CAT PEOPLE-need your advice

[barkley]

7 years ago WE were adopted by a lovely calico cat. the vet estimated her to be around 2 years old at the time. she is largly an outdoor cat unless she deems us worthy to join us on the couch and fawned over. we live on a double cul-de-sac and roams freely but never to far from home.

we will be moving in a week and a half to another home across town. it has a lovely yard that will be similar in size and style to ours.

my question is-how do you aclimate a cat to a new home (esp. if they are outdoor type and do not use a sandbox)? i've heard something about keeping them in one room for a period of time (if so how long? and should she be allowed to venture out into the remainder of the house-or just start somehow increasing her access room by room?), should her first experiences outside be under our supervision-and then should we return her into the house?

how long does it generaly take an outdoor cat to acclimate to a new area (and hopefully not get lost)?

we've already planned to take current photos in the event she wanders off and we have to put up posters.

any suggestion, guidance, personal experiences would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Sleepy]

Don't have much advice because my cats have always been indoor kitties, but my main concern would be how close are the new surroundings to the old when it comes to possible problems like other stray cats/fighting, dogs which may be allowed to roam freely and then traffic. Would you be living closer to a busier road, etc. Getting lost would be one of my lesser worries. Good luck.

 

[Evil Queen]

When we moved from Tenn. with our 3 mainly outdoor cats, we gave them their own room here, and during the day would take them out on a cat leash. After about a week and we had finished our unpacking, we gave them the choice of indoor or outdoor. 99% of the time they choose outside. The only time I know they WANT inside is when bad weather is coming.

Until recently they never went far. My oldest has set up a duel household with a neighbor up the rode (after 11 yrs. of never leaving our yard).

 

[Virgo10]

Here are some reasons to make your outside cat and inside kitty.

Cars
Dogs
FIV
Feline Leukemia
Rabies
Mean People
Destruction of other people's property
Wild animals such as coyotes
Loss of wild birds

I have 16 cats and of the 16, 14 of them were outside cats first. They all adjusted to living inside. Was it easy? Not always but I didn't want the next cat I saw laying dead by the side of the road to be mine.

 

[Nancyg56]

I can't answer your question because our cats are indoor cats. I would suggest checking to see what animals are in your area. We had fischer cats introduced about 10 miles from us because some complained about squirels. Well they moved into our neighborhoods, and have been killing cats and small dogs. Be careful until you know what your kitty may be up against.

 

[munchkin bunchkin]

This is probably going to sound crazy but I know from personal experience that cats have a tendency to go back to their original home after moving.When I was little we had moved from one town to another (20 minute drive), 2 days later our cat was missing.We searched every where and no luck .Our old neighbor called us to say that she had found our cat sitting on the back deck of the house we just moved out of.We were advised by our vet that when animals are being moved from one home to another it's best to put them in a box ( with airholes) or a pet carrier and securley cover it because some cats have a tendency to go back to their "old stomping grounds" if they are allowed to see where they are going.

 

[MzDiz]

My cats became indoor only cats when I had to go across the road to pick my dead cat up off the street. Then three weeks later, the cat that we could never get to stay inside, died under our deck, and we had to remove boards to get her out.
Give the indoor cat thing a try.

 

[escape]

I asked my vet this same question not too long ago as we will be moving to a new house this summer. He suggested that I keep the cats inside for about a week. Let them kind of get used to the new area. Then, gradually let them outside for a little while at a time.

Good luck! Let me know how it goes for you and your cat because I'll be doing the same in about a month.

 

[barkley]

not much chance our cat will become strictly indoor-we tried this when she first adopted us and it just was not to her taste. she spends 99% of her time either on our front porch lounging (alternatly in the shade and sunbeams) or in our backyard doing the same on the patio or under one of the trees. the place we are moving to i tend to think she will stick more to the back yard (lots of places that would appeal to her similar to the current home).

we're fortunate both where we live now and at the new place in that our small town has very active animal control enforcement-there is a LOW maximum number of pets a resident can have and this is enforced. we also looked into both of the backyards that will be adjacent to us (from the top story of the rental) and there are no signs of either having a dog. we've also been to the neighborhood several times at different times of the day and have'nt seen any stray cats or dogs wandering around.

no coyotes in our area, and as far as wild birds go-well we live adjacent to open farm land and as such the little critters that like to eat plants are a big draw for wild birds so there is no shortage of them in any neighborhood in town (we joke that sitting in our yard reminds of a visit to the "tiki'tiki room at wdw-singing 24/7).

i think i will check with the vet, but basicly plan on getting a larger (than we currently have) pet carrier which we will place (open) in one of the rooms along with her food/water and a litter box. we'll set up a food area in one of the other rooms as well so she can get used to where her food will normaly be. when we start venturing outside with her we will set up her normal food station as well as her favorite outside bed. we'll just have to hope for the best.

 

[Cthia]

I would suggest keeping the cat in the house a few days so that it can adjust to its new surroundings. Even though she will cry to go out resist the urge to let her out. After a few days you can try to let her out but keep an eye on her so she doesn’t venture off any where. I didn’t really have any problems with my cats roaming after they stayed in the house a few days.

But since our town has gotten busier on the main road our cats are all indoor cats now. I wouldn’t imagine letting them outside now. Plus we have foxes wandering out in our backyard now.

Our indoor cats cry to go out since 2 of them were strays and had been outside before we got them. We just open a window and let them enjoy the fresh air. I also pick pieces of grass for one of them to chew, not sure what her fascination with the grass is. They do realize they aren't going outside so they don't bother us anymore to go out.

 

[geffric]

Two years ago, we inherited my Dad's apartment indoor cat. She stayed indoors for about a week, Having a great time go from 1 window to the next at ground level. But then she started trying to sneak out. anytime anyone opened a door she was right there. She made herself almost flat and darted out the door as soon as it was opened. We tried to keep her in, but hodini cat got out everytime.

We then spend way too many night searching for her. She hid under brushes, behind things. One could amost hear her laughing at us from under her bush hiding place, as we walked the streets and back yards looking for her. It was a great game of hide and seek!!. But she always came back when she wanted to eat or sleep. She never tried to go back to my Dad's, she just became the neighborhood cat.

So my only advice to you, make her wear a collar so if she is lost someone can find her and call you.

 

[mecllap]

You are more likely to be able to enjoy many more healthy years with her if she is an inside cat. We have lost too many cats who were partly outside cats at much too young an age. And have been successful in keeping a former outside cat happy as an inside cat.

There used to be a recommendation to put butter on her paws after you move to get her used to the new place (I think that had something to do with the scent from licking it off her paws. At least keep her in for a few days and starting in one room for a while is a good idea. I used to use a patio "cat" door to let cats go in and out on their own (of course then you might get other cats, and once I had a visiting raccoon -- inside the city limits).

You might even want to start keeping her inside before you move, so she doesn't get freaked out and disappear while all the commotion is going on.

But, overall -- keeping cats as inside pets is far better than the risks of letting them out (and it took me some years to realize that) -- unless you're keeping them as mousers on a farm or something -- then they're not really pets, and you know that they will have a shorter life span.

 

[Simba's Mom]

This is probably going to sound crazy but I know from personal experience that cats have a tendency to go back to their original home after moving.When I was little we had moved from one town to another (20 minute drive), 2 days later our cat was missing.We searched every where and no luck .Our old neighbor called us to say that she had found our cat sitting on the back deck of the house we just moved out of.We were advised by our vet that when animals are being moved from one home to another it's best to put them in a box ( with airholes) or a pet carrier and securley cover it because some cats have a tendency to go back to their "old stomping grounds" if they are allowed to see where they are going.

That's exactly what Simba did when we moved-go back to the old house. It wasn't a hard thing to do since the old house was less than 1/2 mile away. So I'd get in the car, go over, and he'd hop right in the car with me. It didn't take me long to figure out that he wanted the car ride! Finally, one time I went over and yelled "You found your way over here-you find your way back!" But that wouldn't work long distance.
To the OP, we kept our cats inside for a couple weeks after we moved. Believe me, they learned to use the litter box. You might want to have a litter box around the house before you move just to get your cat used to seeing it and maybe using it. After a few weeks, we'd let our cats out for short periods of time, gradually lengthening the amount of time they could go out. By then they knew where the food was-a powerful motivator for cats!