I've got kitty issues

[Tonya]

Well, we moved last week. All seemed well at first. It didn't seem to phase the cats at all.

They were making it in the litter box the first day, so I opened the house up to them on the second day. Well, then someone started peeing on the dropcloth in the house (we're painting). At first, I was thinking it was Sarah until it happened when Sarah was outside. I suspect it is Ron because he is the one that tends to potty places when he's upset. So, now, I have them confined into just the master bedroom again. (The litter box is in the master bathroom.) So, it's to soon to tell, but that problem may be resolved.

My second problem is that now, they are fighting like crazy. These aren't just little tiffs. They are having very violent nasty fights. It seems like Ron is the instigater and that he's attacking Raven un-provoked.

And my last problem is that they're psycho in the middle of the night. They're doing things like running across our faces while we are sleeping, attacking my hair, yeowling, etc... I am assuming that they must feel most comfortable exploring the house at night when everyone is sleeping but this sucks! I am an insomniac as it is not to mention I am pregnant so I need my sleep.

I am shocked because Raven is normally the neurotic cat that freaks out over everything. Ron normally doesn't care as long as he has his food. Yet it seems like it's affected his behavior the most.

I think this is mainly a rant. Hopefully once they get used to the transistion, they'll mellow out. But I would love some advice on how to make this smoother!

[lizzielou742]

Aw, I'm sorry they're keeping you up at night! As for the one peeing on the floor, I know what everyone is going to say, take him to the vet and make sure he doesn't have a UTI. Other than that, hopefully once they get used to the new place they will all calm down. Cats are such creatures of habit, they're probably all freaked out by the move. I think keeping them confined in the bedroom is good for now. let them get used to that room completely, until all the painting is done, and see how they do. I don't know what to say about the fighting...hopefully someone will have better advice for that one than me. Keep us updated on how things go!

[catnapper]

Can you separate the two for a while - one in the masterbath, the other in the walk-in closet (if you have one! ) Maybe you need to go back to treating him just like you did when you brought him to you in the first place... sepaprate to get to know his new home, and then intoroduce Raven back ot him.

Thats the only thing I can think of. Good Luck! I'm sorry to hear this is happening. I know you were excited to see them adjust so weel that first day.

[Laura's Babies]

I have no advice for you, just want you to know I HOPE this works itself out. It will take some time for them to adjust to this new house.

I had read somewhere (a long time ago) that cats get more attached to a place than they do people.. Their world has been upset so give them time.

[kuhio98]

We never moved in the entire 17 years we had Kuhio, but we did paint and varnish from time-to-time. Kuhio hated it! She'd act crazy and mean and even bit a visitor and drew blood. Not her normal behavior at all. So, I'd suggest that you air out the house as much as possible (making sure the cats don't get out, of course) and try to keep the fumes at a minimum. Maybe the paint fumes have something to do with their behavior. Cat's have a much stronger sense of smell than we do.

[emily_the_spoiled]

I just finished painting the last bedroom in my new place and the paint drove most of my guys absolutely NUTS. I used a latex paint and had the A/C going which helped. But they just didn't do well with it. (Then I had one who "insisted" on helping to supervise the paint job ).

You may find that once the painting is finished and they spend a little time apart things will get better.

Good luck and remember it takes them time to get used to a new place (just like for humans).

[jazzcat]

We are in the middle of painting and having new floors installed so I can relate a little bit. My suggestion to you is Feliway. I just got a new order of it delivered by UPS yesterday. It should help calm everybody, it seems to help here. I use the plug-ins and the spray. When the new floors are installed next week I will have to really kick up the spray and pray that Ripley doesn't decided to spray anything since all the smells have changed.

Right now Petco.com has plug-in and refills on sale for a good price and Petfooddirect.com has the spray on sale cheaper. Petco has an online coupon. If you need it just PM me.

Good luck!

[catnapper]

It never occured to me that the paint might be the problem! When I paint, Allen makes himself scarce but Pouncer insists on being in the middle of the action. What surprises me most is Nicki wlaks in for two seconds and walks away with at least one paint spot on her fur and Pouncer is there all day and never gets one little sopt on him! Just like a foreman - bossy and never really getting into the work himself!

Tonya, did he react the last time you painted in your old home? I know you did your son's room befrore the move, so how did he take to it when you wer painting it?

[Tonya]

Ron never reacted to anything at the old home. In fact, when we were having work done on our old house, it was Raven that would get upset.

Right now, they are cuddled up together on the bed like nothing happened last night. They darn near killed eachother in the middle of the night! We kept breaking them up and they'd go back to fighting a minute later. We eventually put one in the bathroom and one in the closet.

I am 99.9% sure that the move is what is causing Ron's accidents. This house is much bigger then our old house, so I think he wanders away from the litter box and forgets where it is. If he has an accident while confined to the bedroom, I will take him to the vet to check for UTI.

[NoahsMommy]

I think that even though they didn't show it at first, a move is a really, really big thing for cats. They are so territorial and having their entire territory taken from them, they have to re-establish it in their new home. That's probably what all the peeing and fighting was about.

Do you have access to those Feliway plugins? (they sell them here in PetCo) That might calm things a bit for them.