Psy-cat-ic

Nope, here will do just fine!
(Click to enlarge)

Well it would seem that whilst the title of 'psychotic' or rather a feline version of it maybe a little over doing it, very little has changed with Ditto since I blogged on her sudden fear of the great outdoors.

Last night we gathered her up in an attempt to take her outside, stay with her and see if a little exposure therapy would do the trick. PG carried her in his arms toward the front door and on first attempt was almost mortally wounded by claws as she beat a rapid retreat. Having let her settle down a little we tried again, this time as we neared the door she tensed noticeably and clung on, more akin to a baby monkey than a three year old cat. We did however get her to the bottom of the stairs, put her down........and watched her race back inside!

Another approach was needed so we left the door open to see if curiosity would get the better of her. After an hour she had made it cautiously to the doorstep, where she remained 'monitoring' the situation and her territory from a-far, until gone midnight when we went to bed...not a step further did she venture.

This evening on arriving home after work, instead of small cat racing past my legs in a bid escape as she usually would, she ran in the opposite direction and back under the bed. This cat needs some heavy duty exposure therapy, Lord knows what has frightened her to quite this extent!

The door is once again 'parked' open as I type, once again small cat has come to a dead halt at the threshold, determined to go no further and once again it seems this will be position for the rest of the evening.

I feel sad for her, she loved 'playing out' and though I'm sure she will eventually get over it, right now she is an extremely jumpy and slightly sad looking cat.