Moving house with a cat

Briskit

The Short Version.

Hello,

I am moving house soon and our inside/outside cat will have to come along with us, obviously!!! Anyways, I hear that the cat will have to stay in the house for a month before we can let him outside?? Is this absolutely true, or will a week or two do?!

Also, the house we are moving to has a busy road out front. Is there anyways to deter our cat from becoming roadkill??!!


Kind Regards,

Briskit

Briskit

Now the long version... It's kinda hard to write about this wee guy without emotions and details, thus this post will contain the 'long winded' version of the above for those who may have more time on their hands!!........

.........Hello All, I'm new around these parts so how is everybody. Pets play a big part in my life so I figured this should be the place to get some advice on my pet predicament.

I currently reside in a terraced estate in the city, but I have quite a lot of back garden. Our beautiful English short haired TomCat has taken a shine to ever larger swaths of the neighbouring gardens and some commonage in the vicinity to carve out a generous habitat and territory for himself. He's only a year and a half old, but he's big and wise beyond his age .

Anyway... He's huge and super handsome and just comes and goes as he pleases through a convenient first floor window via the kitchen roof and only ever show any kind of affection when he's feeling like its time for him to receive another pouch of marinated deliciousness... So he's rarely around, although he does take to curling up on anything fleecy, such as the throws on the couch, a nice beanbag or any pillow or duvet that takes his fancy. When you find him relaxing in such a way in the bedroom or wherever, he usually rolls on his back and allows you to pet his alpaca soft luffy belly - one of those rare moments that endears him to us and allows him complete emotional control over the household.


So here's the thing.. you can see that he rules the roost, and has done his business etc., outside, and has become very accostomed to this luxurious on one side, and wild on the other side lifestyle.

We have been told that he must be kept indoors for 'a month' when we move to a new location!!!

He's not gonna like this.. he has in the past scraped the living daylights outta the walls in the halls (painted over wallpaper!!) to make the point known to us that he wants out... so a month of Solitary Confinement will not a happy cat make!!! On the plus side, the interior of the house that we are relocating to us far more spacious, so he will have copious room for exploration and sleeping... and a lot more walls to scratch if needs be!!

Another point about the change of environment. Our current home is in a quite cul de sac, so oftentimes he finds his way out front and we let him in or out, either side of the house... front or back... (like I said... he has a big territory established)...

Now, the house that we are moving to, also has a very generous back garden, which lies adjacent back to back, and side to side with other big gardens... so he's gonna love it when he gets acclimatised. The thing is... the road out front (beyond the 30sq metre front garden) is FAST and wide... He has no experience of such a roaId, and I know if I hold him and watch the cars going by some day, that he will learn, as he's a smart little furrball, but again, any advice on training him here would be appreciated!

As I say, I am accostomed to pets, and two dogs will also be making the move, but I have some worries about the Pussycat's acclimatisation period...

I adore this little Furrbag and occasional Purrbag and would be very grateful to any of you animal experts out there two give your two cents on the situation or to hear from people who have had to make similar moves with their cat/cats.


Regards,

Briskit


P.S.
We were considering rescueing another cat (kitten or fully grown??!!) at some stage... so maybe this would be a good time to do such a thing as it would provide a housemate and a completely new dynamic for MrSpoiled2Bits??

gimmick

My sister in law moved in with us a few years ago for a brief period and her cat had to come with her. For the first few days in our house the cat just hid. She was completely petrified of her new (welcoming) surroundings. I think we kept her indoors for a good 3 weeks, and even after that she was only left out when one of us were around. When she started going out first she was very wary and apprehensive. That lasted about a week then she was back to normal.

Indricotherium

I moved house and the cat got out through a careless open window after about a week and a half. It came back no bother though, when I called her.

My cat spends as little time as it can manage outdoors though.

Briskit

Thanks for the feedback Gimmick & Indricotherium.

'Rocky' with his four white paws never seems afraid of anything... so it's gonna be very interesting to see his reaction as he's usually so cocky about everything... He was brought up with two wild dogs so he's kind of a hybrid cat.. he thinks he's a dog... for real... he even growls if somebody knocks at the door...

He does get a bit nervous in the car like all cats, so he probably will react as you explained when introduced to new surroundings...

Nice to hear other people's experiences,

Cheers,

Briskit

Pumpkinseeds

I don't think a month is neccessary. I'd say about 2 weeks myself. I definitely wouldn't get another cat at this point. Your cat is going to need time to adjust to the move as well as lots of fuss and attention. Bringing another cat in will just add more stress into the equation. I'd also recommend getting a Feliway plug in to try to calm him down a bit.

Move him in last, after you've finished moving your things into the new house. Cats can surprise you, as humans we get stressed out about them getting stressed, he might take to it like a duck to water. Just play it by ear.

sambuka41

Briskit wrote: »

The Short Version.

Hello,

I am moving house soon and our inside/outside cat will have to come along with us, obviously!!! Anyways, I hear that the cat will have to stay in the house for a month before we can let him outside?? Is this absolutely true, or will a week or two do?!

Also, the house we are moving to has a busy road out front. Is there anyways to deter our cat from becoming roadkill??!!

I have moved a half dozen times and my cat was always fine, he would disappear for about 12 hours the first day then he'd be grand. But in saying that he was a stray when I took him in, in the first place, so he can handle himself.

But the only way to make sure that your cat doesn't end up road kill is not to let him out. My guys is indoors now. Same as your fella he scratched the hell out of me for a long time before he settled (he still does sometimes!!). He's indoors 1 year now, I tried a few times before it stuck but I'm so glad I have. I can't even imagine what I was thinking letting him wander the way I did, I'd be heartbroken to find him on a road, (I live beside a busy road too), or never know what happened to him.

Best of luck

Briskit

Thank you Pumpkinseed and Sambuka. I very much appreciate all the input I'm getting today and its nice to get personal experience as a good indicator.

Rocky's gonna fight this change regardless, but definitely, a great idea to move him in last and to not get another cat so as not to overwhelm his entire world with change.

As regarding RoadKill... We'd be devistated as a family... also, I've pushed for the move, so I'd also take the brunt of the remorse of others in the form of rage should something bad happen the wee dude. So thanks for the great feedback as I want to establish peace of mind and to make sure that the transition is as untraumatic as possible.

blueturnip

Briskit wrote: »

Thank you Pumpkinseed and Sambuka. I very much appreciate all the input I'm getting today and its nice to get personal experience as a good indicator.

Rocky's gonna fight this change regardless, but definitely, a great idea to move him in last and to not get another cat so as not to overwhelm his entire world with change.

As regarding RoadKill... We'd be devistated as a family... also, I've pushed for the move, so I'd also take the brunt of the remorse of others in the form of rage should something bad happen the wee dude. So thanks for the great feedback as I want to establish peace of mind and to make sure that the transition is as untraumatic as possible.

We have just recently bought our own house, so obviously the two cats were coming too.

They were the last trip of stuff to be moved. But luckily only a very short journey in the car -4/5 mins.

Let them out into the new house, here they proceeded to run around and smell everything.

We put their blankets and bed in place and showed them this. I read you should show them something that smells familiar.

We managed to keep them in for two days (there is a patio door so they could see out). They were dying to get out!

We only let them out the back to start with, but they soon found their way out the front quick enough. Well one quicker than the other!

We have been in about 4 weeks now and they seem settled. Starting to get other cat visitors in the garden now

The Sweeper

Yeah the acclimatisation period is different for each cat. I'm about to move my lot again, after moving them nine months ago. They tend to be unhappy moving to an utterly new space, but there's a marked difference if you're moving all of your furniture and familiar items too. Letting them loose inside a house filled with unfamiliar smells and furniture causes hiding for up to 24 hours followed by a lot of nervous slinking about. I'd beware of letting them outside based on their reactions to inside.

For them to be safely released outdoors they need to accept the new house as 'home' so if they're scared or hungry they come back to the new place, instead of roaming about aimless and lost.

Letting them loose in a house where our own stuff has been moved in prompts a half an hour of nervousness and then an hour of 'adventure playground'. They accept the house as their home within the first few hours and can be let into the yard to explore almost immediately.

BUT, and it's a major 'but', that's because in terms of letting them out, I cat proof my yard fences when I move house. It's first priority on moving. I'm about to move to a 780m2 block and patching up the fences and cat proofing the tops will be the first thing I do while the removalists are shifting around the furniture. Old shelf brackets and inclined chicken wire is the fastest way (easiest to put up and take down too). I make sure they can't go under (no gaps large enough) and they won't go over (make it difficult) and the newness of the new location plus those measures are enough to keep them in the yard for the first month.

I'll occasionally have an escapee after the first month and I can monitor where they go over the fence and patch that section up. Mine are indoor only unless we're home, at which point the doors are opened and they go off into the yard. Weekdays that might be two hours morning and evening, weekends it can be eight hours a day. It's enough outdoor time to keep them very happy (and they'll often hold all toilet needs until they get outside so they can go in the dirt instead of the litter tray), but it also keeps them very safe.

You simply cannot train your cat to the road. Taking him out there and holding him won't teach him anything (but it may give him a fright and he'll go up and over your shoulder and claw you to bits on his way...) Very few cats have the road savvy to 'stop, look and listen'. Most cats are killed because the road scares them and they cross it in sprints. They hide under a parked car or in a garden, listen to the noise of the cars and make a sprint when the noise passes them - but often they confuse it and get laminated across the tarmac by a car coming the opposite direction, the noise of which was obscured by the first vehicle. At night they get dazzled by car lights, think one lot has passed and make a run for it only to get smacked again by another car they hadn't realised was there. I only know one cat who has actual, proper road savvy and he visits the local train station every day and sits calmly on the platform as the trains roll in. His owners are fully aware that they could lose 20 cats on the road and railway line before they'd have another like him, but he was a stray on the streets for six years before they adopted him.

Also, don't underestimate people's hatred of cats. Even if your cat learns how to cross the road, it takes just one cat-hating driver deliberately swerving to hit him... (And it does happen.) Cats and roads just don't mix and it's only a matter of time - worse when a year passes and you've convinced yourself he'll be right on the road, only to find him stiff on your doorstep or in the gutter one morning.

Briskit

blueturnip wrote: »

We have just recently bought our own house, so obviously the two cats were coming too.

They were the last trip of stuff to be moved. But luckily only a very short journey in the car -4/5 mins.

Let them out into the new house, here they proceeded to run around and smell everything.

We put their blankets and bed in place and showed them this. I read you should show them something that smells familiar.

We managed to keep them in for two days (there is a patio door so they could see out). They were dying to get out!

We only let them out the back to start with, but they soon found their way out the front quick enough. Well one quicker than the other!

We have been in about 4 weeks now and they seem settled. Starting to get other cat visitors in the garden now

Super... Great overview of the whole move and great advice overall... very cool to see how they adapt. I think they might be braver when there are two cats like in your case!?

Thanks... plus very glad about the feline visitors (suitors!:)) are starting to call by. Hope you're all enjoying your new home!

The Sweeper

Briskit wrote: »

Thanks... plus very glad about the feline visitors (suitors!:)) are starting to call by. Hope you're all enjoying your new home!

Briskit just be aware that if your cat is mixing with other roaming cats, he's at much higher risk of Feline AIDS (FIV - attacks immune system, shortens life span, no cure) and FeLV (feline leukaemia, causes cancer, blood disorders and inhibits immune function, no cure), spread through biting and scratching when cats squabble and fight over territory.

It might be worth calling a couple of small animal vets in your area and asking them about the prevalence of feline aids and feline leukaemia in cats in your region.

Briskit

To The Sweeper.

I cannot thank you enough for taking the time to write such a well formed and informative response bringing up some great ideas and some harsh realities of cat ownership and telling it like it is....

The Chicken wire and shelf brackets idea is superb. I'm not sure if I'll be able to apply it as there is some dense shrubbery and trees around the garden which I do like, but some research on the points of escape will definitely be done now in advance of his been letting out.

I also like the idea of him being out while where at home, and it would be interesting to see if he would adapt to this kind of scheduling.

Bringing in familiar furniture and so on will be happening so that's excellent, just as blutrunip referred to putting his familiar beds and blanket in a nice area for him.

Regarding the roads... you're brutally and briallant right on and its good to talk to a realist... it does seem that the previous strays are a bit more savvy, but your description of their reactions to the traffic both day and night are so spot on and the laminated image of a cat on the road is a grim reality that I don't want to come across... and your point about scaring him and scratching me is anotehr truism...

As for the cat-hatred thing.. m'f**kers... really don't get that... was a dog man myself for years, but don't understand how somebody would deliberately kill or torture any animal... but a lotta people do seem to have some kind of unnatural psychotic aversion to 11 million years of supreme feline evolution . There so like their wild cousins that its just extraordinary to live with them and watch them......


Thanks again,

Briskit

Briskit

The Sweeper wrote: »

Briskit just be aware that if your cat is mixing with other roaming cats, he's at much higher risk of Feline AIDS (FIV - attacks immune system, shortens life span, no cure) and FeLV (feline leukaemia, causes cancer, blood disorders and inhibits immune function, no cure), spread through biting and scratching when cats squabble and fight over territory.

It might be worth calling a couple of small animal vets in your area and asking them about the prevalence of feline aids and feline leukaemia in cats in your region.

Again, very informative and interesting. When we went to the vet for his booster (flu mainly I think!?), the vet asked if we wanted a leukaemia vaccination for him as well... and as we hadn't costed it in advance or known anything about it, we didn't take it... It is something that I will look into.

He hasn't gotten into any fights so far here, as he never came back looking like the real rocky after a few rounds, but a new neighbourhood could be different. Most of the other cats where we live presently are also house cats, so its usually more a 'growling' contest than a scrap to establish dominance...

Indricotherium

Are you moving far enough that you're cat won't be able to pick up any of his old trails / territory?

Anecdotally, I'm told that can be a factor.

anniehoo

Cant add anything here as you've gotten superb advice, but your description of him was just fantastic. Need to see pics! Good luck with the move he'll adapt quicker than you think, cats are unbeliveably savvy creatures and he'll know which side his bread's buttered wherever he lives.

Your main problem will be the road but sure you know that yourself!

Briskit

Indricotherium wrote: »

Are you moving far enough that you're cat won't be able to pick up any of his old trails / territory?

Anecdotally, I'm told that can be a factor.

I've heard that too and you make a good point.

It's about 10 miles away from his old haunt. He has been spayed, so I'm hoping he won't have an overwhelming hormonal instinct to try and return to his old haunts!!!!

I'm hoping we'll survive and adapt.... unless he's secretely on facebook and in kahoots with that gingerboots cat three gardens down!!!:pac:

Briskit

anniehoo wrote: »

Cant add anything here as you've gotten superb advice, but your description of him was just fantastic. Need to see pics! Good luck with the move he'll adapt quicker than you think, cats are unbeliveably savvy creatures and he'll know which side his bread's buttered wherever he lives.

Your main problem will be the road but sure you know that yourself!

Thanks Anniehoo ... That's not even the half of it... I could wax lyrical about him for hours as he's so gorgeous and treats us with such contempt that he's played us, and all our visitors for fools, and has us All eating out of his paws.

We had a girl watch the house for us we were on a 4 week excursion a month or so back, and she told a friend that she now dislikes cats because Rocky was such a D*ck!!...(we were initially offended, but understand what he's like) I think she was a bit lonely and Rocky's elusive aloofness didn't fill that emotional gap that needed filling!!! I tend to just lift him up and take hugs up against his face and his super soft furrr... hell why not.. you don't give me love, I take it... it's only fair when you get the Queen of Sheba treatment day in and day out.

I will try eventually to open one of those accounts to put a photo up of him.. although, we have loads, none of them catch him just right... He likes to sit at the breakfast table (usually on the keyboard while I'm reading a bitta news etc) in the morning and sits all nice and watches me eat cereal before work and then always invites himself into my bowl when its the only milky bit left... I just put my finger on his forehead and he pushes against it... he's cool...

He even has a mate in this neighbourhood... a big ginger tomcat... when he was rescued, he was with his ginger brother, so he seemed to have formed a bond with this neighbourhood marmalade fella... he'll miss him... they roll around in the garden play fighting sometimes... I tell herself that Rocky's gay, but she says that's fine if it were true, but infact he's so in tune with his masculine felinity that he can roll around with the boys and still be comfortable ... well, that's ok... but I think he would draw the line with a pink collar and I don't mind one bit if he brings boys 'round.. although, he chases them all off when its feeding time... not really into sharing his chow...

Ok.. time for me to check out... Really appreciate so many helpful and friendly tidbits from so many people today... now its probably time to get some boxes and stop with the procrastinations over the packing that needs to be done

anniehoo

Briskit wrote: »

Thanks Anniehoo ... That's not even the half of it... I could wax lyrical about him for hours as he's so gorgeous and treats us with such contempt that he's played us, and all our visitors for fools, and has us All eating out of his paws.

Oh my god, you really are a TRUE cat lover. I bet his photos all look grumpy, angry slit eyed blurry shots that just wont ever do him justice?!!I've been feeding a stray who's fantastic but is one angry *****(how many stars was that ) but i think he's the business.

wrote:

now its probably time to get some boxes and stop with the procrastinations over the packing that needs to be done

Check them boxes before you leave. You know cats.....curiousity and all that

Pumpkinseeds

I was chatting with a friend of mine yesterday, she's just moved house and was worried about their 1 year old cat. He is used to having access to a wood and coming and going as he pleases so she was worried about confining him and how it would go. He did the howling and wailing, prowled about going nuts then found her daughters bed and went to sleep. He proceeded to pee on the floor and escape out the back to brawl with a neighbours cat. He is so far very happy and she ended up far more stressed than he was about the move.

Graces7

With six moves in seven years.... Always we let the cats out, unfed, immediately. Never a problem. Keeping them in the two days before so that they were in to be moved was the real problem as one can open almost any window.

Briskit

Funny to read so many different responses and ideas from people that have experienced moves with their cat/s.

All is good here, I just wanted to say thanks to everybody on this forum for the whole plethera of interesting advice, strategies, good natured banter etc., etc.

The next month or so will involve a lot of packing, cleaning, and then again, cleaning and unpacking.. but its fun to throw your life upside down sometimes... and you get an oppertunity to throw out all those bits and pieces that pile up that nobody ever got around to using, or unpacking... Hopefully! (As we're upsizing, we'll probably only gather more stuff!!)

Anyway, as AnnieHoo said in an earlier post, our cat will probably enjoy all the boxes around the place, and I found him happily asleep test driving a big box inside another box that I had left down near the dining room book shelves... Funny stuff.. everytime I move something around the place to pack it, or just adjust something.. I find him sitting on it... it's cool... I brought the bag of coals out the to garden today for a bbq, and he decided that the top of said bag was a lovely place for him to have a lie down!! :pac:

I only pop in here now and again, but I'll be sure to update the many nice people who offered their advice to me and made me less concerned about the wee dude moving from his neighbourhood. I reckon, judging by so many diverse responses to how different cats react that our guy will have some quirky ideosyncrasies once we move and the dust settles.

Thanks.

Briskit

Hello All,

A month ago I came onto this forum to start this thread regarding moving house with a cat and I got tonnes and tonnes of positive feedback and handy information.

So having now moved and established ourselves a litlte in our new neighourhood I wanted to give some feedback back to a forum that was so useful to me.

Basically... we're 4/5days into our move and the cat has been out exploring the neighbouring gardens most of yesterday and even today.. in the pouring rain... Rocky loves the rain... He's a cool cat like that... definitely not you're average cat... but I guess they all are in their own way.

Anyways... Two weeks before we moved, Rocky needed some antibiotics regarding a skin alergy from being outside in the summertime... it involved him staying inside and wearing one of those lamp-shade style collars for a week...

So we did that whole keeping him in thing and enjoyed having him in the house and laughed a bit at how he walked swinging his head side to side and how he used to get caught out trying to fit thru' gaps that he'd normally get into quite easily... having sadly broken his spirits over the initial two days, he took to the idea that he was an inside cat, and the added appetite from the steroid injections was used to good avail to fill his litter all the time and make it clear to us that it was beneficial to us to have him living outside ... Ppppffffeewww.. definitely... but perservered we did...

Anyways.. the collar came off with a week to go, so we decided to keep him in so that he didn't get reacquainted with his old territory... so we did that and got a fair amount of love and attention off him as he tried to persuade us to release him.

So then we made the move Thursday... and we were certain he had escaped and feared the worst... I even searched the neighbourhood.. but I think he had hidden out all day in one of the rooms that was filled with our boxes and furniture... he was all stressed when he appeared later that night.. but we were releaved that he wasn't brown bread.. his appetite was zero and he just sat on the window ledges jealously watching the two dogs playing outside on the back lawn.

Anyway.. he established himself in the room with our bed, clothes and furniture brought from the other house and over two days became his usual happy - and HUNGRY self... we were well worried when he wasn't eating!! as totally not his MO.

So each evening at the beginning of the move, I used to take him out to the end of the garden and just sit there and rub him while he looked about and took in the scents and listened to animal/insect movement around the garden.. then I'd take him back in.

All was well, and then as I was grilling some bacon yesterday, up he pops doing a chin-up on the kitchen window and hauls himself into the kitchen onto the countertop... I just looked at herself .. neither of us knew he had gotten out!!!... must have been while I was busy feeding the dogs...

Anyways, we laughed and I realised the wee dude had had a good spell around the house now to be familiar with his home territory.. so we let him out and I knew I could get the dogs to bark to help him find his way home later on..

No problems so far and he's been and gone on a good number of scouting missions for hours at a time and returns each time.. most likely having introduced himself to some neighbourhood dogs etc...

All the insight gained on this thread about making a room cosy for him with familiar toys, beanbags, features etc... as well as letting him out on only half his usual rations, insured he'd not stay out too long.

Anyways.. back he's come each time and he hasn't gone down the side of the house yet. He spent the first few days on the windowledge overlooking the busy road, so I hope the noise and sight of the traffic will keep him out back.. and upon reflection, we also had a very busy road near us in the city.. about 70 metres down from us behind a terrace of houses, but with a lane accessing it... and he never ventured there even though he liked hanging out in the lane all the time.

Anyways... Rocky is a happy resident in his new home and I came on here in my usual overly long way of trying to explain stuff to say thanks to all the kind people that gave me advice last month and helped ease our concerns about the move.

I logged on last night to write this but got sidetracked...


Cheers & go raibh maith agaibh,

Briskit.