Hi there,

My cat, tigger, was adopted by me 3 weeks ago, for the last week he got very stressed from a combination of the vets, returning to the shelter for an injection after coming home and the move from the shelter etc.

Tigger is/was a complete lap cat, however when he was anxious he was sat on the couch and got a real fright from the tv. It has taken him a week to come back into the room and up on the couch for some lap time, however the times he has done it over the last couple days he has ended up after about 5 minutes fixated on the tv, then leaving and watching from round the side of the tv. He also watches from the hall, where as he used to come in and onto my lap or couch all the time.

Any other area in the house and he is fine, and wants picked up or will jump on your lap.

Obviously i know it will take time for him to rebuild his trust in the lounge, however what can i do to encourage him to relax and realise the tv isnt bad.

I have feliway throughout the house after his anxiety episode, i have also sprayed the couch etc on a daily basis.


However what do you recomend, my ideas so far are -

Ignore him in other parts of the house so he realises that if he wants attention he must come in?

leave the tv on low as much as i can?

When should i be feeding him a treat so that it wont encourage the unwanted anxiety in the front room?


All ideas and experience welcome thankyou in advanvce.

Welcome to the mad house Tigger sounds purrrrrrfect & probably just needs a bit more time to get used to things, you could try playing with him in the lounge with a dangley toy or a cat nip toy. As long as the TV is'nt booming I'm sure he will get used to it although you may wish he had'nt if he starts sitting right in fornt of the screen batting things

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All my children have paws!

How old is Tigger, and where did you get him from?
A grown cat from a rewscue may have very different reasons for being scared than a kitten coming straight from its mother...

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Jiskefet & the mognificent Dutch bunch

My little angels at the rainbow bridge

Hey thanks for the replies, he's 3ish.

He's absolutely lovely, he was fine with the tv for the first week, then when he became anxious after his injection, he was watching an image on the couch and suddenly got a fright, its ever since then.

The only issues i have with him is how cautious of the tv he now is and he keeps trying to groom me with his teeth, not biting or nipping really, he'll just hold you in his mouth a little.

Apart from that on the odd occasion he will put his ears back and after he went to nip me the first time i learnt that as soon as he does that i distract him he will forget about trying to have a pop at me, which has only been the once

Usually only happens when petting him and you look at him in the eyes, maybe he feels threatened by this.

Might be, some cats dont like to be stared at, I read somewhere thats the reason they head towards people who dont like cats in a room full of people becasue they are the ones not looking at them. i sure he will settle in soon

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All my children have paws!