My cat has run away from home

by Michele
(UK)

Ive got a 6 year old tabby, Jade who Ive had for three and a half years. Two months ago, I got a black kitten Thomas who is now 5 months old. Jade seems to like Thomas (she plays with him etc) but she will no longer let me stroke her or fuss her. She has always been a very loving and affectionate cat.

She used to sit/lie on me every day for a fuss but her behaviour has changed since I got Thomas. Now if I go near her she growls or runs away. Ive been trying to be patient with her and give her time to adapt. Jade has now run away from home. She hasn't slept at home for over a week. She did come home a couple of days ago, she ate some food and the escaped through the toilet window. Ive seen her further down the road we live on but when she sees me she runs away. I just don't know what to do. She has obviously decided she no longer wants to live with me. Please, please help!

Reply
Hi
Well I know exactly what you are going through as it happened to my family when i was younger. We had a female cat that had lived with us for several years. We then got a kitten and it became obvious that our older cat simply wasn’t happy sharing her home etc with another cat. She decided to find herself someone else to look after her where she could e the only pet. She moved down the road and we used to see her from time to time. Luckily she found a family happy to take her.

I wouldn’t take it personally, it’s not you its the situation. Your cat may simply not enjoy being around this other cat and this is not unusual. Some cats can be with other cats and some simply hate it. In the wild cats are naturally solitary animals and are not pack animals like dogs.

I don’t think there is much you can do really. You can’t force her to stay with you if she’s not happy. It all depends really on whether you think she has found someone else to look after her or not. If not then she will become a stray and this is not a good life for her. You may want to consider then finding her a new home yourself.

I’m sorry there is not more you can do , after all our cats choose to live with us, we don’t own them really.

Best wishes kate

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