feral)

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Dear Tabbi

Expertise

My expertise is in helping people understand their cat (or cats) and their behavior. Questions are welcome even if you don't have a cat....just a question about them. Hopefully my experience, suggestions, and comments will be of help to you...and your cat (or cats). Looking through my past responses to questions will give you additional information and/or answers too. Domestic Cats = cats (no matter what breed) who are tame or not wild, or abandoned cats who were pets that became wild, but can be tamed again. Ferals = cats who are born with one or more parents who were wild stray cats. They usually have had no interactions with people. They have an inbred distrust of humans and are difficult to socialize. They are skittish, hide, and are afraid of people. They take a lot of time and patience to work with them. A lot of kittens from shelters had a feral parent.

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Since I was a child, over 45 years, I have been owned by a LOT of cats and kittens of almost every temperament, behavior, and personality. I have had experience with neurotic, disabled (including blind), stray, and 'problem child' cats and kittens. (A few normal cats too!) Plus all the things a lifetime of owning cats and research has taught me. I also have experience in feral cat behavior (which is different from domestic cats), and some experience with feral colonies that includes colony feeding and feral cat TNR (trap/neuter/release).

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