Question:
My wife and I moved from San Francisco to Norway last summer with two cats. The male is an indoor cat and has adjusted very well. The female was an outdoor cat and has found the move more difficult. She is 10 years old. With lots of attention and love, after a few months she seemed to adjust quite well.
However, since it snowed a month ago she has become depressed again. She cannot, or will not, go ouside in the snow. We do not want her going outside in this weather either. She is eating very little and does not want to play as much as normal. We have taken her to the vet and she was diagnosed as healthy, (although she does have early signs of renal insufficiency). We have tried new foods and we try to play with her, but she is not interested in the new foods and she loses interest in playing very quickly.
We live in a safe neighborhood for outdoor cats and we do not want to force her to be an indoor cat. I realize this advise is often given on this forum - sorry!
Is there any advise any readers can offer?
Are there any Candadians who see similar behavior in their cats in the winter?
Has anyone moved an outdoor cat from a temperate climate to a cold one?
Is this because we moved a born and bred Californian to the arctic?
Am I way off base with these thoughts?

Sorry for the long post - I hope someone can help - thanks very much in advance,
Ian

Answer:
sorry to hear your cat is having a hard time. I live in Canada but my cat is an indoor kitty, as per city by-laws and because I want her to be safe. Lots of problems with traffic and wildlife (raccoons etc) around here.

A farming friend had a bunch of barn cats who did just fine. They did spend much of the winter worming their way into the house, though. Even though they weren't really supposed to!

I have heard of cats getting frostbite in their ears etc if they stay out too long in bitter temps. Maybe you can keep her warm indoors for now, and hopefully when spring comes she will perk up.

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hi. Sorry to hear about your unhappy kitty. My kitten would love to be an outdoor cat (i live in Canada also) and complains a LOT when he cant (this is his first winter) . i have trained him on a lead and now take him out a few times a day for however long i can or if its too cold he doesnt want to stay out that long. Its a hard adjustment for them im sure but i think maybe if she gets that little bit of time outside everyday she may get used to it.
good luck. i hope she adapts!

Answer:
Hi,

I can't help but wonder ... where in Norway did you move to? I just did the opposite, moving from Holmestrand in Norway to Canada - same climate but SO much nicer

Anyway, your snow-depressed cat ... tell her it won't last, that spring is coming and she will see grass and flowers again. Cats understand a lot more than many people think, they are AT LEAST as smart as dogs!

I once moved from Dubai (hotter than San Fransisco) with a white Persian ("Mischief" - she never did any though, poor pussycat, badly named ). She was an indoor/ outdoor cat, meaning we had her outside on a leash to make sure we wouldn't lose her. Arriving in Luxembourg in August, she was fine going out in the garden on her leash. She was three years old by then, never been away from the Middle East ever. Then the snow came. The look of total horror and disbelief on her face was too much but we certainly didn't let on! Had we laughed at her, she would have been even more put off!

So she pouted for a few months till the snow went away again. The following year, she knew what this white stuff was, and just looked disgusted but not mad and offended like the first time, I seem to remember she even vetured two front paws out into the snow before turning back clearly thinking "not for me" and curling up in her favorite chair for the rest of the white season.

She kept going outside on leash till she died of old age

I think you are doing the right thing with your cat, talking to her, cuddling, playing, feeding her extra goodies ("Sheba"?) etc. Once she sees that the world returns to something she recognizes and can smell, she'll be fine. I know, in Norway that's 2-5 months away, depending on where you moved to. In the southern part it should be over in 2 months, possibly even 1½, so tell her to hang in there, she'll have insects and birds to chase again pretty soon!



Answer:
Thanks very much for the advise Sarah, RolandsMum and Marsupial Mama. We are a little more encouraged especially with Sarah's experience with Mischief moving from Dubai to Europe. Our primary concern remains the lack of appetite; I expect it may be a result of her much lower level of activity but we do not know. We will likely visit the vet again. I know that she ate grass when she was outside in the summer - all the grass is convered by 2' of snow now. Perhaps we should buy a "grass like" indoor plant for her? Maybe someone on the forum has advise about stimuating appetite. Perhaps the leash walks will help!
Sarah: we moved to Sandefjord so it shouldn't be too long before Spring comes. I would love to swap notes about Norway and Canada some some!

Answer:
Sandefjord is SUCH a nice city! If you haven't done so already, go visit the whaling museum! Part of my family was from Sandefjord, and a few of them are still there ( )

No worries, you should be snow free right around Easter time I would think, no more than a week later anyway. And you can look forward to May 17th ... if this is your first year in Norway ...

Does your cat enjoy car rides? It might help for her to get a change of scenery? Or if you have a balcony/ terrace, clear the snow off of it for her? The cold will still be there, but she'll realize the world as she knew it is still there underneath the snow.

Answer:
For some cats, not having access to the outside is a big loss, others seem to adjust better. If you are in a place where a bird-feeder is feasible, cats get a kick out of watching the birds. You didn't mention catnip! There's also cat grass, which you can grow inside, maybe she's missing her daily greens.
Sorry not to be more helpful. As long as she's healthy, I wouldn't worry too much.

Answer:
I was born in Norway, lived there for 17 years before moving to Dubai. From there my parents, brother and Mischief moved to Luxembourg whereas I went to Switzerland for a couple of years. I ended up back in Norway on two occasions (job related) after this, but always high-tailed it out again within 2-3 years!

The weather I can live with. I lived up in Hammerfest for 5 years, so when I hear people complain about a "blizzard" when the wind is barely blowing and there are 5 snowflakes in the air, I just laugh. On the west coast (I lived in Stavanger for 8 years) it rained more often than it snowed, mostly with fairly strong winds as well. I don't care. The weather is one thing that won't change if you sit around and mope about it, so why waste energy on that?

**

I had written a lot more, wanting to PM you, but the system said no go ...

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Answer:
I bought catgrass for Roland. its in the kitchen next to his food. he mainly likes to play in it but sometimes he takes a few bites. i think its mainly just oat grass. you can probably get it from your nearest pet store or garden centre. Catnip is hazardous! Roland goes nuts on that stuff. i found honeysuckle sticks dried ones soaked in water) works much better. he loves it and it doesnt make him crazy!
just keep up the love and im sure she will get over it sooner or later!

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