A question, for cat people.EDIT:DAUGHTER says 'Great info; thank you!' We'll see what happens.

[elleng]

Last edited Mon May 13, 2019, 12:00 AM - Edit history (1)

I am NOT one. My daughter's family was adopted by one a few years ago, mostly an outside cat that they feed (outside, I think.) My 5 year old grandson and the cat have a close relationship. They also have a dog.

They've just moved into a much larger house; the animals haven't moved in yet; will do so soon. Daughter Julie is concerned about the cat adapting to new house/new neighborhood, and marking inside the house with smelly cat urine etc.

Any suggestions about how to minimize the obnoxious parts of cat acclimating to new house?

Thanks

[applegrove]

1. Is the cat fixed? I've moved one fixed male with no problem. Moved him

to 5 new homes. I had an unfixed male stay at my place and he sprayed.

[elleng]

3. Dunno, and I don't know if THEY know.

Will find out.

Thanks

[spooky3]

2. Does the kitty spray inside their current house? If not, it may not do it in the new one.

Is the kitty neutered? They are less likely to spray.

Is the new house close enough to introduce the cat gradually? We did this many years ago, not because of fear of spraying, but to reduce stress. We took the kitties to the new house every couple of days and let them walk around and sniff and rub their heads on corners, etc. The day of the move (with all the furniture, etc.) was still scary for them, but there were no real problems and they adjusted quickly.

Some people have good luck with Feliway and Gabapentin.

[elleng]

4. He's rarely IN their current house (I think.)

The houses are 30 miles apart, but it may be possible for them to do this, as they still own the 'current,' old house. They're in the process of moving things in, but I think most of the STUFF is in.

Will share your thoughts. Thanks

[spooky3]

13. Given that distance, I wouldn't let him out the first couple of days.

He may try to find his way back to their old home.

I hope everything works out.

[elleng]

15. Thanks. Will be interesting.

And almost impossible for him to find his way back.

My daughter surely doesn't want him to spend his time marking the territory; it's an exceptional house!

[Aussie105]

5. Get him desexed

but it takes quite a while for a neutered male cat to lose his smell, and be less inclined to wander the neighbourhood and fight others to establish his territory or look for girl cats.

Take stuff with him from the old house, stuff that holds his smells. Lock him up in a separate room, let him get used to new smells and sounds.
Make a lot of fuss over him, feed him his favourite foods.

When he is less nervous, let him wander around the new house. Make sure all escape routes to the outside are not available to him.

When he looks like he has settled a bit, take him for a walk outside. On a lead, if he takes to that.

Chances are though, if not handled carefully, he will just escape and not come back. Cats are great at finding another home if they object to their current home. A few days of no food will see to that.

[elleng]

7. Thanks

[democratisphere]

6. The outside cat should be an inside cat with the move.

Couple of litter boxes should control any concerns; cats are very smart.

[elleng]

8. Thanks. We'll see!

[Hoyt]

9. My 15 year old cat went through a big move last year. Except for him hiding behind the washing

machine for two days and then coming out slow and cautiously for a few days, he acclimated well. The other one — my Ladyfriend’s cat — was fine right away.

I’m sure it varies. Hope it goes well.

[elleng]

10. Thanks

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

11. I just want to reinforce what the others have said.

If he's not fixed, he needs to be. And they need to keep him inside. For one thing, unfixed outside cat may decide to take off and try to find his way home.

For the most part, a fixed male cat will not spray. Sometimes they will, in which case consult a vet, because there are solutions and I don't know what they are.

[elleng]

12. Thanks

[ginnyinWI]

14. Keep him in until he's used to the house at least.

Then supervised walks outdoors so he gets familiar without getting lost. Then if he must roam, you have a better chance of not losing him.

[elleng]

16. Thanks

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

17. Be sure it's neutered, especially if it's male.

When urine marking occurs it's usually because the cat has territory issues, so when they move in (and the cat is neutered), they should let the cat get used to one small part of the house at a time, apart from the other animals. Then be sure the cat can always find a place of its own where it can get away from the dog, like a high cat tree.

[elleng]

18. Thanks.

[radical noodle]

19. I don't think there's much danger of spraying

IF the cat is fixed. I will say that I think it's unwise to move a cat and then leave it outside. Cats have been known to try to go back "home." It's really dangerous to let a cat roam around outside anyway (I learned that one the hard way) and if your grandson is close to the cat, I think it would be best for all concerned if the cat remained inside in the new home when it couldn't be supervised outdoors, at least until it was orientated in the new location.

[elleng]

20. Thanks.

I agree about letting him wander around outdoors, will take me months to get used to their new neighborhood even tho it's only 6 miles from me. The house is much larger than the 'old' one, and so much to do I hope they can get it together!

[radical noodle]

21. I'm sure it will work out

I moved two cats from Indiana to Florida and it took them about half a day of checking out the new place before they found a favorite spot and settled right in. Since then I rescued a neutered male and moved him from his former home in Georgia to Florida with no problem at all.

Good luck to everyone with the move.

[elleng]

22. Thanks.

This 'outside' guy adopted them, never has actually lived in the house (I think; good for me; I'm allergic!)

[pansypoo53219]

23. my older pair of cats when i moved spent hours sniffing the new house. loved the new windowsills.

[elleng]

24. Will be interesting to see, for them anyway,

as Miggy has been outside MOST of the time; don't know how much new windowsills will interest him!

[pansypoo53219]

25. my 3rd pair of kittens liked the narrow window sills too. still walked on them as cats.

[More_Cowbell]

26. He might actually be neutered (check to see if he has a notched ear)

There are groups that neuter and release stray cats.

But if she brings him in (I hope she does!) he should get checked by a vet anyway. It's possible that he might even be microchipped and there might be someone looking for him!

I have an outdoor cat living on my patio, am hoping to bring him in with my cat who's about 10. If the indoor cat will let me. He's very interested in being on the other side of the screen door from Outside Kitty, and he doesn't hiss or cry the way he does when the manager's cat comes over.

[elleng]

27. Thanks!

Will check with her. They're so busy now, with moving in and other every day issues!

[demigoddess]

28. We have had several cats who came from different homes or off the street.

We never had a moment of problems with adjustment. Most of our cats were comfortable the first night. Feed them and show them their litter box right away. One cat we got from the shelter would not get up on the sofa or the bed even if we put them up there. Then one year I was away a lot and he started doing it. One day I asked him to get down from the sofa so i could lie down. He said no. I put a pillow on top of him and laid my head on top. (he was a huge cat) He purred like crazy and the next night I woke up and his head was in the palm of my hand and his front legs were wrapped around my arm. After that he would sleep in our bed, right in the middle. One cat we had moved around the country with us and always felt our new home was HIS. Give them love, food and a litter box and they get the idea. Never had one spray any house we lived in.

[spinbaby]

29. We had one who ran away

First chance he got after he got here, he bolted out the door and disappeared. Two weeks of searching, calling, posting, and leaflets later, he turned up four miles from home. I think he was trying to get back to his previous home, but after one runaway experience, he never tried it again.