How did you handle moving with your cat(s)?

Skiddaw1

pinkteapot said:

Our boy was indoor for the first 8 years of his life. We tried letting him out early on but we were on a crowded estate with lots of other cats and he got into constant fights. £600 of vet bills in the first year from various fight injuries! He hates other cats and picks fights, but is really bad at it. *sigh*

He was then indoor, but following our long-distance move we let him out again as we're in a small village, and this is much more a dog county than a cat one (@Skiddaw1 knows what I mean!), so fewer opportunities for fighting. We back onto open fields though, and now get a fairly constant stream of dead shrews deposited in the house. Honestly, we assumed he couldn't hunt because he never caught anything when we were in town. He's adapted to country life a bit too well. 

Speaking of which, we did have the funniest 20 mins ever when he first caught sight of the horses in the field behind... Having grown up in town he'd never seen a horse before in his life and totally lost his s***.  

Yes indeed @pink@pinkteapot definitely dog country up here- quite different from where we lived previously. Ollie is just about the only cat on the block. All the more mice for him (I've lost count of how many he has brought in since we moved ). Love the story about the horse by the way!

TBagpuss

Good luck with the move.
I think the idea of a larger dog crate so you can have them safe but with access to litter and water is a good one, especially if they get stressed with the carriers. If you can, set it up ASAP and start feeding them and putting toys and blankets in it now, so it becomes safe and familiar for them .
I'd suggest putting it, and them, into the bathroom while you pack everything up, (assuming you have a second WC available to actually use!) 
Talk to your vet about whether a sedative would help, and get the feliway to plug into the new house.

Once you arrive, either leave them and the crate in the car if that's practical, or !!!!!! it and them into a bathroom or other room that won't be needed, until the removal people are gone. Decide which room is 'theirs for now and get tht set up, get litter trays, food, familiar beds / blankets that smell right etc in there, and also ensure that there are plenty of places they can hide and/or get high up on to be able to feel safe, then shut them into that room, at least over night(unless they normally have access to your bedroom at night, i which case either set them up in your room, or leave the intervening doors open)

Gradually over the next few days, open the door and allow them to explore but make sure that they are always able to retreat back to the first room. 
I think that giving them things which smell familiar is a huge help - their own beds, of course, but also consider extra blankets / old T-Shirts that you can put in their favourite places between now and when you move, and maybe some tht you wear (or sleep with) so that you can give them stuff which smells familiar - once you start opening the door and letting them explore the new house but those blankets or clothes around the house in places they might like to sit, and this, with the familiar furniture, should help make them feel secure. 

In my experience, they do very a great deal in how they take it. We had a cat when I was younger who spent a month in the bottom of the wardrobe (other than sneaking out at dead of night to answer calls of nature) when we moved house, another cat I had, who was normally very timid and nervy (he used to run and hide when anyone came to the door, for instance) was totally unfazed by a house move - wandered around to find my bed and his own favourite chair, and settled down as if he had lived there all his life. (He subsequently used to travel with me when visiting friends and relatives, as I found that he found that far less stressful than going to a cattery or having a pet sitter come to the house, as long as I was there he was fine)

FreeBear

oniongirl said:

FreeBear said:

oniongirl said: I have a plan now. 

No. You can not have all the cats.

You sound just like my husband. Spoil sport. I always get kitten broody at this time of year.

You have to leave some of the cats for the rest of us..

oniongirl

FreeBear said:

oniongirl said:

FreeBear said:

oniongirl said: I have a plan now. 

No. You can not have all the cats.

You sound just like my husband. Spoil sport. I always get kitten broody at this time of year.

You have to leave some of the cats for the rest of us..

What's the point in moving to a 4-bed house when there's just two of us if not to give each cat its own bedroom? 

It's where the bowls will go that will become the real issue.

Skiddaw1

oniongirl said:

FreeBear said:

oniongirl said:

FreeBear said:

oniongirl said: I have a plan now. 

No. You can not have all the cats.

You sound just like my husband. Spoil sport. I always get kitten broody at this time of year.

You have to leave some of the cats for the rest of us..

What's the point in moving to a 4-bed house when there's just two of us if not to give each cat its own bedroom? 

It's where the bowls will go that will become the real issue.

LOL! We moved to a 4-bed house too. A bedroom for us and 3 bedrooms for Ollie Boppet.

boots_babe

The first time we moved with cats, we put them in separate room at the old house, with big signs on the door telling the removals men not to open in case they got out by mistake. Then of course in the new house, again gave the cats a designated room so they could feel safe. Use Feliway plugins, they help. Ensure they have familiar things - toys, seats, an item of your worn clothing that will smell of you. 

The next time we moved with cats (only last month), we decided to put the cats in the cattery. I think this was likely less stressful for them (having to wonder what all the strange noises and odd smelling strangers were doing) and definitely less stressful for us (didn't have to worry about them accidentally being let out by the removal men). Took them before the packing started, and collected them on the first morning in our new home.

Of the two methods I much preferred the latter. Whatever way you do it, let your cats tell you when they're ready to come out of their 1 'safe' room in the new house explore. They'll make it clear to you, don't try to rush them. Good luck!