Moving? What About Your Cats?
We all know that moving house is stressful but it can just as stressful for your cats too, if you do not plan your move with them in mind. Here are some suggestions to minimize the moving headaches for both you and your cats.
Planning the big move
Most of us will move house at least once or twice in our lifetimes. What can be an exciting new start for humans often terrifying and disorienting to cats. Some people just toss their cats in the car and go. But if you really want to make the move smooth for your cats and aid their adjustment, communication and preparation are the order of the day.
Your animals will see you box all your belongings and disassemble rooms. As the familiarity goes, insecurity and fear can set in. Will they be gong too? To reassure them that they’re part of the deal, make them part of the process. Taking time to communicate will help ease your cats’ anxiety. And even if you don’t believe in this sort of things, it doesn’t hurt to go over your plans with your cats anyway to make sure you haven’t forgotten anything.
When planning the placement of your furniture in your new house, don’t forget the locations of your cats’ things such as water and food dish, bed, litter box or play pen. Travel arrangements on your actual day of the move would also have to be on your agenda. Whether you are hiring someone to sit your cats while you are busy tasking the movers or you are shifting them yourself, your cats need to be your responsibility. If you feel that your household is counting on you to oversee the move, it would be wise to pass that responsibility to someone who has less duties but at all times do know where your cat is on the actual day of the move and their condition.
Cats are notoriously suspicious of charge within their environment, so imagine how a house move might affect your cats. If your cat is particularly sensitive and it is convenient for you, you may choose to board him at a reputable cattery for a few days over the moving period.
What To Pack?
Cats may become distressed or anxious during the upheaval of packing, so confine them to a quiet room where they can rest and be safe. Begin packing non-essential items several weeks in advance, leaving your cat’s possessions alone until you are close to the move date. Try to minimize the impact of their routine. Do not wash bedding until a couple of weeks after the move, so that they will have something familiar smelling in the new house.
When it is time to pack up your cat’s items, keep them all together. When you arrive at your new home, you can quickly unpack all that they know and love to help ease their transition in their new space.
Moving Day!
Confine your cat to one secure room with its toys and bed so that escape and injury cannot occur whilst people are going in and out of the house. Make sure your cat is safely secured in the car or vehicle that they are to be transported in to the new house with a travel crate or car harness on the back seat.
Cats are notorious for getting into trouble during the moving process since they are particularly sensitive to stress. Put a notice on the door to remind family members and the removers that the door should remain shut.
When it’s time to go, put your cat in their carriers with a familiar blanket and transport them, properly secured with a seat belt in the car – either wedged securely in the back or in the well behind the seats. Don’t put them in the removal van or the boot of the car.
Settling In
Try to unpack the essentials before introducing your cats to the new house so that they can see familiar items with then unfamiliar house. If possible, place furniture and items in similar places to those in the old house. Be patient with your cats in the new home and make allowances for ‘accidents’ on the carpet if they should happen. Quietly pick up the mess and clean the area to properly remove the smell. Once your cat has settled in, the accidents should stop. Always praise them when they go to the toilet in the correct spot.
Some cats walk into a new house, curl up in a favorite chair and never look back. Others take time to adjust to their own surroundings but you can help them to settle in. Cats will rub their heads and bodies on furniture, walls, doors etc to lay down scent from glands, which are situated mostly on the head. Rubbing their own scent around house increases their feeling of security. You can help this process by rubbing a soft cotton cloth gently around the cat’s face to pick up its personal profile. Then dab this, at cat’s height, around the rooms where he will initially be exploring. Repeat this daily, widening the areas where you impose his scent. Use food and a regular routine to help during the adjustment period. Small frequent meals will give you more contact initially and help to reassure your cat that all is well.
The transition from old to new will not happen overnight. There will be times when you will fear that they will never forgive you for uprooting them. But they always do. That’s the beauty of animals.
Our cats Rosie, and Angel both males before we left for Florida, were so energetic.But, when we moved we didn’t have any room for them, so we had our neighbors take them, and for a while they were alright,but now I regret leaving them with them.The cats ran off, a few months right before we moved back to Washington.We should of took them…….
Comment by Desirae — 24 March, 2007 @ 17:54