Moved older cat to new home

[noddingheadgirl]

Hi all,

I haven't been on this site in ages and I am in need of some advice. I have a 5 year old male cat named Ramses and we recently just moved (as of Jan 1st) into my boyfriend's place. Ramses didn't take the move very well, at first we left him in a bedroom with food/water/litter and finally picked up a feliway plug in to help him adjust. He's much much better than those first few days when he wouldn't come out of his hiding spot ever. He is now free to roam the house when we are and are not here. Thankfully he's stayed off counters, for the most part and if he jumps on them when we are out/sleeping, he doesn't knock anything off!! But I'm concerned on how he is when other people show up---he runs and hides behind the couch! I can sometimes coach him out but he isn't as friendly as when I'm just here---he is getting better with my boyfriend, letting him pet him and not running away when he shows up cause that was his first reaction. 

Another thing is at night, he will either meow like crazy as we try to sleep---I think he's kinda getting over that because I don't give him any attention when he does that. Positive or negative because I read that will keep him meowing. Also, he has a lot of toys to play with, and I find he runs up and down the hall chasing them which would be okay if it wasn't hearing his back claws as he runs. I asked this in another forum, but should they be clipped too??

I know I'm asking a lot of questions, and when he was living with me---it was basically him and me. He never really roamed in the house cause my mom was allergic. I just want him to be comfortable enough that he won't run when new people walk in the house. I know they are minor problems, and he could be a lot worse off, but I want him happy. 

Thank you!!

-Nicole

 

[mani]

As far as being shy is concerned, my cats are pretty shy, and I make a habit of asking cat loving friends to go over and stroke them, play with them, give them treats etc.  If you have a pretty quiet house, some cats will adapt to that and get edgy when new things occur.

So if it were me I'd be making sure there is some interaction, but gently, gently

 

[catwhisperer1]

If you hear his back claws when  he runs, then you simply need to clip his claws, they're too long.  I find that back claws do need to be clipped on indoor cats although usually not as frequently as the front claws need clipped.

Most adult cats take a few weeks minimum to adjust to a new place after a move.  I usually advise people to allow an adult cat at least two months to adjust to a new situation.

The vast majority of cats will hide when there are unfamiliar people around. This is normal cat behavior.  When I used to have a big cattery and also used to do pet therapy in nursing homes, out of 45 cats I had only 6 that could easily go to a strange situation, remain calm, and be friendly with strange people, all requirements that are necessary for an animal being used in a pet therapy visitation program.  And I only had these 6 that were this way even though quite a few of my other cats had been to cat shows in other cities and were used to traveling, staying in hotels, and all the noise and commotion and judges handling etc, that a cat is subjected to in a cat show!

It takes time for a cat to warm up to and accept a new person in his life.  This too, is typical normal cat behavior.

To help your cat and your boyfriend develop a positive relationship, have your boyfriend be the one to feed the cat.  He also can play with the cat with interactive cat toys.  Your boyfriend doing these things will associate your boyfriend with positive things in your cat's mind.