Hi all,
(This came out longer than I intended, sorry! tldr at bottom!!)
More and more I am thinking about moving my cat to be with me while I attend school 5 hours away from my home. It’s currently my second year away and before this spring break I wanted to wait until I could get my own one bedroom apartment to move my cat. Now after I re-signed my lease for my relatively cheap four bedroom apt, I’m realizing that goal is still a pretty long ways away. A lot is going on at my house back home and now I’m considering taking him with me at the end of this week.
A little bit of background on my cat: I got him as a kitten for my birthday when I was 7, and have basically grown up with him to now as I’m about to turn 20. He’s always been pretty ornery and skittish, and never really liked to be out in the open with my family, so they rarely interacted with him or gave him love except my brother at times. However he absolutely adores me and loves to hang around me every chance he can (I’m the only one who really gives him love/attention). Especially now that I’m away at school, I see he is much more affectionate and attached to my side when I visit home. He’s still very healthy and does not seem to be slowing down at all, but he does not go outside anymore like he used to probably for the reasons below.
This past school year has been pretty hectic for my family back home, as my mom got a new German Shepherd puppy that is out of control and constantly wants to tear up the house and bother the cats (my sister also has a cat that does NOT get along with mine). We have had dogs before but they have been extremely calm and well behaved, and my cat could walk freely around the house without them bothering him. Now I can tell he’s totally stressed and can’t walk out in the open without the dog harassing him, unless she is outside or in her cage. My dad has also never liked my cat, and raises his voice at him often and calls him stupid and mean things constantly (he would never hurt him but he thinks it’s funny to be generally irritated by him). This has been exacerbated recently though because my cat has been peeing/pooping in his room probably due to all the stress and limited access to his litter box, so he’s been pressuring me to move my cat with me. Although, he is being braver and sits out in the common areas on couch tops despite the dog.
As for my apartment, it’s a standard “student” four bedroom with generally laid back roommates. One has an old fat corgi who loves to hang out in my room and my roommate says doesn’t care about cats too much. My room is not very big but I have a giant window and big bed (not many places to sit high on) and my own bathroom. My roommates haven’t thrown a party yet but all except one don’t seem like they would be into the idea anyways.
So, figuring out what is the best option and what would be the least stressful option for everybody is what I really need help with! Do you think it would make my cat happy to live with me and get to be with me 24/7 in a rather small apartment, or should I leave him to what he’s used to and comfortable with already?
tldr: I love my cat dearly and know he misses me a lot when I’m at school; but I also know he likes how spacious my childhood home is and there’s a lot of places to hide and ledges to sit high on. He’s never moved before and has been through a lot of changes in the house. Doesn’t get much attention beyond food when I’m away at school, and dad is kind of mean to him. Has to deal with a new, crazy German Shepherd puppy that always wants to “play” and is always stressed as a result. He is always so happy when I come home. My apt is small and room even smaller, but he’d get to be with me all the time.
Thank you if you read all this and all help is appreciated!
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from Pets https://www.reddit.com/r/Pets/comments/b20yvc/considering_moving_my_cat_back_with_me_to_school/
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