Moving and Pregnant

Hello,

I have been lurking on this site for some time now and have found some valuable information. That said I was wondering if I could get some tips on the following.

I am moving in two weeks, the move is only a few towns over so the trip will be no longer than her annual visit to the vet. I've never moved with a cat (Cali) before so I'm not sure how she will react to her new surroundings. Do you have any tips. We have been packing for about 2-3 weeks and she knows somethings up, but has been acting pretty good. We are going to put her up in a cat condo for two days while we move the stuff out and into the new place.

To make things a bit more complicated for her, my wife is now pregnant and the cat will have to adapt to two new changes. I feel like Cali knows that there is something going on with that as well. The good thing is that the baby is not due until Aug, so I feel that Cali will be use to her surrounding before the 2nd major change.

So far Cali

So I guess my questions are:

1. How do cats usually act in a new environment? What can I expect from her. Keep in mind she never has given us any trouble (knock on wood).

2. How do cats usually act with a newborn baby around?

Anyway - thanks in advance for your tips.

-illusionone

I'd confine her to one or two rooms at first. Depending on the cat they will adjust within a few days or weeks. As far as the baby, most cats keep their distance. But you can let the cat smell new baby things - like powder, lotion, etc.

And when the baby arrives, be sure to always greet the cat first - sorta look at it like an older brother/sister and how they would feel with a new baby

What I've found to be helpful in moving animals is placing some of their favorite things (toys, scratching posts, etc...) around the new place before they get there. Also try to put some things in that smell of you. The more familiar things, the better.

As far as introducing the cat to the baby, "research" suggests things like bringing a baby blanket home from the hospital before the baby comes home, so the cat can get an idea of what the baby smells like. Some websites suggest having friends with young children over, so the cat can get used to baby sounds as well. Of course, spend as much time as possible with your cat when you can (we all know they can get terribly jealous), and when introducing the cat to the baby, let the cat go at his/her own pace - cats are cautious by nature and it's unlikely that he/she is going to run right up to the baby.

The problem with bringing home the baby blanket is that in most cases mom and baby come home within 24 hrs so there is no time inbetween to do the baby blanket smells

I will let you know that a couple in our small group had a baby recently and brought the baby to the house. We had to keep the cats out of the room - they wanted to investigate the new creature - were not afraid of the baby at all

The parents of the baby didn't like the animals around - they don't have pets....

Cats normally adapt to a move fairly well, but let her explore at her own pace once she is there. Keeping her in a room for a while with familiar things is a good idea, but if you are settled (as in everything inside, even if not put away) you may leave the door cracked so she can come out and explore when she is ready.

When we moved the first time, Little One hid behind the dryer for the first few hours and I made the mistake of carrying her out into the main room. I still have scars from that!

You will be surprise how fast she will be ruling her domain again, once she gets comfortable.

As for the baby, I don't have any first hand knowledge with that, but my SIL just had a baby this past fall and has 2 cats. At first they didn't want anything to do with the baby, but eventually got curious and started coming around. She makes sure she spends like playing and brushing them to let them know they haven't been replaces. Giving your cat something of the babies to get her used to the smell before hand is a great idea. I think as long as you keep giving her attention, she shouldn't have a problem. And you will be in your new home long enough that change will be long forgotten!

Good luck, and welcome!

I dunno much bout this, but my mom had a very very timid cat named Pepper(r.i.p.) & she had my baby brother Bryan when I was 16 yrs old. Pepper hated meeting new people & stuff like that, so when my mom bought the baby home Pepper pretty much freaked & refused to go anywhere near the baby. Then she started having behavioral problems, almost as if she was getting back at my mom. She started pooping EVERYWHERE... throwing up constantly. & she was vet checked and completely healthy. Her pooping was mainly upstairs & that's where she spent most of her time after Bryan was born. So I suggested she may just be afraid of him & I gave my mom the idea to move the box upstairs so maybe shed stop pooping outside of it. That didn't work, she had no prob peeing in the box but would poop right in front of it. U gotta keep in mind every cat is different so we can't necessarily give u an idea of how ur cat will react to the baby... I'm just letting u know what my moms cat did when she bought a baby home. Congrats on the pregnancy & I hope everything works out for ur family!

I can tell you how Seb would react: he would sleep right next to baby He has been exposed to many babies and loves them all. He is a bit nervous around toddlers and those grabby hands but just gracefully stears clear

Daphne, I am not sure. She's never seen a baby.

I am sure your girl will give you no problems. Just don't forget about her

Thank you all so much for your tips. I will keep you all updated to her progress. We are 8 days away from the big move. Cali has been having fun with the open boxes and climbing the mountain of boxes in each room.

Thanks again,

-illusionone

Hello,

Here's a quick update to my moving post. We sent Cali to a kitty condo for 3 days prior to the move. When we got her to the new house she was curious and nervous, but it has been 4 days and she is starting to feel comfortable. She has starting eating normal again and she is using the litter box which was one of my main concerns with moving. She has always been good about that, but you never know.

Anyway, this house has allot more room for her to run around and be crazy, so i'm hoping by the end of the week she feels as if this is her new home and can be 100% comfortable.

Just thought i'd send an update.

Take care,

-illusionone

Terrific! I'm sure everything will go well.

I'm glad it is going well! I am going to try to board my cats for the day that we are packing everything up because I don't want them to get out. I could confine them in a room but with so many people coming and going (and the need to move furniture out of that room), I don't know how well that would work. It's going to be so hard on them, we have a 2 day drive to the place we are moving to.