(I mean, “move to a new home”, not “get off my lap, you lump”)
In a few weeks I’ll be moving to a new place. I’ll be bringing my cat – 14 year old neutered male. He’s pretty mellow, mostly…likes nothing better than to sleep on my lap. But he does express his displeasure (with me, maybe with his litter box – his motivations are sometimes unclear) by occasionally taking a dump on the kitchen floor.
How do I get him acclimated to the new place with minimal kitchen dumpings and other anti-social behavior? The previous tenants had a cat, which I’m sure will be significant.
I’m currently in an apartment, so the cat is completely indoors. The new place has a tiny yard, so he may have in and out privileges.
Also, I put one of my dirty t-shirts in each of my cat’s carriers. It made sure that they had a place that smelled like ‘home.’
Then when we were at the new place, I constrained them to one room for a day or two. It meant that all the moving stuff was done (which would have caused them even more stress) by the time they had access to the whole house.
Several decades ago, we used to “butter the cat” in a new place. Margarine would probably work as well. Contrary to what you might have heard about buttered cats, we just wiped each foot with margarine and released the cat to explore.
I think the point was that somehow this helped establish the cat’s scent everywhere, helping him/her feel more secure, and also possibly made it harder for the cat to get lost.
I don’t know if this is state-of-the-art practice any more, though.
I always tried to move things into the house first , before bringing in the cat, so that the cat could smell something familiar in the new place, even if much of it was still in boxes.
Also, I have a cat who tried to return to the original house, after the move, so confining them at the start is important.
I wouldn’t even think about letting the cat outdoors for quite some time after you move - make sure he’s settled in and not causing problems at all before beginning to see if he’s even interested, let alone safely able to enjoy the yard without slipping out and getting lost in your neighbourhood. At his age, he isn’t really equipped to be learning to deal with territorial neighbourhood cats, dogs and children, let alone things like birds and climbing trees. Most cats raised indoors don’t even understand what the outdoors are anyways, so don’t feel bad about possibly never letting him out.
Your house is going to be rather chaotic during the move, so you might want to consider secluding him in a single room (an already empty bedroom, or the bathroom) with his food and litter box while you move out of your apartment. You could move him to the new house first and do the same thing - either way, you need to be 100% certain that the door to that room won’t be opened while movers are trudging in and out of the house with your stuff!
Leave the cat with his toys and familiar litter and food box until thee house is quiet, and then let him out to explore the new place. If the house is sectionned off, you could limit him to certain rooms at first, but it shouldn’t be a problem. Place the litter in the spot where you expect it to be from now on, and once in a while go get your cat and put him in it like you would with a kitten; he’ll have to start exploring again from there every time, but he’ll soon learn it as a reference point and that’s a good thing!
Reward him with treats and kind words and scritches, and after a few days he should be ok. If he does go outside his litter box, make sure you use an enzyme cleaner to clean the area (your vet can recommend one, or use a store-bought one).
Good luck! I moved a few years ago with a very bitchy, very territorial cat and had to do so over two days, so we got to enjoy the extra fun of having her freak out in a hotel room just east of Toronto. It was… not fun… but she settled in fine once the movers left and she was able to explore and see that all the furniture and stuff still smelled like her!
In all seriousness this time, this can be a major driver of jealousy issues. My then-girlfriend (now wife) had the sweetest, happiest dog, who warmed right up to me. The first night I stayed over there, though, the dog (who was not a major chewer otherwise) chewed up my clothes. This same dog adjusted fine to moving into our marital home, but when I moved my parrot in shortly thereafter, the dog pooped in protest on our bedroom floor.
FWIW we have one cat that has moved from Saudi Arabia, to Indiana, Arizona,Nevada,Qatar, then we picked up another cat , they both moved(with us) to Florence, Italy, then Australia, now they are back in Nevada. No ill effects. No sedation during travel.
•Before the move, if there is to be a long drive from location A to location B, I stop by the vet and get some kitty quaaludes. Nothing strong enough to knock him out, but something to mellow him out.
•After being fed and given a trip to the litter box, on moving day, Kitty goes in his crate. This way, if he gets upset about all the shenanigans involved in the moving process, he doesn’t wander off and hide or get lost or anything.
•When Kitty arrives in his new house, he’s left in the crate for a few minutes, while the dog is escorted around to sniff & investigate the new digs. I set up the bowls and litter box. Then he’s allowed out to explore. I will carry him, immediately, to his litter box first, and then show him where his bowls are.
•After a day or so, if it’s to be an indoor/outdoor kitty, I will escort him outside for the first time and walk around with him. He only gets to go outside for a few minutes, then I scoop him up and bring him back in. On the way back in – this is crucial – I put him down right in front of the door and gently rub his face on the door jamb. This gets his scent on his front door, so he’ll know where he lives.
•After the initial exploration, I’ll feed him so he knows he’s home. Then I’ll put his bed out in front of a window somewhere – whatever spot I’ve decided will be the Kitty Hangout. And I’ll drop him into his bed.
So, chill-out meds for long car trips. Confinement during the move. Then guided/escorted exploration for the first hour. My cat is now 14 and is pretty chill to begin with, so the last time I moved, I didn’t go through any of this. A) He’s an indoor-only cat. B) I only moved across the street. So I scooped him up in my arms, carried him across the street (friends took the dogs and we all walked over there together), and then some of the usual acclimation steps I listed above. No meds or confinement. Kitty was in the new place all of ten minutes before he flopped down in the middle of the living room floor, stared down the dogs defiantly, and then settled in for a nap. His stuff was already in there, and his dogs were too, so there was virtually no animal drama at all.
for the suggestions. I’ve got some Feliway which I will put to good use.