I must be like a cat b/c I am put off by the unfamiliar smell of a place until it smells like me. (Not that I stink or anything…)

I almost moved out of a rental until one day I walked in the door and ‘ahh, it smells like home, this isn’t so bad’… so I called up the landlady and asked to renew after all.

OTOH I did move out of another rental just as fast as I could b/c nothing I could do would get rid of the chemical, alien smell of the new paint/carpet/etc that was there when I moved in.

Women readers who have keen senses of smell will probably know what I’m talking about.

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Ox, either the cats pick up that you don’t like cats, or they are especially neurotic cats. Based on all the various cats I’ve encountered, I’d put these closer to the neurotic end of the scale (there are friendlier cats than that in the world, believe me.)

If your girlfriend had a previous boyfriend who beat up these cats, that would do it too. I once had a housemate whose cat was petrified of men, and in general was pretty messed up psychologically. Her ex had almost killed it as a kitten.

I wonder if rubbing cat treats between your hands and leaving them in their food dishes would calm them down about you? Way to their hearts and all that.