Moving House with Cat

karlos11

Hey Guys and Gals!

I'm sure i'm not the first to ask about this. I'm currently living in an apt. We have a cat. He's outdoorsie but sleeps in at night. We leave our window open during the day and he comes and goes as he pleases. Thing is, we're moving back into her folks house so we can save.

It's a big detached house on a main road. They have a very large back garden backing onto a field.

Any advise on how to make the transition for the little fella as smooth as possible?

Thanks in advance,
Karlos

The Sweeper

You need to keep him inside for a couple of weeks.

He'll be stressed over the course of the move - cats dislike change. You need to manage the stress but also manage the cat. Try rescue remedy, and a Feliway Spray (a synthesised feline happy-hormone that comes in a pump action bottle so you can squirt some sprays on things he likes - his bedding, a scratching post, the towel that will go inside his moving crate, so on, but never on him!)

For a few days before the move, keep him indoors at your current house. It wouldn't be unusual for a cat with outdoor access, when confronted with a lot of change at home, to disappear for a couple of days and that's not what you want when you're looking for him and about to move house. If you keep him indoors, that won't happen.

Every day use a couple of drops of rescue remedy on the backs of his ears, and a couple of drops in his water. Spray his things with Feliway. Give him cuddles but don't fuss over him too much.

The day you want to move him, ensure there is a quiet space prepared for him in his destination home. Agree with all the people in the house what the plan will be for the cat. (It will be utterly disasterous if you arrive at your girlfriend's parents' place and announce your cat needs to be kept inside for three weeks, and her mother says 'What? No! I'm not having that animal in my house! I thought you said he was an outside cat!')

Keeping the cat indoors in its new home is all about the cat's own comfort zone. It will be frightened in a new environment. If you allow it out of its crate in a busy kitchen with an open window, it may simply bolt - out of the crate, out of the kitchen, out the window, into the yard - and now it has no idea where it is so it just runs until it finds a safe spot. It may hole up in the safe spot for a day or two days - and once it comes out it has no idea whatsoever where it is so it just goes roaming until it finds someone to feed it or until something nasty happens to it. That's the logic of keeping them indoors when you move.

Limit his space in the new house - if he's going to be in your room, introduce him to it when you've done most of your unpacking. Have food, water and a litter tray set up for him. Don't be surprised if you let him out of the crate and he bolts into a hiding space (under the bed, under the warderobe) and refuses point blank to come out for hours or even a couple of days. (He'll come out in the dead of night when there's no noise, explore a bit, eat, drink, wee, poo, and then go and hide again.)

Let the cat govern the pace at which he or she wants to explore. Some cats will hide for weeks. Some will be hammering on the door to see the rest of their new home within the hour. The trick is to make sure that if the cat gets a fright, they bolt to where you want them to go - back to your room, back to your hallway, and once outside, back to the safety of the house. The best way to do that is allow them to familiarise themselves with 'base camp' as a safe, nice place that they know.

Some cats are more bomb-proof than others. When I last moved house with mine just over two years ago, Frank explored the entire house with his tail in the air, rubbing his face off anything that was left down for more than a minute. He was excited - it was a hot day and he was panting like a dog as he went from place to place, but as I said his tail was up and he wasn't crawling with belly to ground.

Eric, by contrast, crawled into a mover's box of books and hid for 48 hours (we were demented and thought we'd lost him) and it took three weeks for him to really come good and decide he liked his new home.

In terms of your cat's outdoor access, the main road would be a worry. Unless you have a very traffic-savvy cat (a rarity), there is a very real chance your cat will die on that road if he has free outdoor access. You need to make sure that the back garden and the field behind the back garden is far more attractive to him than what's on the other side of the main road.

Once he's adjusted to his indoor home, start to take him out into the back yard on supervised excursions. If you have a social cat, get out there and do some weeding while he explores. He'll be in under your arms looking for attention as you work, and he'll run back to you if he gets a surprsie. Set up the back garden as the most interesting place out of the house by accompanying him out there the first few times.

If you feed him twice a day, do not let him out again after his evening meal. He'll come in for his supper and then that's him in for the night. Hopefully he'll stick to the back yard and if he feels the need to explore he'll use the field behind the back yard.

The most important thing is to definitely discuss things like 'indoor litter tray' with your girlfriend's parents before you move and agree your plan of action with them.

Dinky22

Hi Karlos11. Its great that you posted for info on moving with your cat. So many people do not appreciate the problems involved in moving with their cat and unfortunately their beloved cat runs away. I have moved twice with my cat. It is essential to keep him/her indoors in your new home for a minimum of 2 weeks. He/she will hear the noises around the new area. When you bring him/her out briefly after a minimum of 2 weeks watch your cat very closely and then gradually increase the time for going outdoors and watch him/her until he/she is more confident in the new surroundings.:D

dan_d

Good advice! We adopted 2 adult cats in the middle of last year, and kept them in for about 4 weeks (may have been overkill:o). The weeding thing is actually true for ours anyway. We went out in the garden with them the first few times. Now they go in and out themselves all day, but they actually never stray too far from the back garden....and if we're in it they trot around after us, no matter what we're doing. They love "gardening".Definitely keep him in for several weeks, though and make sure everyone is happy with the litter tray thing, because it can be a bit....trying.:rolleyes:

karlos11

Thanks so much for the advice! Actually wouldn't of had a clue to keep him in for a couple of weeks! And the fact his name is GIGGSY we should be keeping him indoors more anyway! :-)

Once again, thank you. Really appreciate you all taking the time to post here. We're not moving for another 4 weeks but Will let you know how it goes.

Regards
Karl.

karlos11

So we're a couple of weeks in the new place, and although i did take the advice onboard that was given - We let Giggsy out pretty much on the first day (supervised, might I add!) and over the course of the next few days, let him out gradually to a point where he was on his own and it worked a treat! I suppose every cat is different. TBH there was never a hope of him being kept indoors for 2 weeks to get used to the new surroundings - he'd have gone mental! Infact, i reckon he likes it more here then the last place.

So all is good and the move hasn't bothered him in the slightest! BOOM!

Little_Focker

Glad it worked out! As you say every cat is different - when I moved with 2 of mine, one of them I only had to keep in a day as he was dying to get out and explore his new home! He adapted straight away. Other cat however wouldnt come out of her box and wouldnt eat, after 3 days she got out and was gone for a week, was sure Id never see her again. Low and behold she arrived back like a new cat and took to her home straight away :P What ever kind of soul searching she had to do

Disleksic

I moved to a new house about 6 months ago with my 16 month old Golden Retriever and two male cats aged 2 1/2yrs and 3 yrs. I had no worries about the dog settling into his new surroundings but I was worried about the cats. One of them in particular was a wanderer and I often didn't see him for a couple of days at a time in the Summer. I think he probably had more than one home as well, being a very sociable cat. I moved house on a Friday and I didn't let the cats out that night. I think they were too freaked out by the move to want out anyway. But by Saturday afternoon they were going crazy to get out, climbing up the blinds etc. I had heard that you were supposed to keep them in for as long as possible after moving but I honestly don't think I could have kept them in any longer without both them and me going mental. My new house has a big back garden with a field at the end of it so I took a chance and let all three of them out together. The cats very nervously started to explore their new territory and I stayed out in the garden with them for about an hour. They both adore the dog and I think they were reassured by his presence. After an hour I went back inside and rattled their food dishes. The sociable cat came back in straight away, had something to eat and went to sleep on his favourite armchair. The more nervous cat stayed outside with the dog for another hour or so before coming back in gingerly. I kept them inside on Saturday night and when I let them out on Sunday morning they seemed more at ease. As the days passed they grew more accustomed to their new environment and started rambling further afield. I am glad to say that they very quickly adapted to their new home. The wanderer has even stopped wandering or maybe he just hasn't found a new second home yet. Six months later and it is like they never lived anywhere else.
It is a scary time when you let your pets out for the first time in a new environment but you can't keep them in forever. You eventually have to let them out and hope for the best. It worked out well for me and my three little men, I hope it works out well for you too.