Expert: Kate Tilmouth - 12/21/2008

Question
hi,

i adopted my adult male domestic shorthair cat ichigo about a year and a half ago. since then he's had a liver infection and has strucite crystals, he's now on special food from the vet. when i first adopted him, he was very loving and slept on my bed every night. his living situation has changed many times since i've had him. when i first got him, he lived with me, my roommate and her 1 year old female black lab who he got along with well. then we moved in my parents, their two male adult cats and their 8 year old female border collie. at this point he still cuddled with me, but started sleeping in other rooms on occasion. now he lives with me, my roommate and her 18 month old female cat (he's never lived with a female cat).

the problem is that now he doesn't seem to like me anymore. at first i attributed it to the change in his food but i assumed he would get over it...he doesn't cuddle with me anymore, and while he sleeps on my bed, he leaves as soon as i lay down.

have i done something wrong, or should i just accept that cat doesn't love me anymore?

Answer
Hi
the answer to your question is an easy one.

Cats are fickle creatures and their behaviour can change constantly.
I have had my cat little mo now for 15 years and her behaviour can change from week to week.

Some weeks she loves to sleep on the bed with me, others on her cushion downstairs others on my chair upstairs. why she decides to move around like this is anyone's guess.

All i know is that it has nothing to do with how she feels about me, in fact we can't think about cat behaviour in our own terms, they work from a different rule book.,

I very much believe that your cats change in behaviour has nothing to do with how they feel about you, they just have decided to do things differently. You never know in a few weeks he will decide to cuddle up again. I really wouldn't worry.

best wishes Kate
http://www.our-happy-cat.com