We recently moved countries about a month ago, and our new place is a bit smaller than our old one. Our cat was an absolute champion during the move, we took him on an overnight ferry and a train and he was super brave and didn't make a peep, didn't toilet in his cage, nothing! In general, he's an outgoing cat - he never hides and he's very curious, so when he got to the new apartment he spent a lot of time exploring every single corner, and he seemed content. We brought all his toys and blankets for familiarity. Unfortunately, this last week, he has suddenly started acting out.
When we first got him, he was quite aggressive - it was weird, he was very social and clingy, wanting cuddles and face rubs, but then if you patted him a second too long, he would bite and bite hard. Over time, we have gotten used to his cues and he in turn has become very good about only giving little nibbles when he's dissatisfied, not aggressive chomps. Now, though, he has started dashing up to us when we're on the couch, leaping up and swiping at our faces. I work from home (which I did at the last apartment and he never, ever did this) and he keeps jumping on my desk, standing on my keyboard and swiping at my face. If I try and remove him, he tries to bite me (although I can dodge it fairly easily and still put him down on the floor). He sometimes bites my feet after this. I've tried distracting him when I put him down with his toys, playing with him with his fishing toy (feather on a stick), or spraying catnip on his little scratcher. This works for a few minutes, but then he comes right back until he gets tired and goes to sleep.
We have ordered him a large scratching tree with toys, beds, a hammock and plenty of room to scratch and it should be arriving this week. But what else can we do to keep him happy? He can't go outside - when we adopted him from the shelter we signed a contract saying he would be indoors only except on a leash, and where we live now there are laws about cats being outside unsupervised. We did try and walk him on a leash at our old place and he did enjoy being outside, but getting the harness on (and especially off) him was very difficult due to him getting aggressive, and after he ripped my husband's wrist open one day after a walk we stopped doing it altogether. Any advice is welcome, we want to make his life rich and happy!
Also of note is that we are renting this apartment, and I already asked if we could put shelves up (hoping to make some sort of cat run) and was told no, so that's a no-go.
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from Pets https://www.reddit.com/r/Pets/comments/ercf72/tips_on_helping_a_cat_settle_into_a_small/
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