Guilt To Move To A Smaller Place- How To Help My Little Kitty?

[Letta]

Hi,
I need your advice. My kitten and me (she is 8 month old) just came back to NYC after a few months in France where I had to go for professional reasons. She adapted very nicely and her confidence level is as we had never left. But I feel guilty. In NYC I live in a 1 bedroom apartment at the 4th floor, while in France I was staying at my parents home a big house with a lot of beautiful nature around. I thought that that would be the perfect time to train her to go on the leash and that I could bring her outside once back and that it would help with the frustration to be in a smaller place once again. And I did train her and she loved going out. However she also got scared sometimes at random noises and would try to run inside as fast as possible, and she would pull on the harness with all her strengh and she would really be stressed to not have the freedom to run as she would like to. And that was fine at home because we are never far away, but I do not feel confident to do take her out in NYC, I am afraid of the stress it would bring to her and the difficulty I would have to bring her back nicely inside (even with a towel and carrying a carrier I am afraid of by mistake letting her go). Hence I feel guilty because her world just got way smaller. She has been playing; but still sleeping more than usual and I am afraid that she might be depressed. I ordered a bird feeder to try to give her interesting things to see and want to add new cat shelves (currently negociating with my bf, I would also love to add an aquarium but he does not want to).
If you have any suggestion please let me know. I want the best for her. And I am feeling so guilty.

 

[Kieka]

Cat shelves and trees would go a long way to increase her space. Making her world vertical not only gives her a whole new area that is her dedicated territory but it also can really help with her sense of security.

As much as she enjoyed outdoor trips you are right that if noises startled her before NYC might not be the best place to continue strolling. Although, you could look at a doggie stroller type thing (check for escape access) and the leash (just in case). Having boundaries on her space might help her feel secure even when there are sounds. If you put the leash on her too then if you find a quieter spot in a park or a calm neighborhood with some trees or bushes you could let her out for a little more exploration at that point (I've only seen NYC on TV so not sure how that may play out, lol).

As to the fish tank. I have one and my cat (only one of the three) absolutely adores it; however the upkeep on a live tank can be a bit much. If we didn't have the tank before the cat I wouldn't have gotten it for her.

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• Kieka
• Mar 27, 2017

So I completely understand your boyfriends hesitation. Have you considered getting maybe some mechanical fish? You can set one up in a little 5 gallon tank so no food or mess other than an occasional water change. Or just get a big bowl of water and put it on a towel for a day or two then put it away for a week. Something like this
cheap, no food, no long term care, just fun for your cat.

 

[Margret]

Go to YouTube and search on "videos for cats to watch." You'll find quite a few, most of which are an hour or more long. There are browser add-ons that will let you easily download YouTube videos, after which you can rip your very own DVD (make sure you get the highest resolution video available so it will look good on the television). Stick that in your DVD player and your cat can watch squirrels and birds and fish to her heart's content.

Margret

 

[Kieka]

Go to YouTube and search on "videos for cats to watch." You'll find quite a few, most of which are an hour or more long. There are browser add-ons that will let you easily download YouTube videos, after which you can rip your very own DVD (make sure you get the highest resolution video available so it will look good on the television). Stick that in your DVD player and your cat can watch squirrels and birds and fish to her heart's content.

Margret

My cat ignores the nature shows and loves the vibrant colored action scenes on movies like Kong: Skull Island and the newest Ghostbusters. She will completely zone out for 5-10 minutes and ignore everything else.

 

[Margret]

Floppy used to try to get into the television whenever little girls appeared. (Her former human was a little girl, until the girl's mother decided to move in with her new boyfriend who didn't like cats and deserted Floppy. A neighbor intervened.)

Margret