Moving with cats

[HollywoodNVegas]

My fiance's sister has two beautiful white cats. Anyway, she is moving ....don't worry she IS taking them with her! However, she is wondering if anyone has had any experience in this area. Any suggestions on how to make the transition a little easier? One of her cats will be 3 this month and tends to have a little bit harder of a time with change. The other is 10 months and will probably do just fine.

Thanks for any suggestions!

[QueenScoopalot]

Are they going long distance, or local? Either way, a sturdy carrier is a must, along with collars with not only the old home address, but the new one as well in case one gets loose somehow. Keep the cats in a room where nobody will enter while things are being moved out of the home (tape across the door saying DON'T ENTER)! Once things are moved into the new house, keep the cats in one room with familiar things for them such as beds, kitty litter boxes, anything that smells like the old home, and will keep them secure feeling. Maybe a good idea to tape across the door if things are being moved in still, to avoid door darters! Once things have settled, allow the cats out to explore the new place, and expect that they may or may not hide for a day or so. Be sure screens are secure also so they don't rip them open and escape...I've heard that happens. Good luck to your sister-in-law to be, and I'm sure her kitties do just fine.

[may51380]

I have moved with my cats from FL to TX and back again (Beth and Lulu love hotels - they liked jumping across from one bed to the other), and all along the east coast of FL. As long as they have their carrier, blankets and toys, they were fine. All my local moves - I have had a friend/family keep them the day of the move. After everything was moved in, I brought them home, showed them where their food and litter box was. They adjusted pretty quick. My last moved was just over a year ago, when I brought them home, they ran around the house checking everything out. I made sure I had Beth's blanket and Lulu's stuffed baby dog out. Once they found thier "toys" they were fine. Hopefully your sister's cats will adjust just as easy. Good luck, hope all goes well.


Janine
Beth
Lulu
Joey

[kittycats_delight]

My hubby and I drove half way across Canada with our 2 girls. We drove from Newfoundland to Ontario in a uhaul truck. Our 2 girls stayed in the cab with us. I had food and water available for them at all times. I also had their favorite blankie on the seat between me and my hubby for when they wanted to nap. Lilith preferred to nap on the glove box cover. I guess she could see things better from there. We stopped several times during the day and took them out to potty. We had a litter box in the back of the truck. We would take turns with the girls for potty breaks. We would take them to the back of the truck and one of us would get inside with them and the other would stay outside as we would close the door so they could roam and use when they wanted to. Usually we woudl give them a half hour or so. Then each night we would stop and they had a hotel room to explore and a clean litter box and fresh food. Lilith was much more at ease with all the changes than Vixen. But both girls did very good.

A pic of Lilith and I in Nova Scotia. She didn't seem to mind the trip at all.

[Jayna78]

My husband and I moved from Baton Rouge, LA, to St. Louis, MO on July 1, 2003, with Bailey & Leila. They both rode in the car for the 10-hour trip with me, and they were both so happy when we went in the house we were renting and let them loose for the first time, once we got their food/water/litter and some toys set up. Prior to that, we had them locked in our apt. bedroom in Baton Rouge, so we could leave the front door open and be carrying things out. We did the same thing the next day when we unloaded everything from the truck into the house - we kept them in one of the bedrooms so they'd be nice and secure and not get out.

We closed on the home we bought on April 29, so from then on, we gradually moved things from the rental house to our new house. We lived at the rental house with Bailey, Leila, and the 2 cats we adopted last April and June, Leo & Claudia until the following weekend. That was the point at which most of our stuff was moved over to the new house. The cats were definitely upset b/c all of the familiar things were disappearing, but that's why we stayed there all week, so we would never have to leave them at the rental house alone - we all went into the new house to sleep there for the first night together - on May 7. We closed off the finished basement so they wouldn't be too overwhelmed. We also brought them in and put them in our master bedroom/bathroom at first so they could kind of get acquainted with everything in small scale first. Then, we let them go out into the rest of the house (except for the basement and 3-season room, both of which were closed off to them), which included a main floor and a half story to explore.

We started letting them go in the basement over the next couple of days. They really did adjust to the house pretty quickly, with minimal traumatization. They love all the open space and 2 sets of stairs. Now that my husband has redone the 3-season room (it was in really bad shape when we moved in, whereas the rest of the house is nice), and put carpet squares in, secure doors, etc., we let them out there, and they just love it!

Cats do pretty well - they just have to be given time to adjust, and plenty of love and attention in the process.