Moving house with cats

I'd suggest a sedative from your vet which may have a better effect than shop bought ones,and maybe starting the treatment a day or two prior to moving date just to allow it to take on Minstrel and for him to feel the effect of calmness.(hopefully) My chap Oliver is very vocal when travelling he never shuts up in fact but he is not anxious in any way,he is a big robus chap who just likes to be the centre of attention.

Absent took her cats to New Zealand! I'm sure she'll have some good suggestions.

Oliver looks very cute.

We got sedation from the vets before travelling and it helped, we also stopped of half way at MIL so she could have a break. Hope all goes well.

Having been a vet assistant for many year .
I would suggest a sedative from your vet. It will certainly do no harm for a one off journey. The vet will check that Minstrel is fit to be sedated.
Can I also suggest you confine them to one room for the day/night before. Much easier than chasing around the house trying to get them in baskets

Def a sedative, last cat howled like the hound of the Baskervilles , never heard anything like it!!
And apart from that she never made a sound so I got a right fright!!!'

Its not just the journey that can be traumatic. When we moved we put them into the cattery a day before the removal men came and then collected them after a couple of days and drove to the new house having done a fair bit of organising. This way they were not too traumatized by witnessing their home being 'destroyed' around them when the removal men took away the furniture etc. By the time we collected them there was at least one room in the new house that was reasonably organised and full of recognisable smells that they could settle into. Once they had calmed down they were then allowed into the rest of the house. We also went back to using a litter tray inside for four weeks. We then slowly introduced them to the new garden, which was a bit nerve wracking but if you make sure they are due a meal they do not stray too far at first.

Agree with that Hilda ?

glammananna love your cat!

I brought my two over from the UK to Ireland. Road/ferry/road. It was a long journey with just me and the 2 cats.

Initially, they were in their respective cat carriers until I was on the boat then I let them out into the car with a small litter tray in the passenger footwell and some dry biscuits and water at the back. You can't return to the car during the crossing so I left my sunroof open about an inch or so. I had a hatchback without a parcel shelf cover and the whole car was filled with my stuff with a few blankets placed over everything.

The journey from the docks in Ireland to their new home was 5 hours and I didn't bother putting them back into the carriers. They just curled up on the blankets watching the world go by through the windows. They were so much happier on this leg of the journey than when they were in their carriers. I even stopped for petrol and they didn't bother moving or try to escape.
Previous experience had been constant miaowing whenever they had to travel in the car so this was remarkable!

My last cat cat was traumatised in the car to the vet who is 2 miles away that he had an epileptic fit through sheer fright.

I agree with what Hilda says.

We used to regularly take out cats to our apartment an hour away - it was total hell trying to get one of them in her cage. We'd bought small dog cages rather than carriers so they didn't associate these with the vets (another trauma for the diva). However once in there they both settled down well and were usually ok once we'd set offt. She did cry on and off and was occasionally sick before we arrived so I started to put a puppy pad in the cage to prevent too much mess in the car. I agree that the best idea is to put them in a cattery while the moving is going on and have a quiet room ready for them when they arrive at their new abode until they're acclimatised to it and realise this is now home. Good luck with the move.

Thank you so much for all your helpful hints and tips. Really useful info to be armed with beforehand.

My lovely cat had 7 houses with us and never once wandered off. As long as you keep them away from the removal van they will be fine. As soon as our van left we used to feed her, let her wander around the new place so she could have a sniff then one of us would take her into the garden after the first night she would go and investigate her new neighbourhood and always came back.Goodluck

When I married in Africa, I moved with my two cats to my then husband's compound. The ginger one stayed close but the grey one decided to explore. For five days, I was sure he had probably met a troupe of feral dogs. However, he turned up as large as life and twice as hungry and never disappeared again. I think he had just been inspecting the compound!

Many years ago, we moved house with 2 cats, mother and daughter. We only moved 4 miles, so kept them both inside for 2 weeks. When we let them out we thought it was perfectly safe, but although Trixie, the younger one, came back, her mum, Bonnie, disappeared. A few days later we had a phone call from our neighbours at the old house to say that Bonnie was in our old garden. My daughter cycled down there, and brought her back in a shopping bag. Another 2 weeks inside, we let her out, and she did it again! Luckily, that was the last time, and she lived to a ripe old age.

Actually, I don't have any suggestions. My three 17-year old cats were transported by a pet air company from the UK to New Zealand but it doesn't do sedatives. There are, however, numerous vet checks

I don't suppose for a minute that the cats liked being in their purpose-built carriers and it seems likely that they did some moaning about it. However, the moment we opened the cages in our New Zealand house, they just took it in their stride and headed for their dinner.

It's amazing how differently our feline friends behave! Minstrel has disappeared in the past - when he was younger he lived up to his name and once he was missing for nine days. We had all but given up searching but he came home, very thin and ecstatic to see us, so we guessed he had been shut in somewhere. Since then he hasn't wandered but I am worried about the traumatic effect of the move. We will be very careful with both mogs to keep the anxiety to a minimum and I am sure all wil turn out well in the end!

Mine insist on being in the same cat basket. If this isn't feasible keep the doors of the two baskets facing each other, so each cat can see that the other is there. A sedative from the vet is a good idea too.

Pack the a cat tray and some litter, their drinking bowl and a favourite toy or two, where you can get hold of them immediately you arrive at your new house. Shut the cats into a room with tray, drinking water, some food and for heaven's sake either lock the door, or tie the door handle, so it cannot be jerked open while carting furniture etc. in.

As soon as all outer doors and windows are closed let the cats inspect their new home, but keep them indoors for two or three weeks.

Ours settled down happily, although I admit they "sang" all the way from Hannover in Germany to Padborg, just north of the Danish-German border. Hope yours travel without the concert and settle down as well as ours have.

"Well, you are lucky that one of your cats does not get irritated by the carrier. For the other one, you need to give some training to her before forcing her to get in the carrier. Practice these few of the steps and see which work the best for you.

1. Ideally, keep their carrier out in their environment all the time, rather than squirreled away in the basement or garage. This can be in the living room, a bathroom, near where they sleep, or wherever they spend a lot of time. It's not recommended to start by putting it near their food or litter box

2. If you don't have their crate out all the time, then take it out several days before their scheduled to shifting. This will give them at least a little bit of time to adapt to it and “settle down.

3. Keep a comfortable towel or blanket in their carrier. Spray that towel with Feliway / Comfort Zone, a calming pheromone that can work wonders to help reduce and prevent stress in cats.

Positive associations can also be formed by feeding them treats and petting or grooming/brushing them while they’re in their carrier. Good luck with the move. "

When I was a child we moved house and our cat kept going back to the old house, so we buttered her paws and she didn't do it again.

When we lived in Essex, we took over a cat from neighbours who were posted abroad (if we hadn't taken it they would have had to put her down, and DD (then four) was always kidnapping her anyway!). When we were similarly faced with a posting, my sister was visiting us and they asked if they could look after the cat while we were abroad. We got a sedative from the vet in order to make the journey to Yorkshire easier for all concerned. They thought she had settled in nicely, and then one day she disappeared. My sister had had the foresight to put a collar with an address capsule on her, because she was eventually found in a churchyard six miles away, with the collar caught on the branch of a low bush! We think she was trying to find her way home. She never left home again (she never left the garden!) and she never came back to me because my sister got so attached to her, she couldn't let her go! Our Sooty!

My three cats were already in their mid-teens when I moved to New Zealand from the UK – just about as far as you can go before starting to come back. I messed up on the timing for their rabies jabs so that they had to go into pussy boot camp for three months. I don't think it was much fun but at least they were together. Then they were transported from the north of England down to London to make the long flight with a few days' delay to check on their health and well-being. Then, after all those hours – and they don't sedate them on planes – they had to go into quarantine for a week. Then they had to be picked up and transported by car – still in their custom-made cages – to where we are living: a-four hour journey. They didn't enjoy it and nor did my daughter and son-in-law who did the driving because one cat could fart for a world championship.

They arrived and we immediately let them out of their prisons. They walked around a room that they had never seen but which was full of familiar furniture and familiar people. It was as if we had never been apart. They found the kitchen and their dishes full of food, then settled into cosy places and went to sleep.

They survived for a few more years, delighting in having a big open space outside. The oldest was 19, nearly 20, when we finally said goodbye to the last of our little family.

They toughed it out and found their home again, having already gone through much the same sort of procedure, although a little less traumatic, three years earlier when we moved from London. Out of their boxes, inspecting the terrain, finding it full of familiar things, eating their food and locating the warmest place to sleep.

It is kinder to take them with you when they have known you for so long, however much they yowl and scrabble, than rehome them and leave them behind. My little bunch had a wonderful time in the last years of their life and just fitted back into the routine that they knew from day 1.

'Pussy boot camp' - smiling at the phrase ???