Settling in slowly - but does NOT like kids!

**Ally Cat's Mommy** · 08-30-2003, 08:21 AM

STRANGE BEHAVIOUR:

We have now been in the new house for just over 1 week. On the first day Ally hid behind the dishwasher for hours, but by the evening, her curiosity had gotten the better if her, and she was sniffing around and exploring. Now her behaviour has taken a turn for the worse! She keeps going behind the Washing Machine, and will stay there for HOURS. If you call her she will come out, relax for a little while, and then dissapear again! At first I thought she may be sick, but when she is not hiding she acts normal, and she is eating and "doing her business" just like usual.

It's almost as if she is initmidated by the size of the house (around twice as big as our old place). Should I be concerned, or is this just a natural adjustnment, and she'll get over it on her own??? Sh doesn't seem unhappy, and her "hidey-hole" doesn't look uncomfortable, it just breaks my heart to look down the back of the machine and see her little face looking up at me!

DOES NOT LIKE KIDS:
We had a colleague of my hubby round to the house this weekend for the first time, with his wife and 3 kids. Ally's reaction to the youngest, Age 2, was so funny!!! She just STARED at this little "mini person" for ages, then went back to her hiding place! The same happened when she came out for a look at the 2 older kids - around 5 and 7 - she looked totally confused.

THEN I realised that she has NEVER in her life seen little kids like that before. My youngest just turned 12, and all their friends are the same ages. Ally just didn't have a clue WHAT to make of these little people in her house!

She eventually did come out and spent a couple of minutes with the little girl, who loved her to bits! Ally was very well behaved, allowing Alice to give her little skritchies for a couple of minutes, before going back into hiding!

She was less impressed with the two older ones, and hid away as soon as they came into the room!

**moosmom** · 08-30-2003, 08:43 AM

Cats are very strange creatures of habit and do NOT like change.

A big move such as yours has probably overwhelmed her, especially all the big space you have now. What I would suggest you do is keep her confined to a spare bedroom with her litterbox, food and water for about a week. This will help calm her down and make her feel a little more secure. Visit her and talk to her, giving her treats. That will reassure her. When you feel she's calmer and more content, let her out again to explore. If she still hides, put her back in the room and let her out periodically to explore some more. Eventually she'll start feeling comfortable and will know that you're there to stay.

As far as her reaction the kids is concerned, she was probably intimidated her the little one. Staring is a cats way of letting a person know they feel threatened. If you ever watch two strange cats together, they both stare at each other and then one will look away. A cat's body language is something to be aware of. Especially if the ears go flat or turn back. I'm glad Ally was well behaved. But 3 year olds can get a bit excited over seeing an animal and get a little "rough", not meaning to. I hope this didn't happen and that she was supervised while visiting with Ally.

I wouldn't worry too much about Ally, that is unless she stops eating, drinking and using the litterbox. Then I think it warrants a trip to the white coats. Just keep an eye on her. She'll come out of her shell once she knows that this is HER house and you're not going anywhere.

Glad the move went well and you're settled. Pictures please!!!

**Russian Blue** · 08-30-2003, 09:52 AM

Originally posted by Ally Cat's Mommy
STRANGE BEHAVIOUR:

It's almost as if she is initmidated by the size of the house (around twice as big as our old place). Should I be concerned, or is this just a natural adjustnment, and she'll get over it on her own??? Sh doesn't seem unhappy, and her "hidey-hole" doesn't look uncomfortable, it just breaks my heart to look down the back of the machine and see her little face looking up at me!

She probably is intimidated by the larger household! Remember, her senses are probably on overload right now trying to absorb all the new smells and noises. I have always read to keep a cat in one room with their food, litter, toys. Once they are comfortable in the room, keep the door open and let the cat explore on their own time. But if the cat gets scared or overwhelmed, they can return to the 'safe' room. I did this when I brought Nakita home and it worked fine.

DOES NOT LIKE KIDS:
We had a colleague of my hubby round to the house this weekend for the first time, with his wife and 3 kids. Ally's reaction to the youngest, Age 2, was so funny!!! She just STARED at this little "mini person" for ages, then went back to her hiding place! The same happened when she came out for a look at the 2 older kids - around 5 and 7 - she looked totally confused.

Nakita did the same thing a couple of months ago. My friend brought over her 3 year old daughter and 7 month old son. Nakita looked at them like they were aliens!!! She kept her distance the whole time, but eventually approached the 3 year old, but totally stayed away from the 7 month old. When they left, she lectured me for an hour, basically telling me that 'aliens' were not allowed in this household ever again!

It was too funny!

**Barbara** · 08-30-2003, 10:53 AM

I agree with the others. And I may add that in Ally's little head the visit of the children may have added up to the thought that they would stay in the new house -which would be even worse than just moving

I hope her curiosity will bring her back to normal soon.

**jazzcat** · 08-30-2003, 11:12 AM

Jazz had the same reaction the first time she saw a young child. She had been around older children a few times (11 yrs and up) and was okay with them. The first time she saw my husband's 5 year old nephew she almost had heart failure trying to get out of the room. When I finally coaxed her back she would let everyone pet her but the 5 year old.

Ripley has always disliked children too - he would go as far as growl and hiss at them.

As far as her reaction to the house I bet the larger size is probably the problem.