moving cats
Thu Dec 23, 2004 10:52 am
my boyfriend, who takes care of my cats while i'm at school, has to move. (his landlord sold the building without warning and everyone had a month to move! isn't that salty?) when i moved my cats from my apt. to his, they adjusted pretty quickly because he was over my house so often that they were used to the scent.
but they won't be used to his new place. any tips on how to make moving easier on cats? one of them is a spazz (her name is freak for a reason!
) and i don't want her to hide for days. she's likely to not eat.
but they won't be used to his new place. any tips on how to make moving easier on cats? one of them is a spazz (her name is freak for a reason!
) and i don't want her to hide for days. she's likely to not eat.
Thu Dec 23, 2004 1:08 pm
Well when I moved house my cat kept running back to my old house so in the end, to prevent her from getting lost/run over we had to lock her in. We felt really bad as she was very upset and hid under the sofa for 3 days. The poor animal was traumatised. We just put her food bowl and her litter tray right next to the sofa until she got used to her surroundings and ventuered out.
Just give them time and familiar toys/objects.
Just give them time and familiar toys/objects.
Thu Dec 23, 2004 4:47 pm
I read that the best thing to do when moving a cat is to bring them in and leave them in one room for a while. Then let them into another room one by one every few days. If the cat goes under the bed or runs to a closet, just let it. At this time it might need a small and dark place to sit and be calm. It will come out when it feels more secure, and making it come out will only scare it more.
If you let them outside, you might have to really watch them or they might bolt away from you. But if you have some kind of outdoor area you can put them where they can't get away, you can stay with them and let them look around. Or hold the cat and walk around with it, so it can look around a little. You might have to leash a very skittish cat. I had a cat that moved to a new area and when he was out for the first time he just looked at me when I put him down on the ground. He didn't run away. He just walked around but kept me in sight. I followed him around everywhere he went, and then I took him back inside after a few minutes. I did this for a few days and he learned the lay of the yard and where the food was, so he didn't run away. Cats will walk around and maybe rub on stuff to establish their scent in the area. Some cats may scent mark, especially male cats. This isn't to anger you, but they will be in a new place so they might pee to get their scent in the area. This makes them feel more secure but is pretty smelly to you if they do this inside the house. There is this thing you can buy from vets that looks like a glade plug in. It has some cat scent in it, but you can't smell it. I think it is pheromones or something only a cat can smell. If you get one, it is supposed to make the cat feel more secure inside a new house.
Some kind of cat pheremone spay:
Click here
The plug in thing:
Click here
I don't know if those will help but it might be worth a try.
DiscordantEdit: Added some more code so the links wouldn't stretch the page.
If you let them outside, you might have to really watch them or they might bolt away from you. But if you have some kind of outdoor area you can put them where they can't get away, you can stay with them and let them look around. Or hold the cat and walk around with it, so it can look around a little. You might have to leash a very skittish cat. I had a cat that moved to a new area and when he was out for the first time he just looked at me when I put him down on the ground. He didn't run away. He just walked around but kept me in sight. I followed him around everywhere he went, and then I took him back inside after a few minutes. I did this for a few days and he learned the lay of the yard and where the food was, so he didn't run away. Cats will walk around and maybe rub on stuff to establish their scent in the area. Some cats may scent mark, especially male cats. This isn't to anger you, but they will be in a new place so they might pee to get their scent in the area. This makes them feel more secure but is pretty smelly to you if they do this inside the house. There is this thing you can buy from vets that looks like a glade plug in. It has some cat scent in it, but you can't smell it. I think it is pheromones or something only a cat can smell. If you get one, it is supposed to make the cat feel more secure inside a new house.
Some kind of cat pheremone spay:
Click here
The plug in thing:
Click here
I don't know if those will help but it might be worth a try.
DiscordantEdit: Added some more code so the links wouldn't stretch the page.
Thu Dec 23, 2004 9:13 pm
I had the same problem, except it was my whole family moving to a different house. Moving the furniter first is really good. They'll spaz will the movers are moving everything, but it will help make the move easier. Try and keep the layout as the same as possible. Our new house is basicly a larger verison of our old one, but that may not be the case for you. But, it they like to seet on the back of the couch by the window to watch the birds, still have that coach by the window to watch the birds.
Fri Dec 24, 2004 2:12 pm
Well, when our cat came from outside and into our apartment, he took a few days to get used to the warmth (It was Winter) and the lack of snow. Absol Mewtwo got used to it in a couple of hours.
We had to give him WHiskas Temptations so he'd eat. They're little treats but give them to your cat 6 at a time, whenever they get scared give them some. One pack can stay for about 2 weeks if you do that, then your cats will grow acustomed to your new place.
We had to give him WHiskas Temptations so he'd eat. They're little treats but give them to your cat 6 at a time, whenever they get scared give them some. One pack can stay for about 2 weeks if you do that, then your cats will grow acustomed to your new place.