wierd cat behavior

Question
My 10 year old abby is an indoor cat. She recently got outside
and was gone for 3 hours. She now seems obsessed with the
great outdoors and pushed a window screen out and ended up
in a stare-down with a neighborhood outdoor cat..she was
shaken up but today she is crying LOUDLY and indicating that
she MUST go outside. Her brother is a lazy 20lb abby and is not
interested in her antics....She almost seems like a cat in
heat...but she is fixed. Is she starting down the dementia path?
She has been a pampered content cat for years...our household
has undergone major changes over the last year and a half due
to divorce...  Any ideas what might be going on with the
princess?

Cathy

Answer
Cathy,

This reminds me of the song:  "How Can You Keep Them Back on the Farm, Once They Have Seen Paris?"

The behavior is not weird at all.

Some cats when they go outside for the first time are petrified and never want to do it again.  On the other hand, some cats want to go out again and again and will whine (it seems incessently) to go outside.  The best thing for you and your cat is to ignore the pleas.  She may, sooner or later, stop the whining once she finds the pleas are being ignored.

Abyssinians are great escape artisits, so you must be very, very vigilant.

Some of her behavior is due to the divorce.  Abyssininas are very good at sensing tension in the household and can react in ways one might not have expected. I would keep an eye on her and, as long as she is not exhibiting any truly aggressive behavior towards anyone in the household, I would not worry about dementia.

A couple things you might do is to provide her extra treats and lots of affection, should she want it.  Just to keep peace, if you give the lady treats, you need to give her a brother a nibble (so he does not feel left out).

You are right to keep them indoors as the great outdoors have many dangers: Predators, Automobiles, and People!!!!!  The average lifespan of an outside cat is 3-5 years.  Abyssinians kept indoors are expected to go 12-15 years of age.

I think some of her behavior is more due to household changes than the jounts outside, although the adventures may have served as the catalyst to bring on the behaviors you are describing.

You need to be very patient and persistent with her and totally ignore any whining to get outside.  

Good luck and best regards... Norm.