Cats (and moving house)

[Pacion]

This is one for cat owners. I am curious about something. How do you retrain /introduce a cat to its new home when you move house, and help it to realise that the new place isn't just a vacation?

[Genesius Redux]

Takes a while. Cats are very place-oriented, as you know. It helps if you move things into the new place by stages. Take about half your stuff, then take your cats, then take the rest of your stuff. Also if they have things they like to hang out on, cat trees, what have you.

Or just take a bunch of catnip and let them have a catnip party, maybe they'll be too drunk to notice the change....

[Pacion]

lol GR. They are not my cats. A friend's. Just curious aka Enquiring mind :D

[mamboqueen]

Might I strongly suggest you keep kitty inside the new house for a while before letting him go out?

When I was (ahem) younger, I moved in with my boyfriend and I bought the cat with me. I kept him in a for a few days and then slowly started to let him go out for short periods. Well one day, Rusty goes missing. I knocked on my next-door neighbor's door to inquire if they had seen a new orange-ish cat lurking about and they said "no, but our cat, Stanley who went missing 9 months ago just turned up". Coincidence? Not! I asked if I could see Stanley and they said "no, he's at the vet getting fixed so he doesn't run away again." Needless to say, Rusty had a very costly lesson in getting to know the new neighborhood.

[Pacion]

It was your Rusty? :shock: Did you you manage to get him back?

Fortunately or unfortunately, my friends are moving literally round the corner from where they live. They have asked the new owner to please call them if the cats should turn up at the old house :( :lol: Poor things, they will probably be a bit confused for a while.

At the current house, there is a low brick wall which one of them just loves to jump up on and roll around as you are leaving, so that you go Ah! and scratch his chin etc :lol: If he is outside, he often sits and watch you leave :lol: He is a beautiful temperament.

[Purr]

This is one for cat owners. I am curious about something. How do you retrain /introduce a cat to its new home when you move house, and help it to realise that the new place isn't just a vacation?

When I moved into my condo a couple of years ago, I left my cats at the apartment until I was ready to bring them over. When we got to the condo, I put them in the sunroom, with their food & kitty box, and left them there so they'd be safe with all the chaos of moving. After the dust settled a bit, I let them out to check things out. Since all my stuff was there, they got the idea pretty quick it was home.

My cats don't really go outside much. Purr, the tabby, is a big 'fraidy cat, who cries if she finds herself outside. Blaze, the tuxedo, is more adventurous, so I let her out for short, supervised visits (sounds like a parole from prison, doesn't it?). :kitty:

[etchuck]

Hm... when I moved with my cat, I flew ahead of time with her (1.5 hour flight vs. 20+ hour car trip) and boarded her at the vet's until I moved my stuff to my apartment. She's an indoor cat, so after about a few hours of hiding under the bed, she finally got somewhat accustomed to the place (sniffing around and all).

I moved to a townhouse recently, and in that case, the cat came with me with the last of the things that got moved. Kept her in the basement for overnight and then eventually got her to be oriented to the other levels of my townhouse.

Of course, I never let my cat go outside.

[LauraB]

I keep my cat inside, except when he's on a leash (that's a sight to see!), so he doesn't fight with other cats, run away, or get hit by a car (I live in the city). I've moved 3 times since I've had him, and he never has a problem. He likes traveling (no carrier, I buckle his leash to a seatbelt, and he curls up on my lap for the drive--even 7 hours), and he loves exploring new places. When I first get to a new place, I'll close him up in the bathroom while I'm moving all my stuff in, so he doesn't run out the front door, but then I show him where his litter box and food are, and he's all set. Happy camper.

[mamboqueen]

Pacion, yes I got him back, but he never seemed quite the same. Odd thing that an animal would lose his affectionate demeanor just because he got fixed *yeooow*

[Pacion]

Thanks all. :lol: mamboqueen. The funny thing is that my friends have this gorgeous white and ginger cat. He is more aristocratic than the Queen :lol: He was a real rascal before he got, you know what done :lol: It has taken a while (like almost a year :roll: ) but now, he will let you scratch his chin and close his eyes to indicate that he is enjoying it :roll: :lol:

[Genesius Redux]

I keep my cat inside, except when he's on a leash (that's a sight to see!), so he doesn't fight with other cats, run away, or get hit by a car (I live in the city).

Not to mention contract feline leukemia. I applaud you keeping your cats indoors. All of the cats I had with my ex were indoor cats. We always made sure we played with them lots so they got plenty of exercise. Good for you, Laura! 8)

[Laura]

My older cat, Cece, is a veteran at moving. She was born in upstate New York, and then was adopted by another man. That man moved to New York City, and of course Cece went with him. I got to be friends with the man, and with Cece, when she was about three years old. She really took a liking to me so my friend suggested she move in with me. She did, and was very sweet and calm. Three months later I moved to California, and of course Cece came with me. I sold my car, shipped my stuff, and flew her on the plane. It was great because she was able to travel as a "carry on" at my feet! We landed in LA and spent the night at my boyfriend's parent's house, and then drove to San Francisco where we lived with a friend for about a week. Cece was very traumatized because the friend had a cat who was deaf and so didn't act like a normal cat. We then finally moved into our own apartment, where we stayed for 6 1/2 years. Cece became the Queen of the place. We then moved into a house, and it took Cece a few days to get used to that. We moved about 75% of our furniture first, and then brought Cece over. We let her out of her cat carrier and she had no idea what to do. I'd never seen her react that way. She slunk around the living room looking miserable. Since I was doing something upstairs, I brought her up with me and put her on the bed, where she promptly burrowed under the covers and didn't come out for like 12 hours. She slowly started to explore the house, and not long after she once again became Queen of the place. She's an excellent cat, very sweet, but unfortunately getting old. She's 14 1/2 now, so we call her Nai Nai ("grandma"). We're talking about maybe moving overseas some day, and I realized that if Cece were still alive it might be too much for her -- a 12 hour plane ride, then 30 days of quarantine. If it comes down to that, I'm going to take her to my parents' to live. Cece and my mom are quite fond of each other, so I think it would be a good "retirement home" for old Nai Nai.

I love my cats!!!!!!!! (I have another one, who is 2 1/2, named Millie.)

[squirrel]

I have two cats. One is a gray tabby and the other is white with brownish spots.
I will move soon (as my landlady wants to sell the house) and I think the cats will be a little traumatised... see the tabby (it's a she - Tzitzica we call her) is sort of savage and looks scared all the time... the other one (it's a he - Tzomby) is much more affectionate...
I moved out last year, first back to my parents' place (until I found a new place to rent) and then to the new studio I rented... and I didn't bring any furniture (it was already furnished)
It took them some time to get accustomed... :) especially the girl, she was soooooooooooo scared... :)
But eventually they get used to the new surroundings....