Hiding in the boxes under a desk
You pack up your things, hire a moving company, and quietly lead the family dog to your overloaded SUV with a leash. He jumps in happily but not so your cat. Moving a cat involves much more than transportation.
Many cats have gotten lost while being moved to a new location and many more have become nervous and depressed. There is an old saying, “A dog goes with his master. A cat stays with his home.” This seems to be true. Dogs are happy to move any number of times to any number of places.
Take dogs from their master and they suffer separation anxiety and sometimes a full grief cycle before they adjust. Cats will attach themselves to anyone that feeds them but will cling to their territory and the things they are used to. This means a few precautions when moving a cat.
• Keep things as calm as possible for your cat while you are packing up. Keep her in a room where packing is not occurring and people are not going in and out even if it is a back bathroom.
• Don’t let your cat escape at either house or en-route. Keep the cat in a good solid cat carrier from a closed room in the old place to a closed room in the new place. Some cats refuse to be put in a carrier. In such a dire situation you can stand the carrier on end with open door up, and drop the cat in bottom first by the scruff of the neck. He or she simply must be locked up and not carried loose in the car.
• When your cat arrives in its new home, keep things calm and lock him in a small room where there is the least amount of traffic.
• The outdoor cat must also be kept indoors in a quiet room for at least a month in his new home. If he is moving to the city it is best to keep him indoors for at least six months before releasing him to a neighborhood with traffic and dogs.
• Try to keep the same routine when you move your cat and use the same type of food. Changing these can cause added stress.
• If the cat’s new home involves new children, dogs, or especially other cats, give it a room of its own where none of these other new “family” members can get to him for a month. After he has settled in and shows an interest in getting out you can let the door open a little at a time and let him make acquaintances on his own schedule. It is especially difficult for cats to learn to get along with other cats, though they usually will in time.
Kittens are adventurous and will travel and adapt more easily than adult cats. Take care of your cat while you move and all will go smoothly.
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