A long time ago, our senior vet told me that there are cases where cats starve to death out of fear. They are so fearful (usually of other cats) that they are too scared to eat.
So for some cats, it may not be true that hunger will overcome any other emotion. Not fear. Fear can be so over-powering.
This morning, Robin was spooked. I don’t know what by, though. When I went out to feed them, he wasn’t among the rest crowding at the door, waiting for me. Robin was missing.
I found him in the condo, at the top floor, just sitting there. Pupils dilated.
So while the rest ate, I offered Robin food in the condo. He declined.
He was just too scared to eat.
I’m not sure if he was spooked by our part-time cleaner. But they have been home for 7 weeks now, and the cleaner comes every week. So I doubt it’s her. Moreover, she was cleaning upstairs. And she loves cats too. I’ve never noticed the cats being scared of her. Ginger accompanies her everywhere.
The difference today is that I fed them after she arrived and had already started cleaning. I usually feed them before she comes. Today, I was a bit late.
Maybe Robin is too afraid to eat because of the noise from the cleaning?
Or was he spooked by something last night?
So I waited. But I also gave him some NutriPlus Gel, just to play it safe.
After a few hours while the cleaner was still here, Robin came our of the condo to the “first dibs” spot (on top of Ginger’s cage) and asked for food.
Yay!
Okay, he is eating! Phew…so he was spooked by something. Hopefully, not sick.
Smurfy also came to ask for food. So yes, Smurfy gets. He is on a weight-gain (or rather, no-weight-loss) programme.
And everyone else also came!
For the benefit of new readers, Robin came back from his former home, malnourished, at 3.4kg, with chronic diarrhoea. While food was offered in his former home and Robin did get a special bowl, he was probably so spooked by other cats or something that he was too fearful to eat, or had not eaten enough on a regular basis. But 2 weeks after coming back, Robin gained weight and tipped the scales at 4.08kg. The vet says he could do with another 200g, if possible. But he seems to have maintained his weight at around 4kg now, despite eating a lot at every meal.
Smurfy is also an extremely scaredy cat. He lost weight after coming back home (a total of 800g over 5 weeks). So I’m monitoring him too. Sometimes, it’s all about the relationship dynamics among cats. But Smurfy loves Ginger, so let’s hope this helps. Smurfy was also a loner at his former home. But back here, he socialises a lot with his brothers, with Minnie (his mum) and especially with Ginger. Ginger was aloof at the beginning, but he is warming up to Smurfy now.