Pet owners are always advised to take their companions to the vet if they notice any changes in behavior. Cats are especially good at hiding pain and illness, so if they’re acting odd, it should be taken seriously. That’s why Julie Paccamonti from Iowa didn’t ignore the changes in her cat Zeus when he suddenly became extremely clingy.
The normally independent black cat wouldn’t let Paccamonti out of his sight, or more than two feet away from him!
“He’d sit outside the bedroom door and just meow and meow and meow and meow,” her husband said in a story by KCCI.
So, she took him to the vet to see if anything was wrong. Although Zeus was determined to be healthy and normal, the doc thought that his “symptoms” may have more to do with his human…
Paccamonti said in the news story:
“So I took him in and doctor couldn’t find anything wrong with him, and the doctor kinda jokingly said, ‘Do you think you’re pregnant?’ And I was like, ‘No way.”
But as it turned out, Zeus was right! The cat-mom took a pregnancy test, which was positive. The vet thinks that the kitty may have been able to detect a change in his human’s hormones.
Over the next nine months, the soon-to-be (human) mom had a guard cat that may have been a little too overprotective.
“It was hard because, you know, you’re pregnant and you’re warm anyways, and you got this cat that is always trying to be on you every second of the day, following you around. I had a hard time sleeping because he would be up in my face all night,” she said in the story.
But as soon as their daughter Ivy was born, Zeus began acting like his old self.
“We got home from the hospital and instantly (the cat was) back to normal, didn’t want anything to do with me, doesn’t come to sit on my lap anymore, doesn’t sleep with me anymore,” she explained.
The doting kitty had over-groomed himself during his human’s pregnancy, perhaps due to anxiety, and his bald spots are growing back and healing. He’s on antibiotics for one particularly raw sore, and has to dawn the “cone of shame.” But now that he knows his family is safe and sound – and a little bit bigger – Zeus can finally relax!
Although he’s no longer as affectionate, Paccamonti is glad to have a little more personal space, and to see Zeus acting normal. What’s more, she now has proof that her cat has some pretty impressive intuition!
Congratulations to this family for welcoming their new addition and having a remarkable cat!
(h/t: KCCI)