moving with cats

[charlottekb]

I know there are enough cat lovers on this forum to help me out with this! As the title suggests I am moving house and im starting to think about the best way to settle our cats into their new house. They've lived here all of their 9 years and I know moving can be really stressful for them. Basically would like to know how long we keep them in for. What to do to make it comfortable for them etc. Some sites are suggesting having a room ready in the new house just for them etc! Sounds a bit much. Any thoughts and suggestions much appreciated.

Thanks,

Charlotte

[charliebubs]

Hi Charlotte

I have cats and moved a few months ago with them. They're more adaptable than we give them credit for.

Other than an incident with one escaping her box in the car (eek!) it went smoothly.

I do appreciate that some cats are maybe more finicky than others, so if yours aren't as chilled you may want to take extra steps.

I'd get their carrier/s out in your existing place a good couple of weeks before you move. Just have them in the living room or bedroom with the door/s open and a blanket or towel inside. This will avoid them getting freaked out if you appear with the carriers at the last minute.

I'd also get some Feliway - either a plug in or a spray - and have that plugged in/sprayed in your existing place a couple of weeks before you move and then a couple of weeks after you move. This contains calming pheromones (like Rescue Remedy for cats!)

I'd also recommend getting unpacked and settled as quickly as you can in the new place, so it will seem like "home" again for them. Once they are surrounded by familiar things, it shouldn't be stressful for them.

You may even want to consider putting them in a cattery for a couple of days whilst you move and get settled. However a cattery environment might be more stressful for some cats!

As for keeping them in, mine are indoor cats anyway so I can't say for certain, but I think about 2 weeks is the rule of thumb.

Have a couple of litter trays ready for your move & be prepared to have them in for a couple of weeks.

Good luck :-)

Charlie

[csaddleton]

I have one cat and have moved twice, with no problems at all. I have always tried to keep her in on the first day but feel too mean so I let her out to explore straight away, with no problems. The only difficulty was the journey as she hates being in the cat box and squarked the whole way.

[ianr]

Bah! I thought this was going to be a thread about eurhythmy or calisthenics.

[the-e-dealer]

A week shut indoors is enough to reorient them I find.

[Salsaboy]

I think Woodrot offers a 'shut inside for a week' service for cats.

[woodrot]

sadly, the liberal tree hugging nazi scum at the RSPCA and Southwark Trading standards combined to shut down Woodrot pet vaycatation inc.

[civilservant]

catisthenics

[hsy123]

hahah now wait for their reactions ohh its really stressful they take time to adjust more than human beings lol.

[LondonLogCo]

From experience, putting them in their carry cage thingmajigs hungry is a good start. Once in the new gaff shut all windows and outside exits, then let them out for a mooch.

Leave them to wander but put a cat plop box down.

Leave them be for an hour or longer, then feed them.

If you get a decent day, put them in their catcage doo dah and leave them by the open back door, that way they're safe but get a wiff of the new outside world.

Repeat for a few days and release.

They'll be fine I reckon.

[Pugwash]

We put ours in their wire cat basket out in the garden for around 30 mins

and placed in different areas over a number of days. Have also tried on harness and lead walking up down garden

[The Minkey]

Completely depends on the cat. My old cat experienced his first ever move at the age of 15. He was too freaked out to come out of the carrier for the first hour or so, then when he did come out, he went to the first room and had that as his base for a few days more, only coming out to eat, and use the litter tray. Let him out when he seemed thoroughly comfortable with his new environment which was after about 10 days.

New cat came waltzing out of her carrier when I brought her home for the first time and did a thorough explore of the house. She'd always been an indoor cat and at the age of 22 months had had two owners already. I thought she seemed remarkably confident but in hindsight she didn't really have a thing for sleeping under the bed, it just took her a couple of weeks to feel secure enough to sleep somewhere more exposed. She didn't get to go out for a month or so until after she'd been spayed, and as it was her first time out ever, slightly different to your situation.