Moving House

maxruby

Has any one any advice about moving house with 2 cats.
I am moving from Kildare to Donegal and am worried about the 2 cats.
They have a lot of freedom here so they know the area quite well. When I move will they learn to find their way around, or will they run away.
HELP.

Sigma Force

Whenever a cat owner moves house they need to keep the cats indoors for about a month sometimes longer to bring the message home that this is where their room and board is, then if you have to let them out supervise them in the garden for a time, if you are moving to somewhere with a busy road or that's right on a road it's best to keep them as house cats. If you let them out straight away they would get confused, mabey scared it's not that they would want to run away it's that they may get frightened or lost or run over.
Confine them to one room in the house at first and gradually introduce them to othe rooms.You would probably have to do that anyway if you are moving a lot of furniture etc because they may get in your way or run out the door when it's opened.

tallus

I heard it's a good idea to bury some of their pooh in the garden too. It will make them feel at home apparently.

Arcadian

When you get to the new house set the cats up in a quiet room for a day or two until most of the furniture is in place so that they don't get frightened by all the shifting about of boxes etc, keep things calm and positive for them, lots of their favourite foods, toys, etc. You'll have to keep them in for 4 weeks or so depending on the cats and the area. When you do start letting them out, do it just before meal times and keep it short before calling them back in. Make sure you keep them supervised during these initial excursions outdoors because they will be easily spooked.

Moving house is also a good time to convert the cats to being indoor cats only;)

fabcat

My parents moved from Glasgow to Donegal a couple of years ago and brought our cat with them, she was 8 at the time and had lived in the previous house since she was six months old. They moved to a VERY rural area from a suburb in Glasgow. They kept her in the house for about a month and then they let her out for a couple of hours at a time, my mum also rubbed some butter on her paws, I don't know if this does any good, or whether the cat just likes the taste, but she has never wandered off and now stays out all day and sometimes tries to stay out all night too, which is an issue for my parents because it means they're out calling her for ages very late at night, but thats another story.

gypsygirl

I agree with all the other posters, good advice, keep 'em quiet indoors for a week or so, you might also think about getting them microchipped, at least then if they do wander off they can be returned to you, also be sure to put tags on their collars with your phone number on.