I have had Louie for 7.5 years (got him as a kitten) and he lived in the same home that whole time. He is definatley a 'routine' type of cat. He is indoor/outdoor and had many little friends in our neighborhood, and also I am sure he had a 'route' and routine he followed when outside. He had his fave places outside as well. He had his own patio chair he claimed as his, which he would sleep most of the day away. He was also king of the neighborhood and I swear he would show new cats 'the ropes', often bringing them to our backyard and playing with them. One day one of the cats came inside and he didn't like that at all - he loved playing with them outside, but didn't want them in on his territory with his people!
We moved from our smaller townhome to a larger house on June 27th. Before this, he had not ever been in a cat carrier or traveled at all (my mom's friend is a vet tech and would come do his shots for us right at the house), and he seemed pretty good on the trip over (only 25 mins away).
He spent the first day/night under my bed. He was pretty freaked. Gradually he explored the house. He rubbed on everything and got his scent on it all.
There was a cat living here previously.
He wanted outside, and our backyard is fairly enclosed, so we went out with him. We happen to have dogs on either side of us (not noisy at all, and very friendly), but Louie has not really been exposed to dogs. He is extremely frightened to go out the back door because of the dogs, and if he does go out, its just for 3 mins and he wants back in.
We showed him the front door, and he will go out there. He will go out for not too long, maybe half an hour, and want back in. This is a cat who LOVES being outside and loves to nap out there in good weather.
He has always loved to sleep on the bed in the masterbedroom during the day, or up high in a linen closet (in the old house). He will sleep on the bed now (same bed) and spends the better part of the day up there sleeping, but the problem we are having is evenings and nights.
He is bored. He won't stay outside, yet when he is in, he is pacing around. If we ignore him, he starts to pick the carpet to get our attention. If he wants to eat, he makes us walk him to his dish. If we leave the room, he leaves and follows and then picks the carpet until we walk him back to his dish. We have to literally stay there and watch him eat!
He paces by the back patio door- like he wants to go out, but when we open it, he won't.
At night, when we are asleep, if we shut the bedroom doors on him, he meows and claws at the carpet until we get up and let him in. Once in, he pounces on us and tries to wake us up to play. We are not getting any sleep!
The other night I couldn't take it and just put him outside. He was there in the morning and seemed fine.
It is just past midnight here now, and he was driving me insane tonight, and I have put him out. He is just sitting on a chair that is outside and staring in the window at me. I feel so guilty and so bad, but I don't know what to do with him.
He is not interested in toys (never really been a 'toy' cat), he has lost interest in his fave patio chair, and never even asks for treats anymore (which he did constantly at the old house).
What should I do? I have tossed the idea around of getting him a friend - either introducing a young kitten or an older cat that needs a home from the SPCA, but not sure how he would react to another cat invading his home. This might be TOO much change all at once? I thought maybe a friend would keep him busy and someone to play with?
Any ideas?
We moved from our smaller townhome to a larger house on June 27th. Before this, he had not ever been in a cat carrier or traveled at all (my mom's friend is a vet tech and would come do his shots for us right at the house), and he seemed pretty good on the trip over (only 25 mins away).
He spent the first day/night under my bed. He was pretty freaked. Gradually he explored the house. He rubbed on everything and got his scent on it all.
There was a cat living here previously.
He wanted outside, and our backyard is fairly enclosed, so we went out with him. We happen to have dogs on either side of us (not noisy at all, and very friendly), but Louie has not really been exposed to dogs. He is extremely frightened to go out the back door because of the dogs, and if he does go out, its just for 3 mins and he wants back in.
We showed him the front door, and he will go out there. He will go out for not too long, maybe half an hour, and want back in. This is a cat who LOVES being outside and loves to nap out there in good weather.
He has always loved to sleep on the bed in the masterbedroom during the day, or up high in a linen closet (in the old house). He will sleep on the bed now (same bed) and spends the better part of the day up there sleeping, but the problem we are having is evenings and nights.
He is bored. He won't stay outside, yet when he is in, he is pacing around. If we ignore him, he starts to pick the carpet to get our attention. If he wants to eat, he makes us walk him to his dish. If we leave the room, he leaves and follows and then picks the carpet until we walk him back to his dish. We have to literally stay there and watch him eat!
He paces by the back patio door- like he wants to go out, but when we open it, he won't.
At night, when we are asleep, if we shut the bedroom doors on him, he meows and claws at the carpet until we get up and let him in. Once in, he pounces on us and tries to wake us up to play. We are not getting any sleep!
The other night I couldn't take it and just put him outside. He was there in the morning and seemed fine.
It is just past midnight here now, and he was driving me insane tonight, and I have put him out. He is just sitting on a chair that is outside and staring in the window at me. I feel so guilty and so bad, but I don't know what to do with him.
He is not interested in toys (never really been a 'toy' cat), he has lost interest in his fave patio chair, and never even asks for treats anymore (which he did constantly at the old house).
What should I do? I have tossed the idea around of getting him a friend - either introducing a young kitten or an older cat that needs a home from the SPCA, but not sure how he would react to another cat invading his home. This might be TOO much change all at once? I thought maybe a friend would keep him busy and someone to play with?
Any ideas?
