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What have you done to acclimatize your cat into apartment living?
I have had cats as pets since I was 6. I have never housed a pet in an apartment before but I recently moved from a house & yard into a retirement community bachelor suite on 5th floor. Tommy was brought up going in and out of doors at will all day and evening but slept indoors too. Now he is confined and his system is suffering as a result.
We've been here for 3 months.He hasn't #2 in his litter box for 3 days, and hasn't used it for #1 only a couple times in those days. I've been giving him hairball treatment and making sure to feed him wet food to help his intestines move easier. I'm watching how much water he drinks and he is okay there.
But I have never taken him for an outdoor walk. I just bought a harness and leash and I'm trying to figure out how to put it on him. I have depression and cannot do new things easily but willing to try for his benefit.
I used to take him for walks along the apartment building's halls but he no longer wants to do that.
Any hints?
What does he have for toys? Does he have anything to climb on, in, around, jump up to? Does he have plenty of space to sit and look out the window? Do you play with him?
It's not easy for a cat to go from outdoor to indoor, and some of them never get over it. My cat Serenity was outdoors until she was rescued by someone I knew, before she came to be mine. I had her for 16+ years, and not once, in that 16 years, did she ever get over not being able to go outside. I did buy her a harness as well, and would let her out in to the backyard to walk around, (and I clipped an extended length leash to the harness to give her more room to explore), but that was after years of telling her that she could not go outside.
I have a cat that I saved from the Everglades that hates, hates, hates being inside. She escaped a few times when I first brought her in, because she was quick and sneaky. I lost her one time for 4 months in the Everglades, positive I would never see her again. Then 4 months later, there she was, walking around like she owned the joint. Got her back inside, and had to be 3000 times more careful than I already was.
Now where I live, I got her a collar and I allow her out. I don't care what some people on here think. Her entire attitude has changed since I've been doing that. She used to hide in the house, all day, every day. Literally hide. That's no life for her. Soon as I got a collar with a bell, steeled myself, and reminded myself that she survived the Everglades before I found her, survived it again for 4 months during, and that she was completely and totally unhappy inside, I opened the door. She is so much happier, so much more affectionate, she's there for dinner, she is willing to come in for the night, she is willing to stay in on rainy days, so I refuse to take that from her. Some cats adapt, some never do.
But I don't live in an apartment building, either. So for you, I would suggest that you could try to get him a companion to keep him busy, if that fits in your budget and lifestyle, but that's not a 100% remedy. Get him a tall cat tree if you don't already have one. Play with him as much as you can. Get something that he can sit on that looks out the window if you don't have wide enough window sills. And remember, some just never get over it.
I have been fortunate to have cats that want to be inside, so that I cannot help you with. However, when it comes to kitty constipation, try adding pumpkin or Miralax into the food. My kitty didn't poop for 2 days, for reasons I still don't know, so I added a very small amount of Miralax into his food. It works! Start little, add water into the wet food, and wait for it. Increase the powder slowly and in small amounts if you don't see any bowel movement in the first 12 hours. Don't use too much. If nothing is happening still, a vet may have to help you. Exercise your cat also helps.
If he hasn't peed in his box, where is the box placed? What type of litter are you using? Try using unscented, clumping litter with no cover on a big litterbox. Place it in a location that is quite and private but yet not hidden so your cat would feel he will get ambushed around the corner. Were the floors cleaned with enzyme cleaners?
Do you have things he can climb, like a tall cat tree? how about a window perch? Ours love to watch the bird and squirrel feeders we have outside (which might not be possible in an apartment, but at least he could watch outdoors).
Some cats like to watch tv, or those cat-oriented DVDs. Get some large boxes and rotate them out to keep things interesting.
Go ahead and try the harness walks. Or could you take him for walks in a pet stroller?
Do you have a balcony or patio? You could build him a "catio" or buy him one of big cat condo cage things. Let him be out there when the weather is nice.
You can even give him a planters box with cat nip and wheat grass growing in it. We are building a catio for our city cat..since he likes to climb the fence if he's just let out in the yard.
I live in a bachelor suite with a balcony on the fifth floor. It's winter, mild, yet not the growing season. He has a 6 ft cat "tree". Various types of toys he ignores. Catnip he does not go bonkers for. I made a toy with a string and a bobble on the end that he doesn't care about. I give him fur-ball salve that doesn't seem to have helped. He did not like the grass I grew from a kit.
More than keeping him occupied he now needs exercise to help move his system along normally. He was fine for 3 months and then poof I no longer see evidence he is using the litter box.
Have you tried wand toys like Da Bird (he might like that since it sort of replicates a bird in flight)? The Cat Catcher (wire with small mouse at the end) and Cat Dancer (wire with small pieces of cardboard at the end) are popular too. Ours also love long strips of fleece when dragged along the floor.
Simple things like wads of paper and aluminum foil, ping pong balls, paper bag, can work too.
I have been fortunate to have cats that want to be inside, so that I cannot help you with. However, when it comes to kitty constipation, try adding pumpkin or Miralax into the food. My kitty didn't poop for 2 days, for reasons I still don't know, so I added a very small amount of Miralax into his food. It works! Start little, add water into the wet food, and wait for it. Increase the powder slowly and in small amounts if you don't see any bowel movement in the first 12 hours. Don't use too much. If nothing is happening still, a vet may have to help you. Exercise your cat also helps.
If he hasn't peed in his box, where is the box placed? What type of litter are you using? Try using unscented, clumping litter with no cover on a big litterbox. Place it in a location that is quite and private but yet not hidden so your cat would feel he will get ambushed around the corner. Were the floors cleaned with enzyme cleaners?
thanks for the hint about miralax.
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