How to limit stress during a move

[luckies4me]

Hi everyone. We are currently looking for a house. Hopefully we will find a place and be moved out by the end of February. I was wondering how I can limit the cat's stress during and after the move. The cats right now are indoor/outdoor but I want them to be indoor only once we move. Questions on toys? What can I buy to keep them more active and happy living indoors? All will be leashed trained and taking out a few times a day to play that way, or we are thinking of building a safe cat enclosure outside that connects to one of our windows. Does anyone have any pictures of cat enclosures they have built?

Do you recommend moving the cats BEFORE the move or after? As in keeping them in the new house bathroom or a closed bedroom, or not moving them until everything is situated? We have always moved the cats into the new place first, but I would like to hear opinions on this. Any safety tips? I really want everything to do smoothly so any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[Craftlady]

When we moved into our new house from the apartment complex, Butterscotch was our only cat. We brought him over to the house once we got keys and thought letting him roam around would be a good idea. NOT Poor thing ran upstairs and literaly shook. We waited a little awhile and he didnt calm down. So off in the carrier we went back to the apartment.
He was abanded by his previous owner at complex and I truely think he thought it was happening again since he saw nothing familar in the house.

Once we did move on moving day, we kept him in one of the bedrooms at apartment until the last load, then we took him over to the house. Put his carrier on the front porch so he could see what was going on and he was so content. After we were all done we opened the carrier and he just sat there for a few minutes then decided to come out. Once he saw familiar things like couch, chairs and toys he was just fine.

Everyone's experiences are different but if you can keep things as normal as possible its so much better for our kids.

Butterscotch and Skinny both were outdoors only before we took them inside. Having them neutered helps them to not want the urge to go out and roam. Plenty of toys and windows to look outside. Butterscotch has been indoors only for 4 yrs now and Skinny has been indoors only since Sept. They don't miss outdoors.

I truely believe if we provide a warm enviroment and safe one our felines adjust pretty well to being indoors only.

[slick]

The morning of my last move I took Max and Specks to the vets for the day. That night after the movers had left my new place, I picked them up and brought them to their new home. Even though they did not see all the commotion, it was still stressful on Max. He got a bladder infection the next day and had to be put on meds for 2 wks and during that time he hid behind the bed the whole time, only coming out for potty and meals. I moved from a quiet neighbourhood to a more noisy one and I guess he was not used to the traffic.

Good luck.

[catcrazylady]

When we moved we only had Sammy. He was so traumatized watching all of his familiar things leave the apartment that I thought he would go crazy. I think he thought we were going to leave him behind. Once we put him in the carrier and in the car he was as calm as he could be. I think he was just glad to know that he was going to.
If I were to move today I would do things different. I would take things that were theirs like beds, toys, blankets, food bowls, and litter boxes to the house first. I would put them with all of their familiar things in a room until the move was done. I would constantly go reassure them. I hope I never have to do it again but if I do that is my plan.
Good luck!!

[luckies4me]

I will not be letting them out into the house to run around until everything is situated, that is what I always do. Houdini has moved several times and she could care less where she's at. I am not at all worried about her, but Ewok has never moved as he was raised here, and Cheetah is a little timid girl and has only moved once. Although she adjusted perfectly fine with no trouble at all. But who's to say this time will be like the last? I have no idea.

ALL my cats are fixed and were at a very young age so that is nothing to be concerned with. I still want them to go outside, as I feel all cats should be able to, but only when I am with them. Which is why I am going to leash/halter train them or build a cat enclosure. They will have to stay inside for the first few anyhow, so that's no biggy. Cheetah is the type of cat that HAS to go outside, as in she will meow for HOURS on end and NEVER quit. So that is why I would like to build some sort of enclosure where they can be safe. If anyone has done this please let me know. I would love some ideas.

[luckies4me]

Originally posted by catcrazylady
I would take things that were theirs like beds, toys, blankets, food bowls, and litter boxes to the house first. I would put them with all of their familiar things in a room until the move was done. I would constantly go reassure them.

That's exactly what I do. I usually move all their things and keep them in either the bathroom or the master bedroom until we are done moving and it's worked so far.

[flippytale]

Originally posted by luckies4me
That's exactly what I do. I usually move all their things and keep them in either the bathroom or the master bedroom until we are done moving and it's worked so far.

Sounds like you are doing the right thing! I recently moved my boyz across the country in the car. They knew that they were going somewhere once they were in the box, that's for sure! I have a carrier that is big enough so they can huddle together and endure their car ride together.

Here's the catch...I had their "blankie" (an old blanket they always sit on and I didn't wash before the trip) and in the hotel room I confined them in the bathroom. The litter had some of the old litter mixed in so it had their scent in it. I would spread the blankie in the tub so they had something warm to sleep on.

I lived in a temporary apartment and having "their" stuff there helped a lot since I didn't have my own furniture there.

Finally once I moved into my apartment I waited until all the furniture was moved in and then set them loose. Once they had sniffed every square inch they knew that they were home. All those familiar smells...yummy!

All in all, they handled the move and the trip as smoothly as I could have hoped and I would use the same procedure again. The key is keeping familiar objects around them so that there is some smell of their old surroundings.

BTW, I chose not to use any kind of sedatives on them because Timon in next to impossible to pill (imagine my daily shreddings!) and I didn't want them drugged for a week.

also BTW, Timon and Tucker are strictly indoor kitties, so that elliminates my worry of them wandering off too.

[Desert Arabian]

TIP: Buy some Feliway and spray it all over everything. That product works great! FELIWAY.COM You can find it at just about every pet store.

[luckies4me]

Originally posted by YellowLabLover
TIP: Buy some Feliway and spray it all over everything. That product works great! FELIWAY.COM You can find it at just about every pet store.

[luckies4me]

Originally posted by flippytale

also BTW, Timon and Tucker are strictly indoor kitties, so that elliminates my worry of them wandering off too.

My cats don't roam so I have no problem with that. I just don't want to have to worry about fleas and them catching things etc.

[Desert Arabian]

RE: Cass' " " post

Feliway is a "feline behavior modification spray" that naturally controls urine marking and scratching, calming cats in transport, and reducing stress in cats. The spray is made out of feline facial pheromones that works to comfort cats in unknown and/or stressful places. Cats naturally use facial pheromones to mark their environment . By spraying Feliway on couches, carpeting, beds, sofas, etc. the cat smells the pheromones and associates that sprayed area as being safe, harmless, and familiar.

We used it to calm down Dudley when we got Sammy, because he was EXTREMELY stressed out and stopped eating and lost weight. We sprayed the Feliway around the house and he settled down right away and started eating, and gained his weight back.

I highly suggest you get some and spray it around the house a couple of hours before the cat is introduced to the new house. You may also want to spray the cat carrier and the car with it to comfort the kitties in transport. You cannot smell it, so you don't have to worry about your car and house smelling gross, only the cats can pick up the scent.

We bought ours at the pet store for $14.99, and it is worth every penny, IMO.

[luckies4me]

Ok lol. I was confused. I had thought it was to keep cats away from things, but now I remember what it's used for. Thanks for the tip. I think I will go get some of that before we move.