Changing Behavior after 12 years..
Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2022 3:57 pm
Hi there,
Backstory:
I have 3-footed, half-tailed tortoise named Sarah. She was a rescue and the business had already paid for the surgeries to save her life when i picked her 12 years ago. She has been the best cat ever. She is a mostly outdoor cat but comes in to eat and sleeps inside when it gets too cold or rainy. Otherwise she loves sleeping outside in our yard. She doesn't venture much and just likes to sit under bushes and watch the world go by. (We have raccoons and Opossum at night and birds and squirrels during the day. (We also have the occasional mouse or rat which she likes to chase). She has never used a litter box and i think finds a place under the house or some other location to do her business. She is very docile and trusting. Loves being held and scratched around the face and neck, especially on the left side where she can't reach because of the amputation.
Anyways, she has always been a quiet cat and would meow rarely. She would also come and go as she likes using the pet door i installed (see photos below). There is always water and crunchy food available 24 hours a day whenever she feels hungry. She has never been a cat who scarfs down food and even if she sees me put out her bowl of wet food, she won't go straight for it and waits til she's ready.
The behavior change that has just started is that she will meow/whine at night to come inside or go outside. This seems to happen every 2-3 hours during the night and i'm concerned her meowing is disturbing the 2 neighbors right next door. She knows exactly where the pet door is and still sometime uses it at night but other times, it's like she wants attention and for me to physically open the house door to let her in or out.
She has just had her latest shots and check up at the vet and all was normal. Everything else about her is normal and a wonderful cat. There isn't any stress in her life or other animals that come by and can only think that there may be some cognitive/mental issue that has started to happen.
Any thoughts or guidance appreciated.
Here is a link to a video i made of Sarah hanging out in the yard:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cl8jnX0QmEE&t=1s
Backstory:
I have 3-footed, half-tailed tortoise named Sarah. She was a rescue and the business had already paid for the surgeries to save her life when i picked her 12 years ago. She has been the best cat ever. She is a mostly outdoor cat but comes in to eat and sleeps inside when it gets too cold or rainy. Otherwise she loves sleeping outside in our yard. She doesn't venture much and just likes to sit under bushes and watch the world go by. (We have raccoons and Opossum at night and birds and squirrels during the day. (We also have the occasional mouse or rat which she likes to chase). She has never used a litter box and i think finds a place under the house or some other location to do her business. She is very docile and trusting. Loves being held and scratched around the face and neck, especially on the left side where she can't reach because of the amputation.
Anyways, she has always been a quiet cat and would meow rarely. She would also come and go as she likes using the pet door i installed (see photos below). There is always water and crunchy food available 24 hours a day whenever she feels hungry. She has never been a cat who scarfs down food and even if she sees me put out her bowl of wet food, she won't go straight for it and waits til she's ready.
The behavior change that has just started is that she will meow/whine at night to come inside or go outside. This seems to happen every 2-3 hours during the night and i'm concerned her meowing is disturbing the 2 neighbors right next door. She knows exactly where the pet door is and still sometime uses it at night but other times, it's like she wants attention and for me to physically open the house door to let her in or out.
She has just had her latest shots and check up at the vet and all was normal. Everything else about her is normal and a wonderful cat. There isn't any stress in her life or other animals that come by and can only think that there may be some cognitive/mental issue that has started to happen.
Any thoughts or guidance appreciated.
Here is a link to a video i made of Sarah hanging out in the yard:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cl8jnX0QmEE&t=1s