Stress chewing

[slvrwhispr]

Well... found out the cats DON'T bolt when the door is left open...



Husband and I move mattress. MIL comes out to assist. MIL does NOT close door. I do not notice. Cats notice. I come back... this is a good fifteen minutes later... I see a cat under the stairs. I go, huh, that looks an awful lot like Emmy. Then I look up. Door is open.



I scruffed her without incident, took her inside. Izzy was laying in a sunbeam on the top step.

Oh, did I have words with my MIL... that is EXACTLY what I feared happening and EXACTLY why I do not want to stay with her family. SHE DOES NOT GET IT!!!



So, now they're outside on sweaty duty and I am watching the cats, and I do not care that a woman twice my age is doing all the work. If she can't be responsible with my cats, then I have to be.

I'm livid. Can you tell?? And we haven't even hit the road yet... we were supposed to be done packing yesterday...

[Traci]

I can most. definately. relate.

[slvrwhispr]

So, we're on the road now. No further incidents. Izzy loves the carrier per normal. I'm in the back seat in a nest of blankets and pillows, so I let Izzy come snuggle. She was out for a while, then went back in on her own. LOL. I probably won't let Emmy out because she pitched such an unholy fit going in. But all doors will remain closed until all cats are secure, and they only get field trips when I'M in the back seat. MY cats, darn it...

[momPaws]

Have a safe uneventful trip!

[slvrwhispr]

Still on the road. Only stopped for gas and food. Making good time, minus the hour we spent on I-40 in Memphis stuck because the road flooded. That was fun... I got a good nap in, lol. We're past the worst of that ugly storm that dropped tornadoes now, but it got hairy for a while. Emmy DID NOT like the loud rain and was howling. I did my best to calm her but I know if I let her out, I'll never get her back in the carrier. Sigh. Feisty little thing...

Both girls have small amounts of food and water in the travel trays that clip to the door of the carrier, but Izzy is napping peacefully and Emmy is more interested in trying to figure out the door mechanics. Neither has used their puppy pads, but I expected as much. Just gotta go til lunchtime, then we'll be at my friend's house where they can have a nice big bathroom to relax in for a few hours. Izzy is being such a good girl, but Emmy needs a break badly. Poor thing.

[momPaws]

Hmmm never thought of puppy pads in situation like that..let me know if it works. Sounds like you guys are doing good
I just moved from PA to Houston via text with my ♥dau. (The moved not me) but we were in constant communication...even when their car broke down. But her hubby fixed it ok.

[slvrwhispr]

Puppy pads work great, momPaws. Though they mostly just nest in them... lol. But it's good to have in case they must go.

Anyway, we're home safe. Izzy, having lived here before, took right to everything so I'm not keeping her secluded. Call me crazy, but I think she's THRILLED to be back in the BIG house. She's been bouncing all over everything, exploring everywhere, nuzzling all the humans, and generally having a grand ol' time.

Emmy, on the other hand, is hiding in the "safe" room and appears to be terrified out of her mind. Poor thing... hopefully she'll hop into bed with us tonight and feel safer. She is NOT a fan of dogs, though. When we were bringing the cats inside my friend's house, the dog came up and sniffed the crate, and she wigged out. So I hurried her upstairs where the dog doesn't go, but she was still quite wigged out. Now she's smelling Tyler, and saw him when I had the door open... she bolted under some furniture in the bedroom and hasn't emerged that I've seen since. Hopefully she'll get over that pretty quick... but I'll keep her in the bedroom until she calms down.

It's odd to me that the cats' personalities have flipped so drastically. I'm keeping a hawk-eye on both of them right now to make sure there aren't any problems. But all seems well enough for now. Time for some very deep sleep... this trip was so incredibly draining, physically and emotionally...

[Traci]

So glad you arrived safe and sound!

Just give Emmy some time, love on her, keep her feeling secure in her 'haven' room, encourage her at least once or twice a day to come out of the room to explore little bits at a time. (don't force her to, though)

[slvrwhispr]

Ugh...

Okay, so Emmy slept under my pillow last night. It was very strange and not all that comfortable, but I didn't shoo her out 'cause if she was that in need of comfort, then... okay.

This morning, I woke up, snuggled with her for a bit, and she seemed more herself. I picked her up, talking to her soothingly, and just walked into view of the door. Did not go out, or even near, the door. She was fine... until she saw Tyler. She clawed the living daylights out of me (much blood drawn, torn shirt)... and was so scared she actually peed on me a little.

This is going to take a while.

Izzy, on the other hand, I caught her sleeping on Tyler's bed... LOL. She is one happy cat! She doesn't spook when you walk past her, she doesn't hide when someone walks in the room, she is cool as a cucumber. So the cat with stress issues suddenly doesn't have them, and the cat who was fearless is now wetting herself in fear when she sees the dog.

Alrighty then. Back to the drawing board.

[Traci]

Mistake # 1: Holding cat when going toward door of their haven.

Mistake # 2: Holding cat when knowingly and aware of dog on premises.