Cat Chat Feline Forum

Hi

Maybe this has already been asked but I searched and couldn't find an answer.

I will be moving house soon and am worried about settling my cat into the new house. I have a male cat, around 5 years old who's been with me since he was a kitten. He's an outdoor cat who enjoys his freedom, and can get a bit naughty on the odd occasion that he's had had to stay indoors for any extended period, he'll d scratch at the door, dart around the house like a mad thing or his favorite is to dig his claws into the carpets until he gets a reaction.

I don't know the protocol for moving house with a cat and I'm so worried that he will run away and get lost in the new area. I have heard that I have to keep him inside for a period of time but not sure how long this should be, and then how do I introduce him to his new area?

Then my other worry is his behavior on keeping him in, I will be moving in with my sister for a while, she doesn't really like pets and certainly won't have the threshold of patience that I have for his antics, can't expect her to be happy with the scratching and clawing at the carpets for instance, and I can only think that as he won't be able to go out for some time that this will get worse. I'm not sure if there is anything that I can do to stop this. I have wondered if I should get his claws trimmed, it's not something that I have ever done as I imagined that they were needed for his survival in his urban surroundings however not sure what else to do, anyone have any advice for me please?

Hi Jewelz and welcome,

When I adopted my cat Dave who was a stray, I was very worried about letting him out. So I kept him in for about a month.
When I did let him out, I stayed with him and watched all exits to the courtyard (complete with a large sweeping brush ) He soon worked out where he lived and established his own walks and territory.

It might be a good idea to place your boys litter tray outside near the door so he knows his home area.

While you are keeping him in, let him look through the windows so he recognises outside the house and maybe carry him about outside now and again. Try the Felliway plug ins to calm him and a catnip toy or two. Try to keep him occupied with lots of toys, especially the fishing rod kind to chase.

And keep to a regime with feeding. And before you let him out for his first few times, do so right before feeding time so he’ll come in when you rattle the box, tin or satchets. Lol.

I hope that helps. I guess someone else will be along with more ideas.

Let us know how it all goes. Good luck.

Grace xx

re carpet clawing, how about buying a few carpet offcuts and putting them down in your sister's house for him - free samples too readily available on line might be enough - also cheap coir dustmats are popular with most cats for claw stropping

Thank you both for your suggestions, lots of ideas to try, I definitely need to work on his feeding times a little, I'll have to get him a few new toys in, and great idea about the off cuts, I may even have some here. I think it's gonna be a long month lol! I will definitely report back how it goes.

Thanks again,