Cat seems really unhappy with new home

[BibiBlocksberg]

Through various circumstances cat & i have been forced to move four times this year.

Moves 1-3 went far better than anticipated, he settled quickly & seemed to find his routine again no problem.

Move no 4 happened 3 weeks ago and though he has settled indoors, he is no longer happy to go out. Spends all day asleep on his cat tree or the bed.

Can't make head or tail of it, have had him 20 months now and he was always a very 'busy' cat who would insist on going out for hours on end even in the middle of winter.

He even stays in all day while i go to work now (no chance he'd choose to be cooped up like that before) no catflap & no chance of fitting one so it's either in or out when i leave.

He is eating & drinking, using litter tray as before & vet has ruled out physical causes.

Still happy to play when i get the toys out & he will go out briefly in the evening if i go with him.

Suspect he's being bullied by a neighbouring cat but have not seen/heard any evidence of this other than his reluctance to go out.

Tbh he seemed happier at the last place which backed on to a really busy noisy road - it's quiet and peaceful with plenty of safe green space for him to explore which is a big reason i moved us here.

Hate to see him so timid and 'catatonic' - has anyone else had this? Is it just the time of year/him recovering from a busy year/settling in?

My cat - 2 yrs old, rescued off the street as a tiny stray kitten and always an "outdoor" sort of chap - has taken very much more to staying in over the last few weeks, particularly as the evenings have got colder, damper and darker. We do have a cat flap so he can come & go as he pleases but I would say for at least 18 out of 24 hours (and usually more) he is snoozing on the bed or armchair with an occasional potter around the house. So maybe it is the time of year plus needing to spend a bit of time settling in after the recent move.

Thanks very much timtam23 for the reassurance, driving myself mad with detective work here & then thinking 'oh stop it, you'll make the cat neurotic as well' :)

He came home without his collar a week ago - replaced that yesterday which weirdly seemed to settle him a bit again & he had a wander outside without me. Didn't think he was bothered by wearing one but think he likes the ritual around it now (being asked to have it put on before going out/taking off & praise when he comes back)

He wakes up around 5.30 am & hunts my toes til i wake up & indulge him in a play session, demands food as ever, just not used to him being so 'secluded' - i normally can't leave a room without him following chattering to me about my audacity to dare to move.

He was very neglected for 2.5 years of his life - he's 4 this week, maybe he is having late onset teenager symptoms :)

Inside is just more attractive to him in his current state of mind - maybe there are some mean other animals outside and with cold weather it's not such fun; maybe he's lost his confidence a little with so many moves; or maybe a bit of both.

I'd just keep on going with lots of TLC but a strict routine for him. He should be OK from the sound of it.

Does he sleep on/in your bed?

Ours is in more, I hardly see him in the summer but he's been in the last two nights and snoozed.

Ours have been in a lot more day and night in the last couple of weeks. I'm at home on maternity leave and have noticed a sudden difference.

May sound a bit weird, but are there loads of bushes/hiding places in the garden?
My old cat became quite nervy when I moved from a modern house with a tiny,lawned garden, to a property with a large, mature garden. I thought he'd love it, but he seemed scared of it.
My theory is he was wary of the potential for other cats to hide/ambush in the undergrowth.
He did grow to love it, although at this time of year, he would prefer his basket/the sofa to the great outdoors.

He sleeps wherever he likes/chooses cozie, usually that place is in bed clamped firmly to my foot/ankle but lately always on his cat tree in the living room.

Little furry git has just demanded to go out - typical, when i need to get to sleep :)

Interesting point bertsdinner, where we are now has communal gardens (each house/flat has a little diamond shape of grass plus lots of bushes large & small)

Thought it would be ideal for him to use the bushes as cover but he may see it as potential lurking space for other cats.

One of the neighbours made a beeline for me the day after i moved in to tell me there is a huge ginger cat in the neighbourhood who dragged another cat to the river at the bottom of the communal garden & drowned it.

Have seen nor heard any evidence of this creature myself (& i've been out with my boy at all hours) Freaked me out a bit though at the time til i decided it was a load of nonsense. What a thing to say to a new neighbour with a new cat in tow!

Thanks again for responses!

Sounds as if there's a lot of back story to that one.

Why not try keeping him in overnight from now on? It's generally safer for them and it's a good opportunity - New Place, New Rules - to start as you mean to go on. He shouldn't mind after an evening's grouching. (Especially in this weather.)

Yes i agree re the back story cozie, if my Jake is being bullied my money is on the angry little feisty tabby who won't come anywhere near me no matter how many nice noises & eye blinks i give it :)

My current boy is a lover not a fighter, previous one was the opposite, probably my karma for all the 'duffing up' of innocent cats Tigger indulged in :)

I do agree with the nightime staying in & we did have a fine routine going at the other places we lived, come 11pm i would lock up & announce 'time for bed' and cat would readily agree & settle down with me but then he had been out all day then.

Right now I tend to indulge his going out requests at stupid o'clock just to get him to go out at all as he chooses to stay in all day while i'm at work.

And that definitely wasn't me out with the torch at 3 this morning calling his lordshil home, oh no dear neighbours......