WOOHOOO!!!!!!!!! THEY FINALLY SIGNED!!!

Apparently the husband was the "issue" according to their agent. We negotiated a lot back and forth and I wrote a letter to the sellers telling them how much I loved the house, etc. when we put in our final offer. The letter "really touched them" and made them agree to our offer, which was WELL below list price. I think the husband realized what he agreed to and had a panic attack and it took his wife kicking his butt to get him back in. Anyhow - they both signed and now we're in our 10 days of due diligence. We signed all of our loan stuff last night, the inspector comes on Friday and the appraiser comes on Monday. We are scheduled to close on the 20th and move in on June 1. (which works out well because of my triathlon.)

My only concern is that we are moving from about 1200sq feet to nearly 5000 sq feet and we have two cats. Seven days after moving in we are going on vacation for one week. I'm nervous about leaving the cats alone in a new environment and their stress levels since cats don't do well with change. Has anyone experienced this? Any thoughts? Advice?

Somuchfattitude Uh oh! She wrote another letter!! lolololol CONGRATULATIONS!! That is a huge house. What I would do with the cats is give them a more contained home base... like a basement. Don't give them full reign of the whole house. They should have enough time to acclimate themselves with their new surroundings before you leave. ****, cats might like the time a lone to explore. I probably wouldn't freak too much. My biggest concern leaving our cats is them getting bored and just intentionally ruining my things. I think with all this new-ness you wont have that problem. Congrats again lady!! I want a new house.

Congrats on the new home!!! Make sure you do all you can to upgrade your energy cost because 5000 square feet of home is a lot to heat and cool. My hubby spent a fortune upgrading our home, which I've been told that I will appreciate when I'm old and electric bills are sky high.

I agree that you need to contain the cats to a part of the house. Do you have a friend or family member that can come over and spend a little time with them each day. Oh, and make sure they have a window to look out.

Somuchfattitude: Congrats on the new house, glad things worked out.

So I only lost .8 this week was hoping for just a bit more. I now need -1.4 to be at goal. I am hoping to get that next week, before the end of April. It is so close but yet seems so far away. I always weight in wearing jeans and my belt (which is quite bulky) maybe next week I will wear my yoga pants .

SoMuchFattitude: Congrats! I have 2 cats too and they actually moved into our new house a day before we did. (This was almost 2 years ago.) I agree with confining them to a particular room or area (or at least closing off areas - like bedrooms, basement). Since you're going on vacation so soon after moving in, you might keep them confined to some degree or extent that first week you're in the house. Also, I always leave extra treats for my cat sitter to give them while I'm away.

Smf-awesome!!!

I am sooo nervous about tomorrow's WI!

Dixiemom-I took my shoes off last week....minus is minus!!!

Well after being late for TOM for almost a month it finally showed up this morning. Weighed in this evening and only lost .6 lbs. I'm not griping considering that I had Panera Bread at work on Saturday and hubby took me out that night. You play you pay!

This weeks challenge will be that this Sunday my company is having a kick off dinner for a major reps product and we are going to this great Italian restaurant called Maggiano's. Anyone heard of it? They serve the food family style. I am not kidding myself into thinking that I won't eat more points than I should. However, I have from today until Sunday to be on my VERY best behavior with my points and workouts. My current strategy is to try to shrink my stomach some more so that I will eat less food. Think that will work?

SMF: Congrats on the house. How exciting!!!! I used to do behavior counseling for cats and the above advice is spot-on; when moving to a new place, don't give them free reign of the place all at once, it can overwhelm them. Make sure wherever you confine them, they have all their essentials, of course (food, water, litterbox), but also make sure they have"safe" areas that are comfortable to them individually. For instance, some cats find safety by hiding under things like beds, couches, etc. Whereas others find safety in being up high above everything, like on top of a cupboard or tall cat condo. You know your own cats, so provide them both with whatever they prefer.

Although that being said, I have moved a LOT with cats. Across town, across the country, apartments, houses, you name it. I don't tend to always take my own good advice, and usually let them explore the whole place from day one. I haven't had too many problems doing it that way, even with thirteen cats at one point. Cats are pretty adaptable, more than we think. Watch them that first week, if they seem relaxed and finding their old routines, you might be okay just leaving them. You are the best judge of whether they're settled in or not.

Also, on moving day, make sure they ARE confined to one room, and make sure there is a note on the door so the movers don't disturb them, both while moving stuff out of the old house and moving things into the new one.

Thank you EVERYONE for your cat thoughts!

We talked to our agent and apparently the couple is going through a nasty divorce. She accepted our offer without even talking to him which is why he freaked out and refused to sign. Wowzers!

Also, we were leasing to them for 10 days after close and found out it's because he wanted to make sure he had a time to find an apartment. Because everything is moving to quickly and nicely we may be able to move in when we actually close and they wouldn't need those 10 days - which means 2 weeks in the house before we go on vacation and leave the cats.

We would close on a Monday and I would take Mon-Fri to tear the wall paper down, paint and have the carpets cleaned before we moved in...and that would be awesome.

forkeeps - My 8 year old cat can be a jerk. Example: if our younger cat (4 years old) gets her tail stepped on or something he'll attack her when she yawls out. It's so strange. He will occasionally mark something - like my shirt if I leave it on the bathroom floor. Any suggestions on stopping him from doing that in the new home when he has a temper tantrum?

UGHHHH! Its wednesday and I am having that old familiar sense of fullness and strain. Is it normal to use laxatives once a week? I keep feeling guilty to use them, like I am developing some sort of eating disorder... But I seriously need it. Does this sound like the words of an addict to you? I am being dramatic.

I have exercised several times this week, but also ate in a celebratory style TWICE. I am up like 4 lbs. That is insane. I hate the ups and downs. I guess that is all part of the game.

@SoMuchFattitude Ah, cats. I work at a vet and I own 7. Yes, 7. Most of my time seems to revolve around their care. If your guys are easily stressed, you should consider getting a couple Feliway plug-ins and putting them throughout the house. We see a lot of success with their use and reducing stress in cats for just about any cause, including inappropriate urination due to stress and fighting. Make sure you show them where their litter boxes are and it's best to have them in several places in a bigger home.

@smashlers Thank God somebody else has brought up chronic laxative use. I feel like some sort of junkie but I need the stuff! Nothing really goes on without it, it's awful. I started taking a fiber supplement to "support regularity" and it isn't doing anything at all.

PUPMOM5 - any suggestions how to get my 8yr old cat to stop marking when he's having a temper tantrum?

I've sprayed the pheromones in our current apt and they don't seem phased by it. lol

SMF There could be a lot of reasons for his behavior. First thing is always to make sure he is healthy. Even something like a sore tooth can cause him to attack your other cat in response to the yowling. Barring that, it could be a form of redirected aggression. Not really redirected since the source of the yowling is also the victim, but more like an automatic response based in fear or anxiety. With the additional problems you are having with marking, he could have anxiety issues. Although if the only things he marks inappropriately are clothes on the floor, it could be that simply removing those types of triggers would help. I had a cat that did the same thing her entire life. She was perfectly behaved otherwise, but peed on anything soft on the floor (blankets, pillows, clothes). We had to just be cognizant of that, and make sure we didn't leave that stuff on the floor. Now that she's gone (she died last year about age 15), it still feels weird to leave a pillow or blanket on the floor, but of course none of the other cats do it. It was just one of her quirks.

smashlers Sorry, wish I had advice. When I eat well I am regular as clockwork. Lots of water helps too. Did you ever try Fiber One bars? They'll get you going for sure, though with quite a bit of gassiness and bloating beforehand.

@SoMuchFattitude LOL Unfortunately, if he's doing it because he's made and he's neutered, try not to make him mad! The Feliway plug-ins can help some, making sure they have enough litter boxes and cleaning any accidents with an enzymatic cleaner. But sometimes cats are just brats!