Moving cross country with 12-year-old blind cancer survivor!

We have two 12-year-old littermates.  The little gal, Sally, is healthy and adventurous and adapts quickly.  Our big guy, Buddy, survived cancer when he was just a year old, but it left him blind.  He has been cancer-free for years. (His original prognosis was 2 months!)  He also has arthritis in one knee for which we give him analgesics as needed.

We have been in the same 3-story townhouse for their entire lives, but we are now retired and want to relocate to cleaner air and mountain views, and no traffic!  We plan on driving them across the country in a Petego "tube", which fills the entire back seat and gives them plenty of room and allows them to be together as we travel.

Our biggest concern is Buddy's adaptation to new surroundings.  We will have the same furniture and setup, and the house is more on one level so it will be much easier for his arthritis, but we do not want to make him sick, and we are afraid the move will be bad for his health.  If there is any chance he could get sick, or have the cancer return as a result of the move, there is no way we will relocate him.

Any insights you can share will be most appreciated.  We are sick with worry about him and how he will adapt.

Thanks for any help you can give.

Barb & Chaz

Rehoming him would be a thousand times more stressful!  Definitely don't do that.  Cats are remarkably adaptable and he's used to relying on other senses to help him get around.  I'm confident he'll be fine, especially if you can keep the furniture and cat bowls/litter boxes in a similar configuration.  You will probably have to "show him around": place him in the box and in front of food and water bowls, several times.  You'll want to make sure he knows where his bed(s) is.  I expect he'll learn his way around very quickly with minimal assistance on your part.

My blind kitty (15 yrs. old) never ceases to amaze me.  She sometimes bumps into walls/doorways/furniture, but she just turns herself around like a furry roomba and keeps trucking until she's reached her goal.  I have no worries about moving with her when the time comes 

Best wishes!  That pet tube sounds pretty awesome, btw.  

ETA: My blind girl has arthritis, too, and I've found it helpful to keep all necessities- food/water, bed, scratcher, litter box- grouped close together (the litter box is a few feet away from food, of course).  One section of my living room is basically Blind, Elderly Cat Central.  It gives her the option of not having to move around much or being more adventurous and using the other cats' amenities.  

DrTuna said:

 
We have two 12-year-old littermates.  The little gal, Sally, is healthy and adventurous and adapts quickly.  Our big guy, Buddy, survived cancer when he was just a year old, but it left him blind.  He has been cancer-free for years. (His original prognosis was 2 months!)  He also has arthritis in one knee for which we give him analgesics as needed.

We have been in the same 3-story townhouse for their entire lives, but we are now retired and want to relocate to cleaner air and mountain views, and no traffic!  We plan on driving them across the country in a Petego "tube", which fills the entire back seat and gives them plenty of room and allows them to be together as we travel.

Our biggest concern is Buddy's adaptation to new surroundings.  We will have the same furniture and setup, and the house is more on one level so it will be much easier for his arthritis, but we do not want to make him sick, and we are afraid the move will be bad for his health.  If there is any chance he could get sick, or have the cancer return as a result of the move, there is no way we will relocate him.

Any insights you can share will be most appreciated.  We are sick with worry about him and how he will adapt.

Thanks for any help you can give.

Barb & Chaz

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I have a blind from birth cat who we've traveled with many places on vacation and trips to visit family.  She's easily been inside 5-6 different homes and she does fine in every one. She explores, learns the new arrangement and does fine.  We always show her the litter box and food areas first, she's never missed either in any home, so I think you should do fine.  You may want to start Buddy out in one room, the room that will always have the litterbox and once he's comfy there let him start exploring.