Sad boy

Jasper is distressed and anxious and I only see glimpses of his usual happy relaxed state. Its been building since his recent fight. At night he mostly sleeps on a shelf in my wardrobe where he feels safe.

So off to the vet we went.

I'm assuming his anxiety and hyper vigilance is due to the recent arrival of 5 cats next door. I thought there were 2 new cats around but the new neighbour has 5. Jasper has an understanding with the 3 cats on the other side and has a social disposition but he's struggling with the influx.

At least 2 of the new cats are frequent visitors to his garden. But it could also be something else that ails him. His frequent lip licking and occasional upset tummy could be explained by stress or not.

We'll take a low key approach. I've stocked up on that feliway stuff. Plug it in and it emits a synthetic pheromone that chills cats. Fortunately I already have 2 dispensers, 1 for my room and 1 in the open plan area.

He's also on medication for 1 or 2 weeks to help reduce his anxiety. Hopefully he'll feel like playing with Shadow again, able to relax again, and back to sleeping on the bed.

The new cats are all loved and looked after. They'll have to sort it out. 5 is a lot and my boy needs a bit help to adjust. His neighbours on the other side are unhappy too but they're slightly further away.

Not content with simply another vet bill I also broke his cat carrier. On arrival at the vet I placed his carrier on a chair. He shifted inside and the carrier and Jasper fell to the floor. Bits of plastic snapped off and I ended up buying a new carrier too. Jasper was terrified but unhurt.

He does look sad inside his new carrier. But at least he's safe and we have a plan for the next couple of weeks.

Today's gratitude: For a good start to my working week. My brain handled complex cognitive processing well.