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charliebubs
12-07-2007, 10:51 AM
I need help please!!!!!!!!!!

For some reason Bernard just doesn't seem to have settled into this new house :cry: The three girls are fine, but he cries all the time. I don't just mean a little "meow" either it's a real heartbreaking, sorrowful wail :cry:

I don't know what to do. I'm totally exhausted as he cries through the night and I haven't had a good night's sleep since we moved :( and he's just not himself.

I thought at first that it was because we don't have a catflap yet, so he was missing going outside........but for the last 2 nights I have left the kitchen window open and have a chair on the inside and one of their wooden climbers on the outside, so he can come and go that way.........but it hasn't made any difference (apart from that the house is freezing!! lol)

He has gone off using the little tray too :( I know that he prefers to toilet in the garden, but he used to use the tray at the other house if it was raining or he couldn't go outside. He doesn't seem to want to do that now.

The first night he poo'd in the bath, the second night he wee'd in the bath, the third night I closed the bathroom door and he poo'd on the kitchen floor :roll: He's been okay the last couple of nights since he has been able to go outside tho.

I've got a Feliway plug in on the go and there is catnip all over the house (which he loves) but it doesn't seem to be helping.

He seems to have got much more needy now too. He's okay when I'm there and up and about and fussing him - but when I go to bed he cries and cries and cries. :cry: :cry:

I'm torn between picking him up and cuddling him every time he cries and ignoring him. I don't want to reinforce his behaviour of crying by rewarding him with a cuddle :?

please help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Elaine
12-07-2007, 11:17 AM
How about trying some Rescue remedy Charlie. That might help him relax a little while he adjusts to the move.
Poor Bernard xxx
And poor sleepy you, but you will insist on uprooting those dear kitties;) :lol:

dinahsmum
12-07-2007, 11:23 AM
Try the 'moving Bernard's unique smell' trick.
Get a clean soft cloth - hankie or similar - and rub it on Bernard's 'temples' - the areas from his eybrows to his ears. That's the place where cats have most of their scenting glands. Then take the cloth and transfer the smell all over the house at Bernard's nose level. All round the walls, pay particular attention to door frames etc, and furniture.
Hopefully this will make the place seem less alien to him.
I'm not sure if it would be good to put a little of the girls' scent too - just to make it more normal. Maybe yes, maybe no - you pick.

Good luck. I expect, as with most things, he'll settle.
If not, watch him closely - maybe moving has coincided with medical matters and he's actually not well?

charliebubs
12-07-2007, 11:25 AM
How about trying some Rescue remedy Charlie. That might help him relax a little while he adjusts to the move.
Poor Bernard xxx
And poor sleepy you, but you will insist on uprooting those dear kitties;) :lol:

I did think of that...............I just need to find it!!! It's in a box somewhere!!!

I know I'm an awful mummy uprooting them :( They don't seem to have realised yet that it's for the best - they have a bigger house and a lovely garden and their very own cat play room. ;) I need to learn how to speak "cat" so that I can explain all this to Bernard :roll:

charliebubs
12-07-2007, 11:27 AM
Good luck. I expect, as with most things, he'll settle.
If not, watch him closely - maybe moving has coincided with medical matters and he's actually not well?

Thanks DM - I'll try that tonight. I have seen the girls furiously rubbing their faces around the edges of boxes and stuff, so they have got the right idea :)

I hope it's not medical - but I'm keeping an extra eye on him just in case.

dinahsmum
12-07-2007, 11:30 AM
Maybe the whole house, being newly renovated, doesn't small much like a 'home' to Bernard?
I don't know your domestic habits normally but I would suggest being a bit of a house-slut for a little while :) - leave your worn clothes around on the floor/furniture, leave your bed nice and crumpled etc etc. At least this nasty new place will have the reassurance that it is well connected with his mum.

charliebubs
12-07-2007, 11:44 AM
That's probably spot on DM. It still smells "new" to me, so with their sense of smell it's probably awful for them :(

House-slut..................I can do that!!!! lol ;)

Thank you.

Moli
12-07-2007, 11:56 AM
Poor Bernard...everyone has given sound advice, maybe just take him a while to settle in Charlie, give him a cuddle from me!

Fran
12-07-2007, 12:01 PM
Oh Charlie, I'm sorry to hear that Bernard is not settling too well :( It is early days though and I'm sure he will come round given time. I'd try the suggestions above especailly the scent marking one, I think that's a great idea! Good luck and do let us know how you get on x

dinahsmum
12-07-2007, 12:11 PM
You could try cutting a peeled onion in half and putting one half, in a saucer, downstairs and the other upstairs. It's very good at absorbing paint-type smells. Throw it away after a day or two and let the onion smell fade naturally. Again, much more normal for a cat than 'new house' smell

charliebubs
12-07-2007, 12:19 PM
Where are you getting these ideas DM!?!?!?! A raw onion????? Won't I spend 2 days in tears then!?!?!? :cry:

That might make Bernard pack his bags totally!!

Seriously, thanks for the advice tho guys. I do hope that he settles soon. I need the sleep!!! :)

Jac
12-07-2007, 01:15 PM
Charlie I think you could do with some rescue remedy in your drink too:shock: . Good luck with the house slut thing:lol:

Mags
12-07-2007, 02:10 PM
Lots of good advice already given to you Charlie, hopefully it's just the newness and strangeness of the house that has disorientated him for a while....

dandysmom
12-07-2007, 04:38 PM
All of the suggestions make sense to me! I've only moved once in my life as an adult and had no problems with my Siamese...he was jumpy and nervous, but went around smelling the furniture, etc. which had the "old home"smell and his own scent, and soon settled down. Do let us know how he'\'s adjusting, poor boy! (((hugs)))

Donna
12-07-2007, 05:15 PM
I would leave an item of your worn clothing with him when you are not in the house so he can take comfort from it, as it smells of you. Place it where he might usually rest in the house like his bed or a favourite chair....

charliebubs
13-07-2007, 10:33 AM
Thanks for all the tips guys.

Last night was no better unfortunately - he cried incessently and then poo'd in the bath again :(

This morning when I was looking for the Rescue Remedy I found my bottle of Organic Valerian Liquid, which is meant to calm and relax cats. I held the pippette bit out to him and he had a really good sniff, then tried to rub it round his gums and then licked a drop off the end!! I'm going to give him a couple more drops before bed tonight and see if that helps him through the night.

He was also rubbing around one of the packing boxes this morning, so he's trying to put his scent on things.

http://secure.dorwest.com/prodinfo.asp?number=VAL

dinahsmum
13-07-2007, 11:06 AM
Hope Bernard won't take much longer to settle CB. Will you be at home quite a bit this weekend? That might help him.
How old is he?

charliebubs
13-07-2007, 11:08 AM
Hope Bernard won't take much longer to settle CB. Will you be at home quite a bit this weekend? That might help him.
How old is he?

Yes, I will be.................hopefully catching up on some sleep!! :roll: I hope that will help him.

He's about 7/8 years old we think. I only got him last August and he never made this much fuss when he first came to live with me in the old house :shock: I'm just not sure what's got into him - it's so out of character. :cry:

dinahsmum
13-07-2007, 11:15 AM
Do you think there may have been a tom in the house before? There's a smell there which is threatening to Bernard but our noses can't pick it up? Have you ever used a plug-in or gel air freshener in the old house? If so you could try to get the same one for this house? Or maybe just go round the place with a can of 'Oust', which i find the best of those things. Or open a Neutradol gel-pot?

I only asked his age because of the current thread on cat Alzheimers. He seems too young for that. I'd still keep the possibility of some sort of illness at the back of my mind though. (hope not)

Mags
13-07-2007, 11:28 AM
Sorry things were no better with Bernard last night Charlie........ I wonder if this link to "Advice on moving house with cats" is any help to you?

http://www.helpiammoving.com/moving_house/moving_cats.php

There is a lot of DM's helpful advice mentioned there too ;)

Fran
13-07-2007, 12:56 PM
Oh I was rather hoping you would have had better news for us today. It is still early days though. You don't think he is little under the weather at all? How's his appetite?

charliebubs
13-07-2007, 01:09 PM
Oh I was rather hoping you would have had better news for us today. It is still early days though. You don't think he is little under the weather at all? How's his appetite?

I'm not sure, Fran. He seems okay. He's eating and drinking fine and obviously I know that his poo is okay :roll: !!

In fact, he wolfed down the Applaws that he had for breakfast this morning.

I suppose it's early days - it has only been 6 days for them since we moved. :?

dinahsmum
13-07-2007, 01:19 PM
Does he eat dry food/treats?
You could look at getting him a treat ball - like the dogs have - stuff it with treats and let him bat it around and make the bits fall out to be eaten. Might occupy his mind a bit and help him settle?

I'm really running out of ideas here ...........

charliebubs
13-07-2007, 01:24 PM
Does he eat dry food/treats?
You could look at getting him a treat ball - like the dogs have - stuff it with treats and let him bat it around and make the bits fall out to be eaten. Might occupy his mind a bit and help him settle?

I'm really running out of ideas here ...........

That's a good idea DM!! He does eat Defurrem (sp) treats and catnip treats. I think I have a little Whiskers mouse-ball-thing that dispenses them as they play. I'll have a look for it tonight.

Thank you!! :D

dandysmom
13-07-2007, 04:39 PM
I hope some of these ideas help him settle; poor boy he does sound quite unhappy.

charliebubs
16-07-2007, 02:22 PM
Update:

Well, he wasn't good on Saturday, cried a lot and poo'd in the bath twice :shock:

But yesterday he seemed a little better :) He didn't wake me up last night crying and didn't poo in the bath last night either ;) In fact - I caught him using a litter tray that I put in my bedroom last night (which is kinda odd as he won't use the trays downstairs :? )

I couldn't find the treat ball, but I did buy some more treats and he's had those over the weekend as well as lots of love and cuddles from me.

Hopefully we've turned the corner.

But - Lily came into call this weekend and now she's crying the house down!!!! lol ;)

Fran
16-07-2007, 02:24 PM
Oh I'm glad that he is getting a little better. I hope it continues and that he settles in fully soon x


I take it you won't be moving again in a hurry??!! ;)

charliebubs
16-07-2007, 02:25 PM
I take it you won't be moving again in a hurry??!! ;)


Never, never, never :cat11 :cat11 :cat11

Mags
16-07-2007, 02:30 PM
I glad Bernard has improved a slightly, Charlie .............. just a little improvement each day is better than nothing at all....;)

dinahsmum
16-07-2007, 02:56 PM
Hopefully that's just the start and he will really settle very soon.

dandysmom
16-07-2007, 04:06 PM
Slowly but surely.... poor guy, it's been a rough transition for him....