My ginger and white moggie didnt have the best of starts in life, he was bred by someone who obviously loved animals, just didnt have a clue.  She bred rotts as well as cats and I think labradors, he was wormed with petshop wormer and fed adult tins of felix :rolleyes:.  Anyway, he was my birthday present a year ago and is now about 18 months old.  He is very nervous of strangers and only really likes me, if anyone comes to the house or if the dogs bark and he thinks someone might be coming in he runs and hides.  He absolutely adores the dogs and spends alot of time curled up with them, he also gets on with any dogs that I look after.  I do worry about him though, he has free range and can come and go as he pleases but tends to want to stay in, when he is in all he does is sleep in the warmest spot he can find (at the moment he is on top of the snakes vivarium :rolleyes: ) I know all cats are different but he is only young and my other cat who is a couple of years older spends all day out hunting !  A few months ago he was very poorly and I had to rush him to the vets, he had a virus, and thankfully is ok now but it was touch and go :(  the vet mentioned that because he always has a dirty nose and runny eyes that he is an upper respiratory carrier ( ) does anyone know what this means and whether it will have any implications on his health ?

I do worry about the little fella, he always looks at me as if he feels really down in the dumps :(

Some cats can spend as much as 23 hours a day sleeping My cousin's two ex feral kittens don't like going outside & spend all their days sleeping & then have a mad half hour or so plaing with him & their toys ! They're about 4 or five years of age & obviously know that he is a soft touch ! LOL he spent more on them at Xmas than he did on his brothers & why not they are his best friends & constant companions

Nobdoy responsible would EVER breed moggies deliberately so yes this clearly wasn't anybody responsible. It's the same with cats as with dogs; by going to a good pedigree breeder you will know more of what temperament will be like etc, and parents are health tested.

Upper respiratory= cat flu, the cat is a carrier of cat flu and/or permanently affected. This is actually VERY common (being a carrier) and not something I would worry too much about, it's hard to find many cats that are not affected although longer faced breeds seems to be  coping better and rarely have actual symptoms. You may want to ask the vet about a long term course of antibiotics, at least 3 weeks, as it may well clear up then.

I wouldn't worry about him preferring to stay in -very sensible. :) And yes many cats sleep most of the time. It varies from individual to individual.

I agree on that one, my first two cats were a result of an accident (they are/were half tonkinese) but Rupert is just plain moggie (his mum is apparantly half exotic persian) and purposely bred :rolleyes:  I will stop worrying about him being in all the time then, I just worry that it really started when he was poorly a few months ago and he hasnt been very active since even though he has had a clean bill of health.

With Exotic in him he will also very likely be more laid back than your average mog. :)

Thats ok then, I do worry about the little fella, I just cant believe how timid he is with strangers, I suppose its nice in a way, my tonk x boy was very friendly with next door and would spend most of his time over there at least I know Rupes wont follow in his footsteps !

He sounds a bit like one of ours, Itty Bitty Kitty, who was a feral and came to us at age six months, or eight months or one year, depending on which Vet you go by.  Anyway, we have had her for eight years now and it is only this year that she will play out in full view in the middle of our living room.  She is very skittish, a real scaredy-cat, and it has taken her this long to feel comfortable out in the middle of that large room with big windows where I imagine she thinks she is vulnerable to some big bogie man swooping in and "getting" her.  It can take a long time for them to come around and I think the worst thing you can do is push it.  If your fella looks down what about a little extra play time with you?

usually of an evening I will bring out his toys and we will play fetch (he really thinks he is a dog) but he prefers to just get on my lap (and dig his claws in )  He is very confident with me, its just if anyone else comes to the house he either shoots past them out the door and doesnt come back for hours (he doesnt go far, he hides outside in the dog kennel :rolleyes: ) or if his way is barred then he runs under the kitchen units :(

Exactly like my Bitty.  Except, even from the beginning, Bitty will show herself to people who love her dog, Jet.  Like my mother.  My mother is the only other person in the whole world, that I know of, who has been allowed to pet her, besides me and the OH.  The ferals and the timid ones are often like that and there is not much you can do about it.  It is true, cats will decide who they will be friendly with.  My girlfriend who cat-sits sometimes and loves all cats has never seen much more of Bitty than the end of her tail as she streaks for cover.  I think it is partly because when we are away and she cat-sits the dog is away too.