What to do with our cats as we renovate the house

We are looking to do a big renovation of the house and will be moving to an apartment for 3 months for some part of the renovation.

Do we bring the cats with us (the cats are very much outdoor cats but there is no outdoor space in the apartment)?

Will they get out of control in the apartment?

Do we leave the cats at the house instead during the time we are away (we will be at the house twice a day to check on the renovation but the idea of leaving them everynight at an empty house seems wrong to me)?

It seems too much to have the cats stay at a cat lodge for 3 months and we have no relatives who would take them for that long.

Any help or experience with this would be appreciated?

Mel

Not sure if this will help but my cat has been living with on going building work.

It started in Jan with the kitchen being ripped out and replaced. My cat is indoor - kind of! He is harness trained and i walk him for at least a couple of hours a day. I think that taking him outside at first when the workmen were here really helped him. Maybe your cats would feel the same?Being outdoor. My cat does not bat an eyelid at drills, everything being moved around - even his litter tray. We moved country last year and he is pretty laid back - HOWEVER i have kept his routine EXACTLY the same whatever is going on.

Last week, we went on holiday while the bathroom was being done. Poor thing, i left him under the bed while the very noisy removal of tiles was going on - and cried all the way to the airport....

As i have got to know the workmen well over the months, i paid one to give him his lunch and keep his litter tray clean during the day. Not as simple as it sounds as my cat is fed raw . Well , it is really as everything is prepared in advance. My sister who was staying but was at work for twelve hours a day did the rest.

Of course i was texting like mad, on hoilday to check he was ok - and the cat servants were like "yes, stop bothering us"!!!!

I think that if your cats can get almost the same routine - feeding , being able to sleep in fav places ( my cats tower has been moved all around the room while being decorated - he did not care as long as it was there...) they will be ok.

Routine is the key!

You can't leave them there and not be with them.  There are all sorts of unusual hazards for cats on building sites, including getting walled in.  Either take them with you, or negotiate a deal at the cat lodge for a long stay.  I have a friend who runs a cattery and she has had several long-term residents, all of whom have been fine.  She does run a particularly good cattery and gives them lots of attention, and their owners know they are safe.

OrientalSlave said:

You can't leave them there and not be with them.  There are all sorts of unusual hazards for cats on building sites, including getting walled in.  Either take them with you, or negotiate a deal at the cat lodge for a long stay. 

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I agree, take them with you. It's not the workmen's job to keep an eye out for cats. Better they stay with you or go into boarding.