Moving cats from House to a Flat

hellokitty08

Hello,

I am going to try and keep this as Money Saving as possible, but might wander a bit. Anyway, i have just moved from a house with a big garden, to a flat, with a small patio, but surrounded by other gardens. I am concerned about how to make the adjustment for the cats (they are still lodgers at the house at the moment) Should i keep them indoors for a while first? and if so how long for? I am worried about the costs of litter as things are already going to be a strech. Then what to do whilst I am at work. We dont have a cat flap in the flat and no possibility of installing one, but the cats are used to having there freedom. (we have a cat flap in the house) However having said this, they are not really outdoor cats, and tend to spend most of their time inside. (ex partner works from home, so we know their habbits quite well) I would feel mean kicking them out all day and only letting them in when i get home. (but if i keep them in then should i get a litter tray, again have to factro in cost) I dont mind letting them come and go as they please in the eveings, as i have patio doors and plenty of windows they can come in and out of. I am also a little scared as they are two years old now, and have never been around cars and my new flat is open to the road. (do you think im worrying about nothing here?) Obviously im going to get them insured, just incase. But any help / Advice would be great. thanks

orlao

Many many years ago I ended up with 3 semi ferals as indoor cats!!!! who all adjusted fine:D

It started as a colony of ferals where I kept my pony who were breeding big time so the CPL got involved. They took all the cats for spaying and neutering and ended up returning 1 female and her 2 "kittens" (about 8 months old) . The female who had always been quite friendly never really settled again so I brought her home to see if she would cope in my 9th floor flat...and she discovered the joys of sleeping in the bed very quickly:rotfl: She was about 3 or 4 then. One of her last litter of kittens had been rehomed by a woman who also had a horse there and a couple of months after I had rehomed the mum asked me if I wanted the young cat as her BF "didn't like her so was going to drown her":eek: :mad: so I said yes and not suprisingly she was the wildest of the lot. Shortly after that one of the two remaining young cats at the yard was run over and then the other one disappeared so we all thought he was dead too.....about 2 months later I was feeding the pony in the dark one night when he came running over and rubbed against the pony's back leg so got kicked hard ( that pony was a s0d when he was eating) so I brought the cat home so he could go the vets. Turned out he was in poor condition so he stayed with me to get some weight on, get rid of ear infection and after spending his first night behind the cooker decided that he could live as an indoor cat too and settled really quickly.

When I moved to a house a couple of years later they all went outside but like yours spent a lot of time at home too......so I'm sure yours will adapt:D

The only thing I'm not sure about is the road.....I don't know how old yours are but road sense in a cat is a rare commodity IYSWIM...TBH I think I'd keep them as totally indoor cats if you can and it might save you having rows with your neighbours if they don't like your cats in your garden.....

hellokitty08

hello,

Yerh i had considered keeping them as indoor cats, because they are more indoor then outdoor cats anyway, the only places they ever sleep are on my bed, if not then on my chest / legs, when i am in bed. Was just worried about the smell and cat litter costs e.t.c, but then compare that to a vet bill, i guess you have no comparision.

Savvy_Sue

A while back, someone posted a link to a site about toilet training your cat. There's a kit available from Amazon, and if you google 'toilet training cat' you'll get some interesting links.

In your situation, this is what I would consider ...

orlao

hellokitty08 wrote: »

Was just worried about the smell and cat litter costs e.t.c, but then compare that to a vet bill, i guess you have no comparision.

I buy a big 30litre bag of wood cat litter for approx £8 every few months and I can also recommend the litter trays with a hood ( like a carrier) to keep the smell down! I only have one of the three cats left now and she only uses the litter now and again.I've found that if you keep the tray clean, I used to flush the poo down the loo and compost the wood litter that I didn't have it hanging around waiting for the bin men stinking the place out.....in saying that, as long as you got rid of the poo it wouldn't smell any worse than food in an outside bin

Best of luck

rita-rabbit

I can also recommend the litter trays with a hood (like a carrier) to keep the smell down! I've found that if you keep the tray clean, in saying that, as long as you got rid of the poo it wouldn't smell any worse than food in an outside bin

Clumping litter lasts better than non-clumping. That said I also buy talc-scented litter in bulk now & again (online @ zooplus) & mix it with the cheap Liddles/Aldies clumping keeps the smell down even more.

Best of luck[/quote]

hellokitty08

thanks for that! I am now seriously considering a hooded litter tray. Going to get them using their regular litter tray again for a while then see if i can convince them to try a new one. As they last used the litter tray when they were kittens, should i get them two now? Also i remebered that we used to use Catsan, and it never really smelt, so was thinking of using that again. Does anyone know where i can order this in bulk? Also I am trying to find larger supplies of Felix canned tinned food, as my cats tend to get through a tin a day between them, and they also eat dry cat food, so it looking like £16 a month on tinned cat food, £6 a month on dry cat food, and possibly £20 a month on litter! thats almost as much as my whole food budget. We have tried to get them to eat other food, but they wont touch wiskers, last cat had a two day protest, Sainsburys own cat food sent them hyperactive! Like kids on too much sugar!

lostinrates

Please think careully about toilet training cats. Cats really DO like scratching and given a choice even the best toilet trained cats choose a littler tray! They seem to feel extremely uncomfortable about leaving things not covered up. If you reckon you can teach them to flush, go for it, lol.I've travelled a lot with my cats and thought about toilet training them to make decamping into hotel rooms more easilyand although they took to the first steps well I decided it was too contrary to their instincts.

Re price of litter, with two very 'wet' cats I've tried a few options. My favourite is one that comes in a bag called something like Moonlight clumping litter. Its not at any supermarkets, you have to go to one of those awful huge pet shops for it, but it lasts extremely well and is the least ofensive solution to keep clean. We put it very deeply in a hooded tray and it just scoops out as it really DOES clump. So far one (albeit expensive) sack has lasted over month and I 'skip it out' once or twice a day.

My cats are house cats in the city, free range in the country side. They adapt extremely well, but indoors we do make sure they get some daily exercise through play

Good luck with your move.

hellokitty08

I would never dream of trying to toliet train my cat! i dont even let them in the bathroom as I am scared that they will fall down the loo! I thinks its funny, but also a little cruel. When my sister suggested it to me yesterday, i said they wont be able to flush, so it wouldnt be any better then a litter tray!.

I always make sure they have plenty of play time, and thanks for the advice.

frivolous_fay

rita-rabbit wrote: »

as long as you got rid of the poo it wouldn't smell any worse than food in an outside bin

[/quote]


Oooh, beg to differ :lipsrseal:

rita-rabbit

on what litter you use & what food you give them!