Moving to a house on a main road with cats.

Hollister11

We are potentially moving to a house in a main road, but we have two cats (5 and 4). I fear for their safety if we end up moving. We currently life in a mostly private estate, and they roam wherever they want. If anyone has tips and advice on keeping the cats safe and even moving in general with cats so they don't run off.

Nody

Don't let them out obviously esp. in the beginning; if you do let the out close to a main road chances are very high they will end up in dead with in a year or two if it sees regular enough traffic. Best bet would be to see if a cateo or similar would be enough to keep them settled (and I've moved cats indoor who've been outdoor for years without problem as well; it's all down to cat's personality).

Knine

Definitely don't let them outside. I recently removed my neighbours cat from the road where he had been hit. Horrible.

shel64

we are looking to buy a house and the thing we look for is if its too close to a main road, even on back roads it can be dangerous, we lost our lovely 6 year old tom cat last year and he knew the back road we lived on,and previously lost another 3 years before, both came to us as kittens, now we have 3 cats left and at present keep 2 in , the old girl dosn't wander and we are far enough away for her to not bother going too far,,,

Graces7

Please do not let them out. Ever.

And cats roam for miles. There was a UK study with tracking devices and they were amazed at the distances they go.

I know how hard it is to keep them in as I had to do it in my previous house as mine got kidnapped.

But better frustrated than killed.

Shivi111

We live on a main road & all our cats go outside, in fact because the road is always busy they are nervous of the cars & stay well away. In the three years living here none of them have ever approached the road, granted they have lived here for most of their lives, Mori was a year old when we moved in. I worry more about the small side roads with occasional cars.

That said, Obviously, the risk of being hit by a car is a real one, and it could happen if they are let out, so you need to weigh the risk against the kind of life you want for them... Indoor or with access to roam.

Regardless, when you move you need to keep them in for awhile anyway so maybe see how they do indoor only & use that to help you make your decision?

kylith

The only way to keep them totally safe is to keep them on your property. Some people keep their cats totally indoors, others build a catio, or escape-proof their garden to keep their cats contained. There are plenty of instructions online on how to do that.

Milly33

Ah i just deleted a big reply god darn it...

Best of luck with the move OP... Scary stuff trying to figure out if twud be good for the cats.. We were recently in the same poistion, got a house and sure there is a main road just outside the estate.. Was worried it was too close, but then looking around really most places are close to a road..

Anywho advice wise..

We just moved our chap across counties so got a new cat box with some space in it, threw in one of his fav blankets and just tried to keep him calm he was grand overall.. Then the move into the house. I made up a little save house as such for him.. Like a mini tent someplace he could go and hide.. Just left him in one room the kitchen for about a week... Spent as much time in there with him as possible. Then when he did decide to explore a little more it was one room at a time. it has been two weeks now and he is grand, still getting a little spooked when people call to the house. But once he knows we are here he seems to relax a bit.. We havent gone to let him out yet, they say 3 - 4 weeks but to be honest he hasnt really shown any intention of getting out.. It was a nightmare before trying to keep him in, he used to pee everywhere but now he is grand.. They might handle it better than you think. Being older will help too..

I have to recommend feliway too, well worth picking up one of the plug ins... Plug is in the week or a few days before the cats are to arrive. Spraying a little on a blanket also will help kinda calm them down..