I concur with Tinker and Hollowfox. I adopted a house that sat empty for 18 months, and before that hadn't been updated in about 15 years. It was at one time a very pampered and thorougly live-in house (including extensive gardens and fruit trees in the back yard--all gone now). I was the equivalent of the new cat owner who takes it straight to the vet for SEVERAL major surgeries all at once. Remodeling kitchen and baths, ripping out carpeting, building a new garage, replacing the patio cover. But this house has settled into a very comfortable space, cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Gardens are happy growing here, and the cats love all of the windows to sun themselves in. The period of adjustment may vary, but your house will soon understand that what looks undignified leads to greater comfort. Kind of like using a neti pot to soothe your sinuses. Looks really odd, but you just gotta do it.

SRS