Advice needed!

[iprettygirl54]

Aloha from Japan! I have adopted two 5-year-old cats. I have them in a room where I'm trying to get them used to their new home. I know it's only been 3 days but it seems that their yowling and scratching at night has become more and more with each night. I tried to stimulate play with their old toys but they seem uninterested or still not trusting of me. They do like to give and receive affection around meal times, but they are still scared of me when I enter their room. The yowling happens after I leave for bedtime and turn off the lights. I want to introduce them to my bedroom, since their previous owner says they used to sleep with them. But in order to do that I also have to introduce them to half of my downstairs which is probably overwhelming. Should I just wait and give them more time to adjust to their own room? I don't do anything to stop the night time behavior. Should I continue doing this? I feel bad for my neighbor if they're keeping him up.

 

[KatKnapper]

They want out of the room.  My cat hates closed doors and wants access to me constantly.  As long as he knows that I am available, he will go off and be to himself. Since I sleep better with my bedroom door closed, he would scratch at my door come early mornings, sometimes startling me.  I installed a cat door so he can come and go as he pleases.  He sleeps in my bed when I'm up at night when he wants quiet, then when I turn in, he gets up and retires to the living room.  In the early mornings, he may sit outside the cat door waiting, or enter through the cat door and lay beside my pillow until I awaken.

Sometimes I may need him to stay behind a closed door for a brief time, like when bringing in groceries or just having the outside door open a lot, as he is a "door dasher" and would love to return to his former outdoor life.  It is then that he gets frustrated, then yowls excessively and scratching at the floor.  Once I let him out of the room he is fine and settles down.  I would suggest letting them have free reign to the main areas of your home that you frequent, and they won't feel excluded.