Hello!
I've had my cat since I was three years old and we grew up in my parents apartment. I am now 20 and he is 17 years old. I recently graduated and moved across the city into my own apartment, and at first I left the cat with my father. I didn't intend on taking him with me because I didn't know what kind of job I would have in the future and I would still visit once a week or every two weeks. My cat was primarily attached to me, would follow me around all the time, sleep on me and in my bed, be around me all the time. He had an okay relationship with my father but you could tell that I was his #1 person. When I moved out at first everything was fine and he didn't seem to miss me too much, but my dad did say that he seemed extremely happy to see me every time I was around and seemed kind of sad when I left, but it's not like he'd stop eating or anything like that.
So my dad and his girlfriend of one year (who at the moment is unemployed and therefore home all the time) were going to split up (their relationship is very unstable) and my father told me that I had to take the cat because if his girlfriend was gone, he wouldn't be able to take care of my cat. (Especially cause he's an older cat and is starting to have issues with his joints, needs more vet checkups). He's at work between 9-10+ hours a day. The day of the move my dad told me that he and his girlfriend weren't actually splitting up after all, but I decide to take the cat with me anyways because I'm unemployed right now and if they break up further down the line and I have to move my cat, it'll be harder for him to adjust if I'm not home as much during the adjustment period.
The move itself wasn't too bad - he hid under the bed for approximately an hour but I got him to come outside with some treats, and then an hour later he even went and explored the rest of the apartment willingly. It's been two days and he's using his new litter box, eats, has a new favorite spot on the couch already, sleeps in my bed, and overall seems pretty comfortable. You can tell he's still obviously not used to it (very alert at all times, etc), but considering his age and that he's lived in that other apartment his whole life, he seems to adjust very well.
How long does it take cats to adjust to a new environment in situations like this? I'm kind of anxious and don't want to leave him alone. I was gone for about an hour or two yesterday and he seemed to be totally fine when I came back, but I guess I'm just paranoid because I wanna do everything right and I don't want him to freak out because he's in a new environment. I love him a lot and I just kind of want to do what's best for him and I'm scared that I fucked up by moving him to an entirely new apartment at that age. I also want to take him to the vet for a checkup some time soon, but I don't know how long I should wait? I don't want to put him in too many stressful situations, and I feel like going to the vet now for a checkup would be too much.
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from Pets https://www.reddit.com/r/Pets/comments/i0kdhv/moved_out_of_my_fathers_apartment_with_my_cat_17/
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