Moving home

[Kithra]

I am about to move house and was wondering if I could ask for advice about how to settle my cat in. He'll be in a cattery for a couple of nights while the move takes place. Then, I'll use Feliway to completely cover my new home for his return. How long should I keep him in before letting him outside again. He loves being outside and really won't take kindly to being shut in at all. Many thanks.

[Mollycat]

Do you know the old saying about putting butter on their paws? It's rubbish, don't do it - but it does have a grain of truth behind it. When a cat feels comfortable, it will wash especially its face in a relaxed and contented way, rather than a nervous or anxious way or even not at all. The logic (wrongly) goes that buttering the cat's paws will force the cat to wash its paws and so appear to be feeling happy at home, when in truth it's just cleaning the butter off its paws.

When he is relaxed and happy inside, let him into the garden supervised. If he is an escape artist you could maybe borrow a dog crate to give him outdoor time safely at first, or secure the garden or a section of it. If he tends to stay in your garden, you know him best, maybe a free supervised outing at first. But if you keep him in too long you could risk him associating the house with being shut in and trying to run back to the old house. Essentially - outside when he is comfortable inside.

To help him settle inside, the more smells you can bring from the old house the better. Dirty washing, his beds unwashed, I know it's gross but bring some of his litter used, and spread some of your worn clothes all around. I'm not a fan of Feliway I prefer Pet Remedy if anything, but plug-in pheremones are only a small part of your toolkit - your own scent and the cat's own scent should mean more to him. Unless your old house smells of Feliway, it's just a vaguely pleasant smell in a strange place - his and your scents make it a little more familiar and less scary.

Give him a quiet space, let him hide and explore in his own time, and take your cue from him as to when it's safe to let him out, and at first go out with him.

[Kithra]

Yes, thanks, I know the old wife’s tale about buttering their paws and that it doesn’t work. But I didn’t know about waiting for him to be relaxed in the way you describe when he’s feeling contented. So I’ll be sure to wait until he’s comfortable indoors before taking him out.

I have a cat harness that I thought I could use the first few times I take him into the garden until he gets to know it. He’s always loved going out so I can’t see him turning into a cat who rushes back in. Unless he sees another cat! He’s quite a scaredy cat when it comes to other animals and always want to rush back inside.

Obviously the new house will be full of all my furniture etc: and I’ll take your advice about spreading some dirty clothes from the laundry around. But as for used litter he doesn’t use it because he always goes outside. He hasn’t used his litter box for about 18 months. The Feliway seemed to work the last time he had to go in his cat carrier to the vet. But there should be lots of smells from his old home around except that the place we are moving to had a small dog so I hope not too much of that scent is left there.

I’ll definitely let him explore in his own time and as it’s only me and him I’ll leave all my indoor doors open as that’s what he’s used to. Like most cats he hates a closed door. Just treating him quietly and kindly, and giving him extra cuddles, I hope will help him settle.

Many thanks for all the advice.

[Kithra]

It's been 3 weeks since Loki and I moved and after a week he was so desperate to go out that I let him. He just had a small wander round the garden and came back in. He now knows where he lives and sometimes he goes out for a couple of hours and other times he's away for over 24 hours. But he always comes home.

My problem with him now is using his litter tray. He's 2 years old and after 3 or 4 months at our old home he never used it. Of course when we moved here he had to use it for the first week. But now, even though he goes out, he's still using it and I don't know how to get him to stop. Any advice on the problem would be very gratefully received. Very many thanks.

[Mollycat]

Thanks for the good news update.

Why does he need to stop using his tray? I now only have an indoor home but I would never not supply a tray indoors as well.

[Ruth B]

I have to agree with Mollycat, if you could keep the tray for him it would be the best option. I used to be the type that thought cats should go out and use the garden, then I had one cat who went out one evening to use the garden, and a firework went off overhead, he panicked and dashed inside then was obviously looking for somewhere to go. I went out and stood with him while he did use the garden, and the next day got some more litter and dug out the tray and have never been without one since. If you think about it, when you are sat on the loo you can feel incredibly vulnerable, cats are exactly the same, having a litter tray gives them a safe option when they aren't feeling entirely safe.

I currently have 3 litter trays around the house, one never gets used, one rarely and one fairly regularly, but that is because my newest cat has only just started to go out. Of my other two cats, one never uses the litter tray unless the weather is really bad, and the other one will just use it very occasionally. Before i got my latest, there were times when I would not need to empty to the tray for weeks, but I would never not have one now just in case one cast felt safer using it inside for some reason.

[Kithra]

Thanks for the replies. Loki has always had access to his litter tray but, until we moved here, has never, ever, used it. He even likes to go out in the cold and wet and wind - he's always preferred cooler to warmer weather. Maybe he's still not feeling quite safe in the outside of our new home. The reason I'd like him to go out to do his business, as he used to do, is because, apart from the cost of the Catsan, I'm an OAP and have developed osteoarthritis in my hands now, (among other mobility problems), and it's so difficult bending down to clean the tray and put in new litter.

[Kay]

Bending down is not my thing either, but I find this tray a big help

https://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/cat ... ker/741107

[Ruth B]

That litter tray is brilliant, I use Zooplus, but had never looked at litter trays on there.

As for the arthritis I can sympathise, mine isn't bad at the moment, but there are days I can feel it, and I know it is only going to get worse. Hopefully Loki will start to settle in more and truly claim the garden as his, happily going outside once again.

[Kithra]

Hi Kay, and Ruth

Many thanks for the Zooplus link. That tray looks very useful and I'll have to get him one. I didn't know they existed, so it will be a real boon.

Yes, having osteoarthritis certainly isn't pleasant. And I can no longer even make a fist of my hand.

Loki is settling, and goes out of the garden. I live in a cul-de-sac with a car park. I was watching him just now and he was near the edge of the car park when a car drove in. He simply turned around and fled back in this direction. So it's good to know he's afraid of traffic. The other side is all fields which he likes to explore. But he's always been a scaredy-cat. Probably due to being brought up during the pandemic when he didn't meet any people at all. At other times he's a little monster, but he's my little monster, LOL.

[Mollycat]

You can help them to develop a healthy respect for hazards by being out with them and deliberately scaring them when they go near something they shouldn't, if you have first developed a trusting bond where they look to you for guidance when they feel unsure. It's just replicating a potentially dangerous (real car) situation in a safe way (shout, bang saucepans, whatever) and the natural impulse is to bolt for home.

[Kithra]

Yes, Loki has always looked to me for reassurance. We have a very strong bond. And I've always made a loud noise if he goes near anything harmful. He does like me to be out with him, but not all the time. As with any cat he's a law unto himself and just ignores me whenever he likes. So I'm glad he bolts home when he's scared by anything.

[robertopupka]

My child and I often change our place of residence because we are constantly on the move and do not stay in one place, our main home is in France, so the move for me and my kitten is very easy and we do not react to it in any way