Seventeen year old cat

by Briony
(Victoria, Australia)

So, we have a seventeen year old cat who, in my opinion, has always been a bit strange. However, she's developed this new habit that we honestly cannot figure out. Every day, she goes outside and sits in the exact same spot in the backyard, and she meows and meows and meows. We have had to put a cover over our dog-door!

Even when it's raining, she just sits out there. We think she sounds a little bit confused, maybe? Or lost? When we go outside to her she looks up at us as if she's so relieved, and instantly walks to us. It's like she somehow gets lost outside and is so happy when we "find" her.

We would put it down to the general lunacy of a seventeen year old cat due to old age, but she goes to the EXACT same spot. We have no idea what is going on! About a month ago we got a big new gate put in to replace the old one, and it extended the backyard.

Where she chooses to sit was previously not accessible, as it was part of our driveway. With the old gate taken down and the new gate positioned a few meters forward, she can now sit in what was the driveway, and we thought she might have been a bit confused by that?

We've considered that it could be an attention seeking thing. Just because she's crazy doesn't mean she's not manipulative, haha. We suspect that she's learnt that sitting outside and calling for us makes us come right away. Although, that still doesn't account for the first time she did it.

Whatever it is, we're a bit worried about the seventeen year old cat. If anyone has any idea what is happening, that would be brilliant.