How does one move a cat?

[dehro]

No, she's not stuffed.
We (my girlfriend and I) are currently living in a rather weird setup, two small adiacent apartments surrounded by a very large garden (think a couple of square km), on top of a hill on the outskirts of a village, at the end of a cul de sac.
We are halfway through the process of moving to a single attic, that is much larger, has several more rooms and two terraces but no garden since it's on the second floor... On the main road of another village some 100km away. Letting her out of that house at all, once we move there, doesn't seem an option, at least for the time being.

We have a cat that we would like to move with us.
The problem:

Spoiler: background on the cat

Show

we got our cat when she was already adult, house trained and neutered. The vet estimates her age at around 3-4 years. The hill we live on is well known for having a large feline population and this has caused a number of people to come dump their cats here when they move or decide they don't want a cat after all. We believe this is what happened to her as well. After that she spent six months going through our dumpsters and getting fed by random people in the neighborhood, until January 2017, when we let her in during the coldest nights of the year. She accepted our hospitality because, it turned out, she was nearing hypothermia and was dying. One week of nursing later and we had a cat.
It may also be that something changed in her domestic environment and the decision to hit the streets was hers, rather than her previous owners. We simply don't know.

We occasionally leave for a day or two and she can fend for herself both in the house and outside, though we tend to leave her inside in case of one or two days of absence. She's used to spending quite a few hours outside most days. Our move is not definite, because my girlfriend will continue working in the area of our current house untill June, so we'll be going back and forth between the two properties at least until then.
She doesn't like roadtrips.
How do we move the cat to what will, by the end of the school year, be our one and only house, with the minimum of trauma to her and trying to not give her reasons to run away?

[Ninja_Prawn]

Hmm. I've moved with my cat three times now, but I'm not sure I actually have anything useful to say about it. It's probably different for every cat, at the end of the day. Like, mine's always been an indoor cat, so the loss of going outdoors was never an issue.

I guess what I can say is...

• It'll take a few weeks for her to get used to the new digs. Expect her to seem subdued, out of sorts, not eating as much, etc.
• Make sure there's a decent vet near to your new place, obviously.
• Give her flea drops before you move - I learned that one the hard way!
• Bring with you things that smell of her old home, if you can.

[dehro]

[*]Give her flea drops before you move - I learned that one the hard way![*]Bring with you things that smell of her old home, if you can.[/LIST]

because of the large feline comunity (also, plenty of dogs too) we already give her fairly regularly drops to fend off various pests.
she's currently asleep on a trolley-bag of ours.. I'm thinking I'll use that item and put her in a room with it for a few days

[Florian]

@dehro:

Cats are both, territorial and pretty mercenary. As a rule of thumb, when you move a cat, lock it into the new home for about a month, so the new core territory can be established without having to fight the expanded outside territory with other cats.

[Keltest]

Also, be prepared for everything you love and hold dear to smell like cat pee for a while. If your cat is in any way assertive, its likely that they'll be scent marking the new home once they recover enough to leave their hiding place and explore the new territory.

This is a combination of anxiety and new territory, so short of trying to put a diaper on the cat, its basically impossible to stop them from doing it if theyre determined to.

You may also want to consider a dedicated "cat room", at least while youre still moving in, that gets assembled early and quickly so the poor guy/girl has somewhere to hide where the furniture isn't constantly shifting while you get things the way you like them.

[Peelee]

For the actual move itself, go to the vet and ask about anaesthesia to put your cat out for a little bit. Test it out on the cat at least a week in advance to see how they react to it. That way, if the cat didn't take it well or it didn't work, you have time to go back to the vet for something else, and you can have a much less stressed cat once you get to the new place.

After the cat is relocated, then listen to everyone else, it's all good advice.

Good luck with your furry friend!

[Telonius]

Depending on how long the trip takes, and how you're traveling, you could just get a cloth cat carrier. Especially if you're going by car, having the cat in a carrier on somebody's lap usually won't be too traumatizing. If you're going to do this, test it out a bit beforehand; see how the cat reacts. Put some of its favorite treats in the carrier and don't move it anywhere when the cat gets in, so it starts to associate "cat carrier" with "I get food," and not "I'm going to be picked up and generally inconvenienced."

Seconding the "cat room" idea. Get one room done as quick as you can, and put some of the cat's familiar toys in there. It's going to be at least a bit stressed no matter what you do, but being in a (temporarily) calm environment, even if the rest of the house is in chaos, will help out a lot.

[dehro]

We are considering the cat room and will probably do just that. As for the actual trip... We're just putting her in the carrier and then in the car. She dislikes even short trips, which admittedly are usually towards the vet, but doesn't do anything other than making a fuss, so she'll just have to bear the one hour drive... And we in turn will take the one hour of constant meowing. I'm not going to put her under. That seems more of a shock to the system than an hour long drive could ever be.

[Honest Tiefling]

I would double down on making the carrier as less scary as possible. Give her some treats during the trip, and try to acclimatize her to the carrier with treats. Grab an old t-shirt or sweatshirt that smells of her favorite human (Yeah, little grody, but it needs to smell like you or your girlfriend) and put it in there.

Does she like catnip? I wouldn't do that IN the car (it'll get all over, and she'll be out of it during the drive), but perhaps after she's had a few hours to get used to her new place. She might need some time to adjust, especially if she is going from being an outdoor cat to a solely indoor one. She might need time or she might cling to the monkeys, it does depend.

How big is your current carrier? If you can, a slightly larger one might help a tad.

[Grek]

Trebuchet?

[sktarq]

There are also things that look like room scent plug ins that produce calming cat pheromones. I highly recommend it for cats when you move.

[Brother Oni]

Trebuchet?

Catapault, surely?

[Scarlet Knight]

Moving with a cat just takes a few easy steps.

1) Find lonely old lady in neighborhood.
2) Give cat to old lady.
3) Move.
4) Go to animal shelter near new home.
5) Adopt new cat.


What? It's not as if the cat cares about you.

[Fri]

I moved house a couple of time, with a couple of semi-outdoor cats (they mostly stay indoor but like to wander out every once in a while through cat window), and what I did was I lock them inside the new house for at least a week, to get them familiar with it with me coming home and feeding them regularly there and showing them where the toilet and such (basically so they recognize it's their new home) and then only let them out after a week. That two time was a success for me.

[Sholos]

Moving with a cat just takes a few easy steps.

1) Find lonely old lady in neighborhood.
2) Give cat to old lady.
3) Move.
4) Go to animal shelter near new home.
5) Adopt new cat.


What? It's not as if the cat cares about you.

On the chance this isn't being said in jest, I feel the need to point out that this simply isn't true. While cats may not show affection and devotion the same way dogs do, they do form bonds with people and will absolutely miss their owners. Now, a lot (though not all) of cats can adjust and will work it out, but it would still be extremely stressful. Also, if you're the kind of person who would just abandon a cat and get a new one just because they're moving, I strongly suggest you never have a cat at all.

[brian 333]

Be prepared to go back to the old house and pick her up. 100km seems a long way, but for an outdoor cat it's a week by paw. Cats don't usually like to travel because of all the cat territories they have to cross, but 10 to 20 km a night is an easy stroll. Let your neighbors know to be on the lookout for her and to give you a call if she shows up.

You have an advantage in your girlfriend staying in place in case the cat decides to go home.

If you have trained your cat to walk on a lead, you have another advantage. Being territorial, cats want to get to know their neighbors. Taking short walks around the house will give her a chance to sniff out the new guys. Mornings and evenings are best, when it's light but the sun isn't out. Familiarity with the new area will relieve much of the anxiety, and the cat will know she's safe from other cats with you around.

The most important thing is scent. Her own bed, litter box, scratching post, or anything she uses should move with her. Don't buy new stuff for her until she's comfortable, which you can tell because she will stop trying to hide all the time.

[WarKitty]

On the chance this isn't being said in jest, I feel the need to point out that this simply isn't true. While cats may not show affection and devotion the same way dogs do, they do form bonds with people and will absolutely miss their owners. Now, a lot (though not all) of cats can adjust and will work it out, but it would still be extremely stressful. Also, if you're the kind of person who would just abandon a cat and get a new one just because they're moving, I strongly suggest you never have a cat at all.

Let's just say when I get home from work, usually the first thing I get once I sit down is a cat on the arm of my chair shoving her head into me and meowing.

They absolutely bond.

[dehro]

We've moved her last week... She's still exploring the house. So far she's found herself a few favourite places to stay. Even though she spent the first 24h hiding in a ledge halfway up the chimney chute, she's settling in. She send to have discovered carpeting and enjoying it.
We have refrained from letting her on the terrace so far, on account of how she's still restless and hyper ( also because of the spring)... And from there she'd have easy access to a nearby tree and a balcony just below...
When she's calmed down a bit we'll cross that hurdle.

[AvatarVecna]

So, I dunno how reasonable this would be for you, but my dad told me some stories about how, when I was really young, our family's original kitty would occasionally have to be brought somewhere by car, and the best place for her to be (for her own comfort) was perched on his lap.

To get an idea of what a car trip is like for a cat, hire an Uber driver you haven't ridden with before for a half-hour trip, lay down in the backseat, don't use a seatbelt, and take some drugs so that you have a harder time thinking about anything other than what's happening in the immediate present. The point is that car rides for cats are giant metal deathtraps where they have no idea when they're going to speed up or slow down (and thus can't brace themselves for it), or how long they'll be trapped in there, but they sure do know that they're travelling far faster than they have any right to travel and survive. The reason the "lap perching" came about for those trips, as near as we could figure, was that being able to feel leg muscles flexing while driving gave her an idea of when the car would be speeding up and slowing down, and gave her some jeans to use as clawhooks for bracing. It's not much, but when you can't see what's going on around the car, don't comprehend traffic, and don't have a seatbelt, it's about as safe as you can feel in a car, I imagine.

I don't think your timeframe would allow for teaching this to your cat, but it could at least give some ideas on how to make the trip more comfortable for them? Give them a cat carrier with a floor they can dig their claw into for bracing, maybe?

EDIT: I'm a derp for not reading the full thread. Looks like the timeframe has come and gone.

[Honest Tiefling]

EDIT: I'm a derp for not reading the full thread. Looks like the timeframe has come and gone.

There will always be vet visits.

[The Glyphstone]

One does not simply move a cat. One disassembles the world and rebuilds it so the cat is in a new location.

[WarKitty]

One does not simply move a cat. One disassembles the world and rebuilds it so the cat is in a new location.

Alternately, one shakes a bag of treats at the location one desires the cat.

Although that may not be working so well right now. Mine is currently attempting to edit this post.

[Scarlet Knight]

I am honestly glad the move went well.

On the chance this isn't being said in jest, I feel the need to point out that this simply isn't true. While cats may not show affection and devotion the same way dogs do, they do form bonds with people and will absolutely miss their owners. Now, a lot (though not all) of cats can adjust and will work it out, but it would still be extremely stressful. Also, if you're the kind of person who would just abandon a cat and get a new one just because they're moving, I strongly suggest you never have a cat at all.

Yes, it was said in jest but covering a skeleton of truth.

A little background: I have 4 cats: 2 indoor ones I adopted from the vet where my daughter works and 2 outdoor ones that adopted me when their original family moved. I am not vain enough to think the outdoor ones chose me; they chose the human who fed them and gave them shelter. They'd forget me just as quickly if I left for someone else shaking a bag of treats.

Still, I would not abandon them to the cruel world ( which is how the OP got his cat) or drop them at a shelter (who are almost always already crowded). I am responsible for all of them and fond of some of them. My plan did have the first step of finding the cat a home which puts it in a much better situation than a huge number of cats. My plan gave both the old cat and a new cat homes.

All in all, I just would not have fretted over a cat when it came to a big production such as buying your first home. Priorities and all.

[Peelee]

Alternately, one shakes a bag of treats at the location one desires the cat.

Although that may not be working so well right now. Mine is currently attempting to edit this post.

Unless the cat is onto you and knows you are simply trying to get it to move. One of mine clutter in incredibly quickly, and I'd want of treats when he is hiding somewhere I don't want him to be. Little dude understand the concept of deferred gratification; he'll forego atreat now to keep his hiding spot for a longer time.

[Florian]

Eff it. A good and very close friend of mine had to move, leave the country and "park" her cats with me. Now I'm pretty much settled and have the time and patience to deal with a bunch of "problem cats", small feline predators that other people have terminally damaged, in case of Nike by actually having someone try to kill her with a shotgun and making her one-eyed. So, now what? The two females are rather cute, but similar to Nike with her eye, Kyra is missing one leg, so we can´t hav nature run its cause and simply stand by, because us humans should see and understand the bigger picture.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by AvatarVecna
…our family's original kitty would occasionally have to be brought somewhere by car, and the best place for her to be (for her own comfort) was perched on his lap.

This is very bad practice, as my family learned the hard way.

When I was a kid, we made an epic move from California to Florida, which involved a number of days of driving two vehicles and a boat. The cat spent the time sitting in Mom’s lap…until he decided to jump out the window.

Of a moving car, going 65 mph on a southern highway. He vanished into a Mississippi beanfield.

Naturally our little caravan came to a rapid halt, and we spent the next half hour walking back and forth on the side of the highway, desperately calling for the cat in the slim hope he might still be alive and able to hear us.

And then he came sauntering out of the beanfield, apparently in perfect shape, and was scooped up and bundled back into the car, where he stayed (with windows rolled up) for the rest of the journey to Florida. As near as we could tell, he never had so much as a scratch.

But even with the windows rolled up, having an animal loose in the car is very bad practice, since they’re a distraction at best and an impediment at worst. Much, much safer to keep the cat in a carrier.

Originally Posted by WarKitty
Mine is currently attempting to edit this post.

My cat doesn’t care much about the computer, but the moment I sit down in the papasan a cosmic struggle ensues.

She might have been sleeping blissfully on the bed for hours, but as soon as she hears the papasan creak, she wants the papasan.

[WarKitty]

But even with the windows rolled up, having an animal loose in the car is very bad practice, since they’re a distraction at best and an impediment at worst. Much, much safer to keep the cat in a carrier.

If a human is available though, the cat will probably be much happier with the carrier on a lap where they can smell a friendly human.

You really don't want to underestimate how much "smells like home" is important to cats.

[Aedilred]

If a human is available though, the cat will probably be much happier with the carrier on a lap where they can smell a friendly human.

You really don't want to underestimate how much "smells like home" is important to cats.

As I learned the hard way, there is a risk to you of having the carrier on your lap. We were once taking my cat to the cattery prior to going on holiday for a week. She never liked travelling so I had the carrier on my lap. On the way, someone pulled out suddenly in front of us and we ran into them. I cracked my jaw on the top of the cat carrier and bit through my tongue.

There ensued general anaesthetic, stitches, a night in hospital, and I couldn't eat solid food or speak properly for about a week.

The cat was fine.

[WarKitty]

As I learned the hard way, there is a risk to you of having the carrier on your lap. We were once taking my cat to the cattery prior to going on holiday for a week. She never liked travelling so I had the carrier on my lap. On the way, someone pulled out suddenly in front of us and we ran into them. I cracked my jaw on the top of the cat carrier and bit through my tongue.

There ensued general anaesthetic, stitches, a night in hospital, and I couldn't eat solid food or speak properly for about a week.

The cat was fine.

*blinks*

I feel like this is a fairly remote risk.

[Kish]

Yes, it was said in jest but covering a skeleton of truth.

A little background: I have 4 cats: 2 indoor ones I adopted from the vet where my daughter works and 2 outdoor ones that adopted me when their original family moved. I am not vain enough to think the outdoor ones chose me; they chose the human who fed them and gave them shelter. They'd forget me just as quickly if I left for someone else shaking a bag of treats.

I'd say I'm sorry your cats care about you so little, except...

All in all, I just would not have fretted over a cat when it came to a big production such as buying your first home. Priorities and all.

...that why is evident.

(No, there is no "skeleton of truth" to your earlier post. That your cats are not particularly bonded to you says something about you--not anything about cats.)