help with my move

Question
I just moved from a house to an apt.  My cat was an indoor/outdoor cat.  When she had to "go" she'd cry and I would let her outside, she never used a litter box.

My question is what can I do to help her to adjust to the new apt and the fact that she can no longer go outside?   She has used the litter box, but she cries as she stands by the sliding glass door, or tries to go out the front door with me.  only had her two nights in the apt with me and she has cried most of the time.

Lori

Answer
Hello Lori!

The best thing I can recommend is that you (a) spend lots of time encouraging your girl, and (b) buy lots of new toys and not only play with her, but be sure to buy lots of toys that she can play with alone.  Here are my toy recommendations:

- A few good kitty ball toys.  Maybe one that jingles, one that's made out of a cellophane-type of material (so it's crackly), and one that's more solid that rattles and maybe even has some catnip inside.

- I just recently bought this little tiny sock (smaller than would fit on my adult kitties' feet) that is just a thick sock-like material that contains catnip.  It cost less than a $1, and the kitties LOVE it!  I found it at Petco.

- I also found a wand-and-string type toy that has the ability to change the toy on the end, and bought a couple choices for my babes.  They have particularly loved the one that has two big, stiff feathers, and has a boa-type feather in the middle.  When we wave it around, it flitters quite like a bird, and that intrigues them to NO END!  They'll play until we have to stop because they're both panting!!

- Other good toys you can make yourself: balled up piece of aluminum foil about the size of store-bought cat ball toys, a now-empty toilet paper roll, a box big enough she can lay in, but is closed up enough that she can hide her ball in and try to get it.

- My cats also LOVE hiding their ball toys in shoes, so maybe if you have an old pair of shoes you don't mind her pouncing on?

- Also, some of those balls (like the cellophane ball), you can tie on the end of a string, and get her chasing it.

So, there you go...those are great toys that I have never had a problem with cats being interested in.  In fact, our boy, Hobbes, loves aluminum balls so much, he hisses at his sister to play with them!!  (Needless to say, she gets hurt enough by it that we don't include the aluminum ball in our personal list of toys, but it should be just fine for your girl.)

So, let me know what you think and/or how things go, ok?  If she still cries, don't worry too much...it's an adjustment period, and she'll be okay in the longrun.  She's not going to have any long-term effects from being indoors now.  In fact, it's good for her!

Hugs to you both!!  :o)

Rosie*