any advice on movin cats to new homes???

emy_k · 05-23-2004, 05:29 PM

july 1 we are movin to a completly new house in a new town. my cats have(arwen 2yr, swortz 3yr) have lived in the house that we are in now for their whole life. im worried about movin them to a new place. is there anything i can do that will make the move easier, and keep then from runnin away? i know cats dont take moves good, or at aleast that is what i hear.

jennawing · 05-23-2004, 06:27 PM

I am guessing your cats are outdoor cats since you are worried about them running away. When we moved a couple years back, it was only about 12 miles, so it was possible for us to move one cat at a time, and take the time once we arrived at the new house for the entire family to spend reassuring them, placing their familiar things-bowl, bed, etc- around them. You might want to atleast uncrate them one at a time, or have plenty of hands and laps to go around so no cat is left out. They will want to sniff around and explore- walk with them, talking to them, petting them intermittenly, assuring them- and making sure they make their way back to the house!

suzoo · 05-23-2004, 08:55 PM

While you're family is getting ready to move.. packing boxes etc.. Try not to disrupt your cats things until the very last minute.. leave the litter box, food & water dishes in the same place and keep their feeding & play routines the same...
On moving day.. place the cats in a small room such as a bedroom or bathroom with their litterbox & dishes and their cat bed... if they are usually stressed kitties then I'd even put a radio in the room to drown out the sounds of people in the house moving furniture & boxes... make sure your cats are wearing collars with 2 tags with their old & new address & phone #'s on it... incase they escape during the move... If the new location is close enough to the old place.. I'd set up the new house as much as possible and then go back & get the cats... If that's not possible (too far away) then just before you leave put the cats in carriers and when you arrive at the new place.. do the same as before, set up the litterbox & dishes in a small room until the unpacking is all complete. Put a huge sign on the bathroom/bedroom door to warn that cats are inside... both at the old house & the new one. Make sure that the feeding times stay the same as much as possible that day. Leave the cat either in the safe room or the bedroom the first night and slowly over a couple of days let them explore the entire house.
You never really said whether they were indoor or outdoor cats but this would be a perfect time to make them safe INDOOR only cats..
Hope that was a help!

clearjade · 07-01-2004, 10:15 PM

emy_k, how did the move go?