Browse Forums Move Management 1 Jun 06, 2009 10:00 pm So i'm moving in a couple of weeks. Very sad time...
Anyway I have a cat and he's the type that goes roaming. So just wondering if anyone has any tips to get the little fur ball to adopt the new place? I hear of so many stories from people who relocate and soon after their cat goes missing. I'm very fond of my cat and if he did that I would be gutted. Re: Tips for moving with pets? 2Jun 06, 2009 10:07 pm I have friends who've used butter on their feet...? Other people I know have locked their kitties indoors for two weeks before letting them outdoors, that seems to work. Always let them outside with an empty tummy, that way they'll come back for dinner. Re: Tips for moving with pets? 3Jun 06, 2009 10:18 pm Maybe try to confine him to one or two rooms for the first few days, and then the whole house, before letting him outdoors for short periods at a time. Did you finally buy somewhere d@n? "Your emotions are the slaves to your thoughts, and you are the slave to your emotions." — Elizabeth Gilbert Living in our new house. Currently scaping the land. Re: Tips for moving with pets? 4Jun 06, 2009 10:31 pm donuts Maybe try to confine him to one or two rooms for the first few days, and then the whole house, before letting him outdoors for short periods at a time. My cat is very perceptive. If he feels like he's being stopped from going outside, he'll rebel and go a bit spazz. Quote: Did you finally buy somewhere d@n? Nope.... renting again Buying for me won't happen for another 18 months.... if it ever does happen. Re: Tips for moving with pets? 5Jun 06, 2009 10:34 pm hi Don Despite your cat's inevitable "spat", really try to keep him in for the first week. Apparently this is necessary, and this is what I did when we moved here years ago, and we had absolutely no problems at all. Needless to say, my kitty is an indoor kitty, but she still does go outside every day, quite a few times, just not for long! Also, when we let her out the first few times, I stayed close to her. That's my tip for the week! Annie A thankful person is a happy person. [/color]My hobby design blog: http://aviewondesign.blogspot.com/ Re: Tips for moving with pets? 7Jun 07, 2009 8:18 am yup agree, with all the tips above. We have 2 cats and moved 4 times, each time keeping the lads indoors for the first 2 weeks, and then progressively letting them out - by the way same 4 cats haven't lost one yet.. * Are we there yet ? Demolition has come and gone ! yippeeee..hang on that was months ago !! come on Mr Builder, dig a hole at least Finaly ! Hole Dug ! well done darren 20/06/2010. Slab is down ! Framing is complete 20/10/2010 we are progressing like a snail on heat - excited and determined but very very slow Steveo Re: Tips for moving with pets? 8Jun 07, 2009 9:49 am I would find it very difficult to keep him indoors for any length of time. 2 weeks would be impossible! He's house trained so he knows to go outside to do his "business" in the dirt.
The other suggestion of only sending him outside when hungry won't work. Because as soon as I feed him he either a) goes to sleep (somewhere in the house) or b) heads outdoors to play/roam. There is one advantage to me for moving during winter and that is he tends to hang around in doors more than being outside. But come summer he can be gone for hours. A cat tracking/GPS device would be very handy but non exist. Re: Tips for moving with pets? 9Jun 07, 2009 10:22 am don, even though he is house trained, def get a kitty litter where he knows it is (laundry) and you will find he uses it with no problems. Specially in a new environment! A thankful person is a happy person. [/color]My hobby design blog: http://aviewondesign.blogspot.com/ Re: Tips for moving with pets? 10Jun 07, 2009 10:29 am I really would try and keep him in for a few days - with access to familiar bedding, a litter tray, food and water and a window so he can get a look outside. Especially important on the first day - if you move him first and still have movers, furniture and boxes coming in and out - you don't want to over stress him or give him the chance to make a run for it through an open door. Once the moving part is over, you could take him outside in his carrier to let him have a look, sniff at the new surroundings. My cat is fully an indoor cat, apart from the odd scratch in the garden bed, she's inside in the warmest, comfiest spot asleep somewhere . She and the dogs will be going to a boarding kennel for the moving day, then picked up the nest day when everything is unpacked and in it's place. We always did the butter on the feet trick, but it's probably an old wives tale. Don't forget to update contact details on his tag and microchip (if he has one). If you're moving councils check local cat laws as some require cats to be indoors at certain times. If you have quite a car journey ahead of you, I would not feed him that morning, as full tummies and car trips don't always mix. Once in the new house, stick to the old routine to help kitty feel at home. A few drops of Rescue Remedy in his waterbowl may help with anxiety/stress with the move. If he's not desexed, I'd consider it (depending on his age) as entire male cats can roam for ages looking for the ladies and getting into fights. Re: Tips for moving with pets? 11Jun 07, 2009 10:38 am When we moved from Blackburn to Forest Hill many years ago, our cat got out after only one day. He was then gone for over a week.... and was spotted at our old house. d@n it's pretty simple, there's two choices. Confine him for at least 10 days/two weeks to be sure he won't go back to his old home. Or let him out and face the possibility that he may be gone for a while and runs a very real risk of being injured or hurt while crossing roads etc to get back to his old home. There's a newspaper article up on the wall at my vet about a cat that got loose from a car while going on a family holiday.... they were over 300km from home. It took him a few months but he made his way home. For the move itself, we always confine the cats to the laundry from the morning of the move, make sure the washer and dryer is the last thing on the truck/van and take the cats in their travel containers in the first load. When you get to the new house, get the washing machine, dryer and all laundry stuff away first. Then put the cats in the laundry and shut the door. This means they are confined while the house is set up, truck unloaded, etc, etc. We always confine them for two weeks, and except for that one escaping incident, we've never had a problem. The only other option is a cat harness so you can walk him outside, but if he hasn't been used to it from a kitten, it may be very hard to get him to adjust to one. I leave you to fend for yourself, figure things out yourself. Terrence Malick Re: Tips for moving with pets? 12Jun 07, 2009 11:49 am Maya_Papaya A few drops of Rescue Remedy in his waterbowl may help with anxiety/stress with the move. What's in it? I plan to move everything first and take him last. The new laundry isn't that big but there is a spare bedroom i'll be using for storage. I've never used/bought kitty litter so i don't know if he will use it. He's so use to going to the door, meowing to be let out and doing his thing in the dirt. I know everyone is saying keep him indoors, but he's mostly an outdoor cat. Easier said than done. By stopping him from going out, makes him rebel and more determined to go. Re: Tips for moving with pets? 13Jun 07, 2009 12:04 pm d@n Maya_Papaya A few drops of Rescue Remedy in his waterbowl may help with anxiety/stress with the move. What's in it? The bottle I have here (which is for humans) says: 5x dilution of flower extracts of Rock Rose, Impatiens, Clemantis, Star of Bethlehem, Cherry Plum in a grape alcohol solution. You can get a pet one also. Here is the website: http://www.rescueremedy.com/pets/ There are other similar products - your vet should be able to advise you. With regards to the litter tray, you could try using dirt from the garden if that's what he is used to. Or if he must go outside, consider building him an outdoor run - then he has the best of both worlds. Some ideas here: http://www.cat-world.com.au/cat-worldenclosures.htm Re: Tips for moving with pets? 14Jun 07, 2009 1:33 pm don't worry don, with all the move and everything, he just needs lotsa cuddles for a few weeks, and try using the kitty litter at your current abode and watch him go - most cats love it - indoor or outdoor! A thankful person is a happy person. [/color]My hobby design blog: http://aviewondesign.blogspot.com/ Re: Tips for moving with pets? 16Jun 07, 2009 2:55 pm d@n I already tried a large box of dirt inside close to the back door where he normally exits. He just used it to sleep in once. Maybe kitty litter is different. hmmm, i'd say it is to cats!! lol A thankful person is a happy person. [/color]My hobby design blog: http://aviewondesign.blogspot.com/ Re: Tips for moving with pets? 17Jun 07, 2009 3:02 pm Annietom d@n I already tried a large box of dirt inside close to the back door where he normally exits. He just used it to sleep in once. Maybe kitty litter is different. hmmm, i'd say it is to cats!! lol Knowing my cat, I reckon he would just ignore it and want to go outside. Re: Tips for moving with pets? 18Dec 23, 2010 7:04 am One of my cats ran back to our old house a couple of times after we moved. Luckily it wasn't far so I could bring her back. By the third time I waited for her return and she finally did and hasn't left since, she was always a wanderer. My other cat never left the new yard at all. All cats are different, but both mine are outdoor mostly due to me being allergic. I'm dreading my next move as it's much further so I will have to keep my wanderer indoors for a couple of weeks. Re: Tips for moving with pets? 19Feb 04, 2012 3:32 pm Cats (in general) bond with their homes (as opposed to dogs who don't care where they are as long as they're with their family) which it is why it is recommended that cats stay indoors for a at least a couple of weeks so they can bond to the new home. We get flyers in our mailbox a fair bit from distressed people who have moved home & their family cat has subsequently disappeared. Its heartbreaking. We lost our kitten, Tilley, about a month after we got her. We spent all day shaking her cat food & calling her name around the house (she's an inside cat), then the garden, then all of the nearby streets. Nothing. So we made up some mailers with her picture on it & put them on power poles & doorknocked all the houses . By the end of the day we had half of the neighbourhood out looking for her. We knew she was gone for good & that we were by far the worst people in the world. That night around 7pm we heard a faint scratching sound in the hallway. Little minx had snuck into the linen cupboard & buried herself under a pile of towels where we couldn't find her, so she could have a nice 8 hour nap (believe me, I'd looked in that cupboard at least 10 times). She only decided to come out because she was getting hungry. Least our boy cat comes when he's called. She still doesn't. Don't worry about your kitty losing his lollie (he'll get over it eventually), 'cause it aint nothin' compared to what you'll put yourself through if you lose him. "Whoever says sunshine brings happiness has never danced in the rain!" Re: Tips for moving with pets? 20Feb 04, 2012 5:23 pm As a Vet Nurse, I can HIGHLY recommend the use of Feliway diffusers. It's a pheromone diffuser that replicates cats familiarisation pheromones that come from their cheek area. Cats will rub their faces up against things wherever they feel safe and secure. So having the diffuser in the house makes them feel happy. I recently moved and used it for a month when we moved our Burmese who is a highly stressy cat, and he adjusted perfectly. I plugged the diffuser in a day or two before we moved him in and kept it running, in the room where we wanted him to spend most of his time (lounge room) Highly recommend it!! www.feliway.com/au Built the Seaview 36 with Rawson Homes - Read about it on my blog http://lamaisondemorgan.blogspot.com.au/ Hello everyone, I have a question regarding moving a chandelier after it has been mounted. The chandelier in question is quite large, measuring 4 meters… 0 72337 Just be careful with building stability during construction, that is when the structure may be weakened, refer to your engineering drawings for stability methodology. 1 7225 Thank you so much. This has been very helpful. We definitely wish to settle and get these people out of our life. They are trying to charge us interest on late… 7 14263 |