Since Milo’s visit to the vet earlier this year, when he stopped eating and lost half his body weight, we have been closely monitoring him. He is an odd cat with no clue about normal cat behaviour, and I would go as far to say that he is as batty as a box of frogs. Nothing like any other cat we have met before.
Strangely independent from the start but incredibly affectionate, so we’re not complaining. His appetite fluctuates a lot. One day, he devours his food like it’s his last meal, but another day, he will walk away from his bowl after just a few mouthfuls.
His behaviour changes, too. Some days, we don’t see him; on others, he sleeps all day like an old gentleman.
Milo had his first birthday the other day, but we are no closer to knowing him. Something that doesn’t help us to spot any problems.
He hadn’t been with us long when he spotted a neighbourhood cat in our yard. He didn’t hesitate and charged at him, aggressively trying to evict who was probably just harmlessly animal passing by. A catfight ensued, leaving a lot of fur all over the yard. None of which was Milo’s. How a small kitten took on a fully grown cat surprised us all.
So, when we started having a visitor coming through the cat flap to eat Milo’s food, we expected trouble. But Milo seemed scared of this cat, staying well away and hiding.
I had visions of watching and waiting to catch this cat in the act, brandishing a water pistol, but he is sneaky, and we have yet to see him.
We like to leave a bowl of dry cat food down overnight in case Milo gets hungry, but if we stopped this for a while, would our visitor give up and stop coming?
Has anyone else encountered this problem?
Hmm, I was thinking an electronic cat flap too, so that it only opens for Milo. Good luck. 🙂
Wouldn’t that mean he would have to wear a collar? He would probably hang himself!
Hahahahahahaha … maybe not then. 😀
We have a dog to protect the cat so can’t offer any suggestions on that score but…have you tried giving Milo a teaspoon of /plain/ yoghurt every day?
Give Milo a pat from us. 🙂
He does enjoy yoghurt, as it happens, Meeks…
We had a raccoon use the cat door. She would come in and then wash the cat food in the bowl of water. Our cats never bothered her. We finally closed the cat door and the raccoon went away.
I would love to know the identity of our midnight visitor, I just hope its not a fox…
I’ll bet it is another cat.
I just wish we knew for sure, John…
I haven’t had a cat for ages. We didn’t seem to have big problems when we had a cat. We had coyotes in the backyard but the opening in the garage is not big enough for a coyote to come in.
Good luck on solving the problems.
Not leaving food down at night seems to be working, Miriam…
When we had cats, we fed them twice a day, with no food available between meals. Lack of appetite was never a problem, until the final declines. 🙁
Never had a cat flap, but I’ve heard about strange cats coming in and causing trouble. Here we have raccoons, so a flap wouldn’t be a good idea.
Thank God we don’t have them here in UK… I just hope our visitor isn’t a fox!
Yikes! We once had an opossum get inside the house and our cat ferreted him out. I’d consider sealing the flap at night for a while. Good luck!
No can do, Jan… Milo is a night prowler!
While the Mister and I are owned by a couple cats, we haven’t had this problem. When you find a solution, I hope you will post an update because I’d like to learn what to do if this should happen to us. 🙂 🤍😺
At the moment, I am removing the food at night, so hope that works…
Are you sure it’s a cat? If Milo is scared, it could be something else. Could a small fox get through your catflap? Or a rat, although I don’t suppose Milo would be afraid of a rat, as they are prey for cats. Maybe he’s had an unfortunate meeting with a hedgehog and as a result I’d afraid of them, so could it be a hedgehog?
I wish we had seen what it is, as it is worrying…
Our neighbor’s cat used to come through our cat door in our basement and eat the cat food. We finally got a cat door that locks and also can be programed to only let in microchips that are coded in its system.
That’s a really good idea!
Cheeky, though !
That might be the last resort, Alethea…