Moving house with Cats

Darrenon91

Hi all,

We are moving house and taking our two young cats (one 2 years, one 1.5 years old) They are mainly outside cats, come in for food and to sleep at night but not always.

Whats best practice when we get to our new place? Many website say keep them in for 2 weeks +.

Anyone have experience or recommendations?

Cheers,

mymo

Darrenon91 wrote: »

Hi all,

We are moving house and taking our two young cats (one 2 years, one 1.5 years old) They are mainly outside cats, come in for food and to sleep at night but not always.

Whats best practice when we get to our new place? Many website say keep them in for 2 weeks +.

Anyone have experience or recommendations?

Cheers,

Keep them in, if you can set up a room with a litter tray or 2, some familiar things or clothes for scent. Wait a couple of days and let them explore the new house, teach them to come for food, rattle the biscuits or tap the tin, or tap dish, before feeding so they associate the noise with food. I find best let them out first thing in the morning before feeding, stay by them, give them a few mins to look around, tap food to get them in again, repeat in evening, make sure they are hungry when letting them out. Take it slow, few mins at a time for first few days, give them longer after a few days. Until they are well settled don't let them out after feeding, it will prevent them going too far as they'll be expecting food, this gives them time to learn new surroundings.

Blondie919

We moved last July to a new place and Neo was only 11 months but by then we couldn't keep her in. She had been exploring the outside world in the old house for about 3 or 4 months before that. She figured out how to open the kitchen window in the new place fairly quickly. We tried tying the window shut but she would cry to be let out. We relented. If she wants to get out then there's no way in heck that anyone will stop her. She's incredibly determined and/or stubborn. I suppose OP if you think they will be ok outside then let them.

gipi

I moved house twice with 2 different cats. To help the cat recognise their new surroundings, I brought it round the back and front gardens on a lead. Let them sniff and mark corners, shed, etc. I kept the cat in for a few days, just letting it out on the lead. Each cat got used to its new place very quickly.

Blondie919

I just remembered a couple of things you can do to make sure your cat comes home when they go out exploring. The first is to rub butter on their paws and they will be able to smell their way back home. The second is to leave their litter box outside and they will follow their scent back home. I have to say that we've never tried either of these but the second one sounds more reliable. I do worry when I haven't seen our little cat for hours but the relief when she comes through the window is huge. Still, I can't keep her in. She wants out, out she goes.