I just moved across the country with my kitty in tow. He was really good on the whole trip, including the car rides and the airplane (which was really unexpected since he usually freaks out about that kind of thing) but now that we have been settled in he won’t stop screaming. We are waiting on the furniture so most of our rooms are completely empty and he will walk into one of the empty rooms and scream at the top of his little cat lungs until I walk in there. He will come into the room we are camped out in while we wait for our things and scream as loud as he can. He will go into the bathroom and scream. I can’t figure out what it is he wants and why he is making all of this noise! It doesn’t matter the time of day or the weather, lots of screaming. Doesn’t matter if I go pick him up and pet him and carry him into the other room he will still scream.
Does Joey just like the sound it makes when his cat voice echos in the empty rooms? Is he trying to express his anger at being moved away from his home? Is he just being an asshole? I know he can’t be deaf because he hears me put food in his bowl and call his name and such but so far that is the only thing I have been able to rule out. Help!
I had a friend with a cat who did a similar thing. Mostly it’s because the cat is unsettled because it’s a new environment, all the familiar things have gone and it’s very empty. Your cat is announcing his presence, wanting to reassure himself that the place is really ok, wanting to be reassured by you that it really is home and that everything’s going to work out fine in the end.
Be patient, your kitty will soon get used to the new place and once the furniture arrives and it looks more like home ought to look, you should see an improvement. One thing my friend found very useful was a tiny bit of Bach’s rescue remedy in the cat’s water bowl. It calmed the poor mite down no end.
Wow. And I thought only my cat was psycho like this. She does this ALL THE TIME.
However, a few differences:
-She doesn’t scream. At least, I wouldn’t call it screaming. Instead, she makes a distinct, two-note growl that she repeats incessantly. It goes: “Mrow! Mrrrrow!” (If a cat can roll its “R’s,” that’s exactly what the second “mrow” sounds like in comparison to a normal meow.)
-She only seems to do in late at night (when else?) and primarily in our hall bathroom.
-I don’t know if it’s due to unease with her surroundings, considering that she’s lived in this house for a good 16 years.
She never had this odd hobby until we gave her catnip. She would then proceed to act like this over the catnip mice she had. We took away the mice, but the late-night meowing continued.
I agree that he’s missing the material trappings of his (and your) surroundings. As soon as your furnature arrives and everything is arranged, and he can smell the scents he’s used to, he will probably stop. All he’s really saying is “when are you going to bring me back home?” Just give him lots of hugs and brushings, and some of his favorite treats and he’ll come to understand he is home
When I was a kid, we moved a lot (22 times before I moved out.) We had cats.
Every time we went to a new place, we’d smear a finger of butter on each paw on our cats. The theory is, they hate you so much for the butter they forget all about hating you for the move!
No, not really. Supposedly, the butter holds their scent, and they track it all around the place quickly. Finding their scent everywhere makes it seem familiar to them.
I think it worked at least to some degree. Give it a try; the least it can do is give you a few minutes amusement watching him shake his little feet every step.
Why do people sing in the shower? I’ve heard of several cats, well settled in their homes, who like to go into echoey bathrooms to hear the sound of their voice. I imagine that besides feeling temporarily displaced, your cat is curious about the odd acoustics. I agree that once your cat is thoroughly familiar with his new territory he will calm down.
Im glad to hear this will probably subside after we get our things! I feel really bad for him because I know this was a huge transition for him and though I give out pettings to no end it doesn’t seem to be enough. Hopefully once everything gets delivered we can go back to watching The Simpsons together on the couch and he will be happy about his new home.
wow. the butter lasted long enough for your cats to actually walk around? :eek:
i was under the impression “buttering the cat’s paws” worked because of the tummy principle – i.e., you applied the butter, the cat sat down and immediately began removing it via application of tongue, decided anyplace it got a tasty high-calorie snack couldn’t be all bad, and therefore settled down a bit.
or maybe your cats just weren’t fond of butter? (can’t say i’ve ever had that problem.)
