4

My wife and I live in a small flat along with our neutered male British Shorthair. Over the last month, we both traveled quite a bit and were away from the flat for more than 15 days. During this time, a friend of ours took care of our cat, simply cleaning out the litter box and feeding him. After we returned, I tried to clean out his litter box and he suddenly hissed and growled at me and tried to attack me. I stopped and waited until he calmed down. After about 10 minutes, when I was sitting a bit away from him, he approached me and let me pet him as if nothing unusual had happened. I am now afraid of touching his litter box and have absolutely no idea what caused him to get angry.

Any ideas what I can do?

Improve this question

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
3

I've been trying to think about this from the cat's point of view. Litter box has territorial and dominance implications. If the cat wasn't sure who you were, due to combination of your absence and a scent change, it is possible that this was a "who are you, what have you done with my human, and are you about to kick me out of the house" reaction.

If so this should correct itself in a few days as the cat concedes that you really are yourself and gets over its annoyance at your absence.

Improve this answer
2
  • Thanks! Your comment sounds logical. He really smells us a lot and longer than usual. I will confirm few days later if everything turns to normal (Unfortunately I can't upvote due to low reputation).
    – Lati
    Commented Jun 2, 2016 at 17:11
  • Everything is fine so far, I guess he realized his humans are back and love him again :)
    – Lati
    Commented Jun 6, 2016 at 7:06
2

Maybe your friend did something and scared the cat during the days that he was feeding it (he might have dropped the litter box or hit some furniture by mistake, or poured water on the cat by mistake). I would suggest that you keep cleaning the litter box normally and it will get used to it.

Improve this answer
1
  • I have asked my friend already if she has seen strange behaviour of my cat but everything was normal according to her. Or maybe she didn't stay long enough at the flat to realize if anything was wrong.
    – Lati
    Commented Jun 2, 2016 at 17:07

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.