New apartment, howling in the night

I just moved into a new apartment with my fiancÃ[emoji]169[/emoji]. I had previously been living with my parents, their 2 cats, & 2 dogs (one is my own, but she stays with them). I only moved about 1/2 a mile down the road but she's never been out of the house except for maybe 3 or so vet appointments. The first day, she meowed very loudly, & constantly. She's a talkative cat but this was a different meow. She's cut down on meowing during the day & even looks relaxed & happy with us when we're awake, but as soon as the lights go out, it's a completely different story. During the night, she meowed constantly & for the past 3 nights, I have slept out in the living room with her so that my fiancÃ[emoji]169[/emoji] can get some sleep. Unfortunately, I have not slept much at all in the past 3 days as she continuously meows & only will quiet down briefly if I'm giving her attention. She gets restless & wants to just walk throughout the entire apartment howling. I try following her to see if she'll take me to what she wants, but she leads me on a wild goose chase. She even followed me into the shower, just staring at me & howling. I gave up, having to go to work this morning, so I took her back to my parents' house at about 4:30am. My mother said she acted completely normal, & sprawled herself out in different places, finally eating & drinking for the first time in a few days.

I'm completely distraught & really depressed over this. My Phoebe is very spoiled & she gets more attention than any cat could ever desire so I know that is not the problem. It is definitely stress she's feeling over the new place & perhaps not having the other animals around, but I thought she might not care since she doesn't really get along with anyone but my dog. I tried leaving her in one room, she has the cage I transported her in, her litter box (which she did use a couple times) & her food & water all in that room. She seems content momentarily with the window open to look out of. She doesn't want to stay in that room & would rather play follow the leader during the day & roam the apartment at night.

I can't stomach being without my baby & it broke my heart to take her back to my parents' but I needed to get some sleep & I wanted her to calm down... I plan to go pick her up after I get home tonight & see if she'll freak out again when I go to bed. I called the vet this morning & told them what was going on & they said they'd have someone call me back. I was hoping they could maybe prescribe something for her.

Any advice?

~ Phoebe's mommy, Erika

Give her a couple of days, and try again, after everything is put away in the new apartment.

There are also medications that might help her calm down enough to get used to the place. She may smell a previous occupant.

I think she's either aware of other cats outside somehow, or else missing her old friends. When cats miss other ones, they get noisy nonstop, and when they see them again (or at least another cat) they stop the noise on a dime.

several street cats i have adopted out did this same thing when they went to their new homes, especially the ones from the same litter. i think she may be missing her friends at the old house. It's hard but she will get over this in time. you might bring over something with the dog's scent on it (bed or blanket or something), this might make her feel more comfortable. that's what's good about having mroe than one pet: they keep each other entertained while you're asleep!