Purrs In Our Hearts - Cat Forum UK
Cat Health & Behaviour => Health & Behaviour General => Topic started by: mad_lilli on February 27, 2015, 01:34:49 AM
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My smallest baby is rarely sick (maybe 4 times in 3 years). Tonight, she sicked up a teeny hairball amongst some biscuits etc. Afterwards she ran away and hid. I've known this to happen if a cat has been smacked after being sick, but none of mine ever has whilst living with me. Then, she got really shouty, crying at me. She seems to have settled a bit now, but I'll be taking her to bed with me anyways. Could she have been scared I was going to hit her? I gave her some tuna and she ate that and now she's up beside me as normal. She's always a very sweet natured wee thing so this is totally out of character.
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Maybe she was just worried about being sick. Misa backs away from where he is trying to be sick, very strange.
I hope she has sedttled now and you need to show her you are not angry or anything.
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Lilli does the backwards thing too. Poor little mite has had tuna & cuddles and treats too. Hopefully she knows she's safe & loved.
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I'm sure it had nothing to do with you or what she thought you may do, mad_lili. As Gill says, some cats find the action of being sick quite unnerving, and a cat's instinct when it is vulnerable is to make itself less vulnerable - usually by hiding. The best way to approach this is to stay calm yourself, almost ignoring her reaction - if she senses anxiety in you over what happened, that will reinforce her feeling of fear, so if you stay calm and unruffled, she'll know that she can come to you once she's feeling braver, and you can administer cuddles and reassurance aplenty. :hug:
When we first brought Moray home, Moray would run and hide, peeping out at us from his concealed place after he used the litter tray. He always looked very nervous and skittish. However, we suspect that was because he had been yelled at and told off in his previous home, which hadnt got him and his sister off to the best of starts. He very quickly overcame that though, once we would praise him for using the tray and show him he'd been very clever as we admired his handiwork ( :innocent: the things we do.... :evillaugh:)
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It really was odd. But she's back to her usual sweetness this morning. It breaks my heart to think she has been yelled at or smacked in the past.
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My two hide when they are sick. Like Lillie they aren't sick often, so I don't think they know what's happening. They are quite nervous cats but have never been badly treated or shouted at. Some cats like people are just sensitive. I do try to talk to them calmly when they are being sick and as others say, stay calm. I remember when I was young it used to be grab the cat get them outside asap. Poor things couldn't have been happy. Fortunately I have all hard floors now so don't have the problem of them wrecking carpet.
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I agree, the physical action of vomiting is pretty traumatic and she would have associated the "product" with the trauma. That's why she hid. Please dont fret, as Sue says, she will pick up on your reaction so best to ignore the vomiting and clean up the muck before reassuring her that everything is normal. :hug: :hug:
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I do tend to cluck and coo when they upchuck. And stroke them where possible. Then I'm out with the kitchen roll & baby wipes to clear up. Bless her, Crystal's reaction was just bizarre. She's in her usual form now!!!
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Beware - after tuna and cuddles Crystal will now decide to puke every 2 hours :rofl: