My kitties need your help!!!

[Jilliebean0606]

Hi everyone. I need some advice! I moved into a new apartment this weekend and my cats are not adjusting well. Before I get into the specifics, let me give you a little background.

My cats are 2 years old and are brother and sister from the same litter. I've had them since they were 6 weeks. They are very friendly, very affectionate kitties. They are always cuddling with both me and each other.

So, last night I brought them to the new apartment when I got out of work at about 10 pm. We are partially moved in but there are still boxes and stuff every where. When we got here, I let them out of their cages, showed them their food and litter box and then let them explore. Salem looked around a bit but then hid behind a chair for about an hour. After awhile he came out, looked around and did some more exploring. He slept on the bed with us for the most part last night.

When I initially let Baby out of her cage, I also showed her the food and litter box, and she immediately darted into the kitchen and up on top of the cabinets. She literally stayed there for hours. Sometimes when we would go in the kitchen she would purr and meow and let us reach up and pet her. Other times she would look right at us and hiss. I have never seen her hiss before. I didn't even think she knew how. She came down eventually around bed time.

So this morning we figured they would begin adjusting. But that has not been the case. They are still walking around nervously, hiding and acting scared. Also, Baby is still constantly hissing- at us, at Salem, even at objects in the room. She won't even let Salem go near her, which has never happened before. If he even comes within a foot of her she hisses at him. Sometimes he ignores her, sometimes he hisses back.

The worst part though is that both of them have not eaten or drank anything. We got here at 10 last night and it is now almost 7:30pm. They haven't used the litter box either. I've showed them both their food and litter box several times today. Usually they just look at it and walk away. Sometimes they hiss at me.

What should I do? Should I just let them do their thing? Should I keep showing them their food and water? Please help!! thanks!!

[Cleo]

Make sure they have plenty of familiar things from the old place around. Beds, blankets, furniture. They are just confused but as long as the scents are there, they'll adapt. Be sure the new place is safe and cat proofed. Leave plenty of fresh food and water out -- as I'm sure you are -- and keep things calm. They should come around.

[Tina B and crew]

Ditto what Cleo said...they will come around with patience and understanding. Make sure they have food and water available in a place that is out of the traffic pattern so there isn't a lot of noise or motion when they want to eat..same for the litter boxes. Good luck with them!!

[Jilliebean0606]

Yup, the food and litter box are out of a high traffic area. And they are in the same room. Now that is getting dark I put a night light in that room.

One more question, when Baby hisses at us or at Salem, should I say 'no', yell at her, ignore it? I know she's not trying to be mean, but still, its not a nice thing to do.

Thanks!!

[Tina B and crew]

I wouldn't scold her for hissing as she's just doing what comes naturally to her. If she hisses when you try to pet her just back away and speak to her softly assuring her that all is well. If she is only hissing and not starting anything physical with Salem I wouldn't worry too much. In time they should adjust and get use to their surrounds and each other again.

[gurl2005bby]

ditto lol.. but make sure you rub a clothes on them since you have moved... sometime when you moved there is smells left behind like a cats or dogs but mostly they didnt understand the smells

[Phoebe's human]

They don't know what's safe and what's not safe yet. You might want to make sure they're as far away from any doors as possible--especially doors that open onto the outside, like the front door of the apartment. They have no way of knowing what or who is going to come through those doors.

You'll probably notice that they prefer hiding places as far away from doors as they can get.

Many cats are very sensitive to any changes in their surroundings. My present cat spent many months under my bed when she first arrived (she was 8 years old). I worried about her eating and drinking, but I kept her food and water dish right near the bed, and far away from the front door, and whenever I got a glimpse of her, I noticed she wasn't losing weight.

She was sneaking out and eating and drinking when I wasn't looking. She hadn't lost an ounce.

[MJ]

Ah, moving with cats... Always a joy.

We moved recently, and my boys had spent most of their lives where we had been... They definitely freaked out. Peed in the cage on the way, yowled and whined... And when we finally got to the new apartment, they hid under the toilet in the bathroom and refused to even move for at least 12 hours.

After that they still barely moved or ate or relaxed for days... Poor babies.

Basically all I could think to do was to just talk to them sweetly and pet them a lot... And eventually they got over it. :P