Moving house with an "outdoor" cat

[Becbabe]

Hey everyone,

Any of you experienced pet owners have any tips for moving house with your outdoor cat?

We inherited her at our current house two years ago, cos she wouldn't move with her owners so they gave up on her.

They only moved about 3 kms away. We'll be moving 15kms away. How can we make sure she stays with us? We are very attached to our lovely ex feral cat!
(she is chipped and desexed and everything)

Any suggestions? I've never had a pet before when I've moved house.

Thanks!
Becbabe.

[annb]

We have moved house 3 times with our 'outdoor' cat...when we got to the new house we just kept him inside as much as we could for the first day or 2, we had a cat flap fitted as well....then when we let him out into the garden we just went outside with him and brough him back in...then after id say 2 days he was fine as he could get in and out himself

[BlueGin]

Our cat disapeared for a week or two after a move (we kept him locked in for 3 days first) and luckily he did reappear, but the vet said we should have kept him locked up for 2 weeks!

Apparently the first 2 days: In a smallish warm room, maybe laundry, making sure you go in there a lot to pat him

After that: If he seems happy, then the rest of the house for the rest of the time.

You can buy cat harnesses for walking, if you are really scared, maybe put one on him when he first goes out to gauge his reaction. If he freaks you could see he wasn't ready maybe?

Good luck!

[InSaneOne]

yeah i would keep him inside for a a week at least, then let him out while you are out there with him. then when he seems more confident, let him out during the day for a couple of hours at a time. cats are very adapatable and he should be fine after a couple of weeks at your new place.

just in case i would let the new owners of your old house know about the cat and give them a number to contact you on in case he turns up there.

[Grizabella]

I have to agree with Bluegin and Billiebeth. Keep you cat in for at least a week.

We have always had cats, and have always rented (even when I was a child). We always did what Bluegin has written and that always worked, we've never had a cat run off. I just wanted to add that its best to let them out for the first few times at around 8 or 9am. This is so the birds are up and about, so the cat can't hunt as easily and isnt tempted to stray and they will also then come in for dinner. Also, get your cat in at night if you can. If it decides to hunt in the evening, it can get a little disorientated in the new area and lose themselves. And get lots and lots of kitty litter! You will need it for the first few weeks!

[bronny-jane]

i heard that you put butter on their paws

[Mikeswifey]

I am going to be having this problem when we move soon too, but my cat is an indoor/outdoor cat.

My mum told me to leave him inside for at least 2 weeks.

He will go mental as anything and pee everywhere. I can see it now.

[Becbabe]

THanks for the tips!

Actually I don't know how she'll cope with being kept inside... she really likes to be out, even when she comes in for cuddles for an hour or so, she's pretty quick to head for the door after a while.

The new house has no laundry! But we will try to keep her in somewhere where she can't do any damage if she gets a bit of cabin fever.

She really loves my partner, so maybe I can enlist him to keep her nice & calm (he is the one who does the jobs like groom her when she's full of burrs, put on the flea collor, give her the worm tablets etc!)

Anyway hopefully we can convince her that staying with us is a good idea.

Bec.

[k15s]

Definitely keep it inside. We have done that for about a week each move with no hassles. If you normally wash your cats (I grew up with Persian/chinchillas) you will need to bathe them before you let them out. Only probs we ever had as kids was when forgot to wash them b4 we let them out. We'd find them back at our old house the next day. Clever little things!

[hayleylea]

i heard that you put butter on their paws

ive heard that too!