my poor cat and I really REALLY need advice - please help!

[missthing]

We moved house and city Saturday before last. Our 15 month cat has travelled in the car before and has spent time at the IL house at Christmas which didn't seem to phase her at all, but both the journey and the move this time have been horrendous.

We've been keeping her indoors, offering the same food with constant access to the litter tray. Unfortunately she seems to have developed diarrhea and although knows where the litter tray is - as she uses it (one in three times) she has taken to going on the living room/hallway rug twice a day. I don't know if this is just stress or a tummy bug, and I'm sure it isn't helped by having had several different visitors in the past week..

I just don't know what to do - I'm 35 weeks preg and the idea of my normally happy cat being distressed, our new baby house smelling and cleaning up any more poo makes me want to cry, especially as my husband is away until Sunday.

She seems pretty perky when she's not pooing - interested, bright eyed, active. We're hoping for a home birth and I'm really worried that her toilet habits will affect whether I can have one - or that the further disruption of a birth and baby in the house will tip her over the edge.

Can anyone help? - I woke up at 6am and have just spent the last half hour in near tears scrubbing the stinky rug (admits prob a bit hormonal).
Sorry for the long post - thankyou thankyou thankyou.

have you tried feliway diffuser? it sounds like Kitty is still stressed from the upset of moving. Is the house much bigger than th eother one? Is there any poosibilty of restircting her for a few days like you would a neww kitten?

OK first of all you're not alone. We have a cat who has had similar problems in the the past. Usually after something stressful like dental treatment or when we got a new cat. Moving home would definitely do it.

Its probably stress related and it will settle down, you need to minimise the impact it has on your home and your sanity!

1. Check your cats health. Is the diarrhoea bloody or mucusy in any way? if so this could be an infection or irritable bowel, so get her checked at the vet. Has she been wormed recently? parasites can cause diarrhoea. Hyperthyroidism is a small possibility but pretty unlikely. If she's well in herself, eating, drinking, perky etc, there's probably nothing physical wrong though.

1. Simplify everything. She needs reassurance right now, it all seems big, new and scary for her at the moment so try keeping her to one room with everything she needs in there, litter tray, food, water, bed etc for a few days - like you would for a new kitten. This way she can see the boundaries of her world and knows nothing new can come and get her.

1. Give her all the love and attention she asks for. Dont tell her off each time she misses the tray, but give her praise each time she gets there. Diarrhoea is an urgent thing and it may be she has found your rug is much quicker than the tray at the time. If she's normally a clean cat then she will be again, as soon as her stomach settles down.

1. Feed her little & often with bland food such as chicken mashed with baby rice that wont make her stomach worse (you can buy similar ready done at pet stores and vets). Feed her small amounts, 4 times a day, instead of big meals. This gives her stomach a rest.

1. Give it a day or two and she will start getting better. When she does you can start introducing her to the rest of the house again. Keep her well away from the room you intend to give birth in and you should have no problems with that at all.

1. I'm sure you are, but clean everything with gloves on and when your husband gets back, get him to take on the clean-ups. No sense in you putting yourself and baby at risk unnecessarily.

1. and last. Dont beat yourself up. It sucks I know - I turned up on my friend's doorstep in tears demanding she take him away cos it was so wearing endlessly cleaning up catshit. It did get better though. And now i'm 37 weeks pregnant and have the feeling that whatever the cat did, the baby will do twice as bad and twice as smelly (though held in by a nappy I hope!)

We will be laughing at how easy a cat is to manage in a few months time I expect, as we sleepwalk-nappychange-feed etc.

Thank you so much for the advice. I've shut her in the kitchen/bathroom area - it seems so counter intuitive, and looking at her little pleading face makes me feel like the worst mother in the world (just another feeling to get used to I imagine)especially as she's pretty tufty normally - a kind of running, jumping, climbing trees kind of girl, but I just cannot face this going on for any longer and am willing to try anything. Am off to pets at home later for some tummy friendly food. Have tried Feliway without much success, but will carry on trying...
ethelina - I know what you mean re: baby, each time I'm on my hands and knees I keep thinking 'it's all good practice, it's all good practice'.

Thanks again.x

Good luck xx