How Many Days Until My Cats a Friends Again After a Move to a New Place

Moving house and travelling with cats

Cats bond strongly with their territory and can feel very vulnerable when away from domicile ground. Remembering this and planning alee can help reduce the stress your cat might experience while travelling or settling into a new home.

Moving house with your cat

Moving house tin can be a stressful time for you and your cat. Yous may have worries about how your true cat will cope and how yous will ensure that your cat does non go lost in the new environment.

If the new house is non far from the old one, you may worry that your cat will return to old haunts. However, if planned well and carried out carefully, y'all can successfully relocate your cat with minimum stress.

Safety showtime

Early the twenty-four hours of the motion, put your true cat in 1 room with all doors and windows airtight so that yous know that your true cat is safe and can be plant when it is fourth dimension to get. Information technology's a skillful idea to popular a sign on the door so that anybody involved with the motility knows to go along the door closed. Feed your cat in the morning but not too shut to moving time in case of disease during the journey (scroll down to read nearly travelling with your true cat). If you think your cat is likely to get frustrated in the one room or if you are worried that someone might accidently let them out, then y'all might desire to consider booking them into a cattery for 1 or two days.

Keep your cat in a basket on inflow until one room in the new house is available to become a 'safe area' for your cat. Familiar items such every bit a bed, scratching post and toys should be placed here as well equally a litter tray, nutrient and h2o bowls. Information technology's a overnice idea to provide an particular of vesture that smells of you lot and your one-time dwelling, every bit this volition also help your true cat feel more secure. Brand sure the doors and windows are kept airtight and lock the door if you lot can, as this will assist y'all to call back your cat is inside and forbid others from opening the door accidentally. Alternatively, a big sign stuck to the door may aid. You tin then get on with moving everything into and around the business firm knowing your cat is secure. At the end of the day you tin let the cat out to explore the house a piddling (make sure doors and windows are closed). It is usually best to confine the exploration to ane or two rooms at offset and so that your cat is not overwhelmed and you know exactly where they tin can be found.

Information technology may be wise to board particularly nervous animals in a friendly cattery before the move and continue them abroad from the new business firm until everything is unpacked and settled.

Helping your cat settle in

Make your cat experience at habitation past helping them to furnish the new house with their scent. Cats volition rub their heads and bodies on furniture, walls, doors etc to lay down scent from glands situated mostly on the head but also over the body. When a cat is feeling confident, they volition rub odor effectually the house and this will increase feelings of security. Obviously none of these smells will exist present in the new house and in that location will exist various alien smells, which may brand the cat experience insecure.

You can help by taking a soft cotton material and rubbing it gently effectually your cat's face to pick up their 'personal aroma profile'. Dab this effectually at cat height in the room(s) where the cat will exist kept at first so that the true cat begins to feel at home and bonds with the territory. You can repeat this daily and build up your cat's aroma within the firm before letting them outside. You may wish to consider using Feliway products during this time – these emit synthetic pheromones which can help make your cat experience more relaxed – ask your vet for details.

Use food and a regular routine to help your cat settle in. Modest frequent meals will give you more contact initially and help to reassure your cat that all is well. Past knowing when and where feeding will have place, your true cat can anticipate the meal rather than worry well-nigh it. This also allows your cat to relax and promotes a feeling of wellbeing.

Moving home can exist traumatic for an indoor cat who may non be used to dealing with changes in the environment in the aforementioned fashion that an outdoor cat might exist. Tiresome, careful introductions, i room at a time, volition help the cat settle in.

When to let your cat outside

It'due south of import that your cat stays confined to the firm for at to the lowest degree two weeks equally this will let them time to become used to their new territory. If your cat is very confident and y'all feel they are getting frustrated at being kept indoors and so you can consider letting them out a bit earlier, but but past a few days. If your cat gets nervous easily, then you may want to continue them in for much longer, until they experience really comfortable in their new surroundings.

A few days before you let your true cat out, sprinkle some of their used litter effectually the perimeter of your new garden. This will not but help your cat feel more than comfortable when they go outside for the first time (as the garden volition now olfactory property 'familiar'), it will make neighbouring cats aware that there is a new cat in the surface area.

Make sure your cat has some form of identification (the blazon of collar that snaps open up is the safest) with your name, accost and contact phone number. Information technology is also a good idea to get your true cat microchipped. If they are already chipped, so recollect to contact the microchip visitor to update your contact details.

The big 24-hour interval

It'south best to choose a day when you are likely to be in so y'all can be around to supervise if need be. Before you feed your cat in the morning, open the door and allow them admission to the outside. Cats are cautious by nature, then it's unlikely they will bolt out of the door. Most will take their fourth dimension deciding if it is safe to go out the business firm and will explore their new surroundings slowly and advisedly. It might exist tempting to choice them up and take them around the garden, but most cats won't appreciate this and may struggle and panic, fifty-fifty if they are used to existence carried in the home. Let them explore in their own time and don't worry too much if they hop over a fence or go further than you would similar – the majority of cats volition return after a few minutes at which point you could offer them something tasty to eat.

Confident cats who enjoy the exterior generally cope well. Timid cats may take some time to adapt to their new environs and y'all might find that if you accompany them into the garden during these first few days, information technology might help build up their confidence.

Preventing cats from returning to their sometime home

If your new dwelling is but a few streets or but a couple of miles from the quondam one, your true cat may run into old routes while exploring the area and return 'domicile' to the previous house along these routes. If this happens, it means they haven't bonded with the new home enough to break erstwhile habits yet.

Some cats are inadvertently encouraged to stay by the new occupiers of your old firm. They may provide food or are flattered by this strange cat'southward confident archway through the cat flap and their willingness to set up domicile with them.

It is wise to warn the new residents that this may happen if yous are not moving far, and to make sure that they don't encourage your true cat to stay – ask them to telephone call you so you can go and collect the cat. Even so, if this behaviour persists at that place are some things you can endeavour:

• Keep your cat indoors at the new firm for about a month
• Feed pocket-sized frequent meals and offer lots of attention to assist build up the bail between you. Create some routines and signals using food and feeding fourth dimension that your cat cannot resist. This way y'all tin can tempt your true cat to render to your new business firm in time for meals – tasty treats can provide a potent motivation!
• Brand your cat feel at abode by helping to furnish your new house with your true cat's familiar scent (see earlier)
• Ensure that no one (new owners and previous neighbours) encourages your cat to stay around your old domicile by feeding or stroking them, or letting them in

 For the first couple of weeks, let your true cat out just in one case each day just before feeding so that your true cat is motivated to stay around. The aim is to make the new abode the heart of the new territory, which smells secure and is the source of food and shelter (in contrast to the old habitation where these things are now denied). It may take weeks and, in some cases, months before your cat can be allowed outside unattended.

Travelling with your cat

• Send your true cat in a safe container (ie a robust and properly constructed cat basket or carrier) – cats may escape from cardboard carriers
• If yous are going on a very long journey, y'all'll demand to brand sure that your true cat has the opportunity to get to the toilet and has access to nutrient and water. Placing the cat carrier within a secure dog crate when you have stopped to have a break, is frequently a skilful solution as this volition provide the extra space needed for a litter tray and bowls, while keeping your true cat safely contained.
• When you are travelling, secure the carrier in the machine with a seat belt on the seat, or wedge it in safely at the back and then it cannot move around
• Never transport the cat in the kicking or loose in the front end foot well of the car or in the removal van if moving house
• If it is a hot twenty-four hours make sure the car is well ventilated and never leave the cat within a hot motorcar if y'all stop for a suspension
• If a short stop is unavoidable, make certain the carrier is absolutely secure and always go out the machine in the shade with a window open. Be aware how quickly information technology tin can estrus up if the sunday is on it. Do not forget the sun'south position moves and what was shade an hr ago may be in full sunlight by the time you get back.
• Ensure your true cat is wearing a snap type safety neckband and tag containing both your new and onetime addresses and contact numbers. Become them microchipped, too.
• Make sure your cat is healthy before you travel. You may wish to consider sedating your cat if the journeying is expected to be long or your cat is a poor traveller. If in doubtfulness, seek communication from your vet at the primeval opportunity.
• Feed your cat every bit early every bit you tin can before travel. Or, yous may wish to wait until yous arrive at your destination.

hardeewareturs.blogspot.com

Source: https://www.bluecross.org.uk/advice/cat/moving-house-and-travelling-with-cats

Share this post