Moving house. cat coming with us

billy111

Hi, some advice needed as we are moving home. Family cat coming with us. We have the cat 6 years living in same house all that time. Cat in indoor/outdoor cat. Kids very attached to cat so don't what her running away etc. Any tips?

mymo

Bring something familiar she likes, set her up in one room with a litter tray, and give her a day or two to settle.
Then begin letting her explore the new house, give her a couple of weeks to get comfortable before even thinking of letting her out. (It can take anything from a few days to months for a cat to settle, so don't rush things)

Once she's happy and settled, wait for a Saturday or Sunday, when you have lots of time, don't feed her that morning, go out into the garden leaving the door open, make sure it's quiet, and let her sniff around.
Keep a close eye if she looks like she's leaving the garden call her in for food (ours can hear a can open from the other end of the house), give her a few mins and call her in anyway, give her a small feed, not too much and try again in about 3 hrs.

Keep up the letting her out hungry and calling her in for food for a week or two, she should be fine by then.

Set meal times at the same time every day, cats like routine, they can keep time and will come back at the same time for food.

boomerang

Excellent advice there from mymo - definitely wait at least a few weeks before letting her out and then only gradually, when she's hungry.

In addition, a Feliway diffuser in the room she will spend most time in will really help her settle.

Frito

Does your cat have a blanket that she sleeps on? If so, bring it with you and rub it firstly in the room you're confining her to, then around the house just before you let her investigate the house. Cats are much more settled when they smell their own scent, and it will 'prove' to her that the new house is her territory.

zef

I'd reccommend a kitty harness, i have 2 indoor only (i live 20 metres from the M50) females, and they love going out to eat grass daily. I first started it to orient them to their settings and location of the house should they 'escape' as they occasionally do.

Shenshen

When we got one of ours from the animals shelter, the advise we were given was "First time you let her out, make sure she's hungry. And if at all possible, make sure it's raining outside".

I would agree with the previous poster, take it in small steps. Good luck with the move.

mymo

Raining would also help that's true