- Joined
- Mar 25, 2018
- Messages
- 5
- Purraise
- 3
Context :
I hope I'm in the right place to talk about this. Me and my boyfriend adopted a new cat over a week ago from a couple living in an apartment who couldn't keep him anymore due to one of them having an allergy and moving. He's two years old, sterilized, vaccinated and overall in very good health. The previous owners had one other male cat, so he was used to playing with another cat before we adopted him. When I contacted the previous owners, I stressed that he had to be an indoor cat, as I live in a rented town house with no garden. The owner confirmed this.
My past experiences with cats :
Before I moved in with my boyfriend, I lived with my parents in a country house. A perfect hunting ground for cats, but a lot of people liked to treat the road going through our village as a Formula 1 racing track. We had about five cats at different times in that house, so I'm no stranger to living with them. However this is the first time I've got my own. I don't want children, ever. So I feel like a mother to my new cat, and I'm a lot more emotionally attached than my parents are to cats. Every cat we ever owned ended up being hit by a car, disappearing or contracting an illness. As we all now, outdoor cats live barely half the life of an indoor one. That's why even if I did have a garden, I'd never let my new cat outside alone.
The problem :
He's adorable, well-behaved and affectionate.
At least he was.
It took him about a week to fully adjust. He was very jumpy, very timid and scared of brusque movements. Yet even though he stayed in his favourite hiding place under the bed, he'd purr and roll around when you reached under to stroke him. Little by little, he began to gain confidence in walking around the household. Lots of cuddles ensued.
Yesterday we went to the swimming pool with some friends. We were gone for a few hours, and then came back to have a meal at our place. One of our friends has a cat, but he riled up ours too much by playing with him (wiggling his fingers around and reaching back before he got scratched). Everyone wanted to get his attention and I don't think he liked it. I also don't think he appreciated being left alone for so long.
That night he slept by my feet, which he doesn't usually do. I woke up to seeing his chin resting on my foot, but he seemed... Depressed?
That morning I cleaned his litter box, and that's when things got weird. He started running around and meowing.
His previous owner told us that he's a very verbal cat, so it's really hard to tell if he's meowing for the sake of conversation, or if there's something wrong. His meows have gone from light and happy (sort of like a "prrring?" sound) to an almost sad/annoyed "mreeeooowwww..."
What I don't understand :
His litterbox is always clean. He drinks and eats plenty (dried food with some paté from time to time), his waste shows no signs of ill-health. He gets enough rest, so I doubt he's sleep-deprived. His litterbox is in the quietest, calmest room in the house and far away from his food. I haven't been playing with him a lot, so that's what I did today. I've also ordered a catnip ball and a laser pointer to help him burn off energy.
I want to buy a harness and give him walks, but he seems to be a timid and jumpy cat by nature and I'd be devastated if he slipped out of one in a panic and injured himself. I don't want to traumatise him.
His current behaviour :
When he sees me, he gives me that sad/annoyed meow. He follows me a lot and does the same meow every time I say something to him. Sometimes he rolls onto his back in front of me, but he's completely stopped rubbing his face against my hand when I present it to him, and instead just seems unfazed. He doesn't seem to enjoy being stroked either.
What's going on? I know cats can go through phases, but what's got me worried is his meow. It doesn't sound happy at all. Yet he doesn't seem in pain and acts normal otherwise. Our house is clean, and big enough for him to run around and play. He also doesn't scratch at windows or doors like he wants to get out.
I'm very worried. I miss him being affectionate!
I hope I'm in the right place to talk about this. Me and my boyfriend adopted a new cat over a week ago from a couple living in an apartment who couldn't keep him anymore due to one of them having an allergy and moving. He's two years old, sterilized, vaccinated and overall in very good health. The previous owners had one other male cat, so he was used to playing with another cat before we adopted him. When I contacted the previous owners, I stressed that he had to be an indoor cat, as I live in a rented town house with no garden. The owner confirmed this.
My past experiences with cats :
Before I moved in with my boyfriend, I lived with my parents in a country house. A perfect hunting ground for cats, but a lot of people liked to treat the road going through our village as a Formula 1 racing track. We had about five cats at different times in that house, so I'm no stranger to living with them. However this is the first time I've got my own. I don't want children, ever. So I feel like a mother to my new cat, and I'm a lot more emotionally attached than my parents are to cats. Every cat we ever owned ended up being hit by a car, disappearing or contracting an illness. As we all now, outdoor cats live barely half the life of an indoor one. That's why even if I did have a garden, I'd never let my new cat outside alone.
The problem :
He's adorable, well-behaved and affectionate.
At least he was.
It took him about a week to fully adjust. He was very jumpy, very timid and scared of brusque movements. Yet even though he stayed in his favourite hiding place under the bed, he'd purr and roll around when you reached under to stroke him. Little by little, he began to gain confidence in walking around the household. Lots of cuddles ensued.
Yesterday we went to the swimming pool with some friends. We were gone for a few hours, and then came back to have a meal at our place. One of our friends has a cat, but he riled up ours too much by playing with him (wiggling his fingers around and reaching back before he got scratched). Everyone wanted to get his attention and I don't think he liked it. I also don't think he appreciated being left alone for so long.
That night he slept by my feet, which he doesn't usually do. I woke up to seeing his chin resting on my foot, but he seemed... Depressed?
That morning I cleaned his litter box, and that's when things got weird. He started running around and meowing.
His previous owner told us that he's a very verbal cat, so it's really hard to tell if he's meowing for the sake of conversation, or if there's something wrong. His meows have gone from light and happy (sort of like a "prrring?" sound) to an almost sad/annoyed "mreeeooowwww..."
What I don't understand :
His litterbox is always clean. He drinks and eats plenty (dried food with some paté from time to time), his waste shows no signs of ill-health. He gets enough rest, so I doubt he's sleep-deprived. His litterbox is in the quietest, calmest room in the house and far away from his food. I haven't been playing with him a lot, so that's what I did today. I've also ordered a catnip ball and a laser pointer to help him burn off energy.
I want to buy a harness and give him walks, but he seems to be a timid and jumpy cat by nature and I'd be devastated if he slipped out of one in a panic and injured himself. I don't want to traumatise him.
His current behaviour :
When he sees me, he gives me that sad/annoyed meow. He follows me a lot and does the same meow every time I say something to him. Sometimes he rolls onto his back in front of me, but he's completely stopped rubbing his face against my hand when I present it to him, and instead just seems unfazed. He doesn't seem to enjoy being stroked either.
What's going on? I know cats can go through phases, but what's got me worried is his meow. It doesn't sound happy at all. Yet he doesn't seem in pain and acts normal otherwise. Our house is clean, and big enough for him to run around and play. He also doesn't scratch at windows or doors like he wants to get out.
I'm very worried. I miss him being affectionate!