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Cole did enjoy all of the stacked boxes during the move.
Between Christmas and New Year’s my husband and I moved from our apartment into our first house. The move was only across town so we didn’t have far to go, but we knew that the distance wouldn’t make much difference to our pets. We especially anticipated Cole needing at least several days to adjust to our new home, as he’d loathed an afternoon trip to a friend’s house during a flea bombing.
However, this time Cole was feeling so off-balance that he wanted even more reassurance that he did during the flea bombing. He found a tiny corner in a closet in which to squeeze and he wouldn’t come out.
My parents came down to help us with the move, and my father made it one of his missions to bond with and help calm the cat. Dad spent a long time coaxing Cole out of his corner, and Cole was desperate for the attention. As we tried to help Cole adjust to the new space, we would make him go farther for our attention.
Rather than crawl next to him in the closet, we’d sit on the sofa in the room and make him come to us. For a day or so Cole would just cry pathetically from his hiding spot, craving the comfort we’d give but unwilling to brave the scary new surroundings for it.
My grand plan with this new house was to cut a cat hole in the laundry room door, so I could keep Cole’s food and litter there, beyond the reach of the ever-gluttonous dog. Cole’s refusal to leave the back room, however, put a temporary damper on my plans. I had to leave his food and litter in the room with him, and even then, he didn’t eat nearly as much as he usually did. Cole gets fed before bed, and most, if not all, of it is always gone by morning.
Not the case after the move; Cole nibbled at the same bowl of food for about three days. I began worrying at this point. He was only showing small signs of improvement; at night, bizarrely, he’d feel more comfortable to explore throughout the house, but during the day he wouldn’t leave the back room. Even exploring he was very jumpy and prone to run back to his safe haven at the smallest noise.
I’m writing this article because for a few days there I was very worried about Cole; namely, that he wasn’t eating. But gradually he returned to normal. I tried buying pheromone spray and applying it in many of the rooms in our house, but I’m not sure if that helped calm him sooner than he would have otherwise or not.
As for Chihiro, she didn’t require much adjustment. She accompanied us on trips to the house between settlement and our move, so she’d already become familiar with it before we actually moved in. During our first week here she did seem a bit more lethargic and less playful than usual, but she, like Cole, returned to normal within the week.
Moving causes a lot of stress for everyone involved, human and animal alike. But with the right level of preparation and compassion, pets will soon adjust to and love their new home.
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