I was at my old place and had to get him out of his cage to clean it, so I let him run around the bathroom (his normal exercise room where everything is porcelain and chew proof!). I cleaned his cage, loaded it into the car, and packed all his things and food into boxes and carried these out to my car. I then put him into his carrier(which he HATES). This is always traumatic even for a vet visit. I then drove slowly (45 min) to my new townhouse which was just freshly painted.
I set the carrier down and he was making more noise than I ever heard from him before. I thought I would let him out to run around in the bathroom while I set up the cage since he hates the carrrier and was so aggitated. I let him out and he quieted down.
I set the cage up and put all of his stuff away. I even gave him a special treat for moving. Needless to say, I thought everything was OK as I went into the bathroom. Boy, did I get the shock of my life. As I went to try and pick him up, he ran from me and was ejecting fur all over the place. By the time I got a hold of him he was screaming his head off and I was covered in fur! I was totally upset and just sat with him for 30-45 min while waiting for the vet to return my call. Pikachu was actually barking at me, the little scamp was beyond peeved! The vet told me to put him in his cage and sit next to him for the rest of the night where he could see me. He said that even though the new place looked like the old place, it smelled different and Pikachu felt threatened. He asked if I had any of the old litter. I did not since I threw it away at the old place. He said that he would be comforted by my smell, and suggested that after I went to bed that night to put some dirty clothes on top of the cage. He also suggested that I put old bedding in the carrier the next time I have to take him out. It all seemed to work and the vet knew what he was talking about because Pikachu calmed down and so did I. I asked the vet why he respoded that way, and he said too much change stresses them out. Well, I can't figure who it stressed out more me or Pikachu!!
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