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Expert: - 6/24/2011


Question
My usually very outgoing and cuddly 1 year old cat is suddenly hiding in the closet on the highest shelf. Last evening I gave her (wet) dinner on the closet shelf, she ate it all, she seems frightened of something, she is an indoor cat who we bring outside wearing a harness and leash several hours a week. our other cat seems fine, they often play rough together and sometimes end up in a fight, she stayed up there all night, I am worried that she is sick or injured, there is no obvious sign of injury. I put her (dry)breakfast on the floor in the closet and she hasn't come down to eat it yet. What could this be?

Answer
Guy,

If you think she may have a medical issue, a check up by your vet may be a good first step.

Are there new cats hanging around the house?  If so, she may have seen one of them through a window and is in fright mode. These things usually resolve themselves in a couple of days.

We sometimes find that giving a cats some time out in a quiet interior room with no windows can be helpful.

Please let me know how she does.

Best regards... Norm.  

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Norman Auspitz

Expertise

I can answer most non-veterinary questions about cats. My particular expertise is pedigree cats, breeding and showing. However, I am versed in feline behavior, cat breeds and their characteristics, general feline husbandry, and the like.

Experience

I judged for the Canadian Cat Association from 1975 until 1982. I am currently an approved allbreed judge for the Cat Fanciers'' Association (the world''s largets cat registry), and have been judging for them since 1991. I have been breeding pedigreed cats since 1971 and have been exhibiting pedigreed cats in shows since 1970. I obtained my first pedigreed cat in 1970 and have never looked back. In 1971, I obtained my first Abyssinian which has become my primary breed. In addition, I have bred Manx and Persians. Currently, besides the Abyssinians, I am also breeding Maine Coons.


Organizations
Cat Fanciers'' Association, inc. (CFA) and the Manx, Maine Coon, and Abyssinian breed councils. I am currently Abyssinian breed council secretary.

Publications
Cat Fancy Magazine, The Abyssinian Chapter in The Cat Fanciers'' Association Complete Cat Book, and Articles for various editions of The Cat Fanciers'' Association Yearbook

Education/Credentials
I received a B.S. from Drexel University in 1968, a M.Math from University of Waterloo, in 1970, a Ph.D. from University of Waterloo in 1975, and a MBA from McMaster University in 1980. I received my approved allbreed judging status in the Cat Fanciers'' Association in 1999.

Awards and Honors
We have produced a number of Cat Fanciers'' Association (CFA) National winning Abyssinian and Maine Coons. We have produced a number of Abyssinian and Maine Coon Distinguished Merit females (an award for a top producing cat), including the first Distinguished Merit Abyssinian in the red (sorrel) color. I am the CFA Abyssinian breed council secretary and belong and/or hold office in a number of cat clubs. I am also a member of the CFA Judges Association.

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