Moving to new house

Hi cat lovers.. I am moving to a new house and need advice on the best way to manage this and make it as less stressful as possible for my cats.. It's our first move so this is the only house they have known for the past year or so
Thanks

Congratulations on moving to a new home! I bet you're all excited! How many cats do you have and what are their ages? Also, any issues or rivalries between them? This could help with more specific advice.

A few tips, and hopefully other members will chime in with more -

Safety first. During the move itself, make sure all cats are in their carriers and stay either in their carriers or in a room prepared for them in advance (that's why asked how they generally get along). Especially if it's a ground level house. Too often a cat rushes out the door in panic when the movers come in and out, and gets permanently lose in a foreign area.

Limit the cats to one room at first, with their litter in one corner and food and water in the opposite corner. Depending on the cats' temperaments, it's sometimes better to keep them in their safe room for a few days before letting them explore the rest of the place. Watch their behavior and only let them out when they seem comfortable in the room and "feel at home".

It's a great topic for an article so I'm adding a note to myself to add one about this! For now, there are tips about helping a cat adjust to a new home here, some of which might apply to a moving situation -

 [article="32804"]How To Help A New Cat Adjust To Your Home​[/article]  

Anne thank you so much for your reply

I have two cats, 3 and 2 years old both boys. I got pasha the 3 year old first and I was told he's had trouble with multi cat houses in the past but I then got MJ and they had their differences to settle but they now co exist there's no hissing or grawling in our house. Pasha is the boss in the house and MJ seems to be ok with that.

Pasha is deaf and we live n an apartment that's not on the ground floor and moving to slightly smaller place but still very good size for the 3 of us

Pasha owns bigger space in the house and I wonder if moving is a chance for MJ to co own the new place or perhaps it's a dominance thing and will not change

you could plug in a feliway diffuser in the room you plan to put the cats in or use sentry calming collars. a move is still very stressful for some cats. i had 1 cat who stayed in a closet for a month when we moved. our other cat was out exploring like it was no big deal..

When I moved to a new place. My cats were the last thing I moved. I put them in their carrier and sat them in a room with the door closed so they could acclimate to the new smells and sounds of their surroundings. After a few hours when things settled down good, I opened the door to the carrier so they could get out and walk around the room they were in for a while. I fed and watered them in the room. The next day I opened the door a crack so they could look out and if they wanted to they could walk around. The room and their carriers were left open in case they needed to get in a quiet place.

It didn't take them long before they took over the rest of the house. GOOD LUCK!!!!!

i moved same time last year i will say my two cats where the last thing i moved we had been threw two other moves last year. This last move should be for awhile. Once i had the cats at the new place i just opened the carrier and let them out to explore. They went every where checking the place out new place new smells. They where fine had fun exploring there new place no signs of stress for the most part my two are fine. They both have there favorit paces to hang out they have many places to sit in the sun look out the windos some times a car will startle them other than that no problems. Feliway would be good to help them cope. I wish you luck any questions there are always people here with advise that can help.

About 2 years ago I moved with 3 cats, a 1 year old, an 8 year old, and a 13 year old. They were the last ones to move in, even after the dogs, so we wouldn't have to worry about them darting out while things were being moved or anything. The 8 year old was the easiest, she didn't care at all. I tried to keep her in a room out of the chaos to adjust but she threw a hissy fit until I let her out and she immediately started hanging out like she'd lived here all her life. The 13 year old was pretty nervous but after about a day in their "safe room" she started wanting to come out and explore. The baby was the hardest, she spent almost 2 months barely coming out of hiding except to eat, drink, or use the litter box. A lot of it depends on the cat's temperament. My 8 year old was a VERY confident, outgoing cat and adjusted to new situations very quickly while the then 1 year old is a very timid cat who hates change. Giving them all little hiding places to go when it got to be too much helped a lot. We used their carriers with their blankets inside so they had something familiar from the old house. Just don't try to rush it, go as slow as they need and make sure they're comfortable and it'll go fine

One thing you may want to watch out for, though, is a little bit of change in the cats' relationships at first. The queen of my girls started getting pretty hissy and growly, especially towards the little one, for the first couple weeks. I think they need to take the time to reestablish their social structure and territory. If you have this problem I would say let them work it out because in the long run it'll let them situate themselves better but keep an eye on it and don't let it go too far.

We moved our two Himalayans half way across the country and then lived in an extended stay hotel for two months so...TWO moves! 

Make sure you initially leave them in a quiet room by themselves; be sure to have that room already set up for them with their box, food bowls, toys and anything reminding them of their previous residence. Check anthem frequently. Pet them and reassure them they are not abandoned. Give some cat treats as a positive reinforcement. We left ours in the hotel until the movers were gone, set up a room for them, then got them and let them move around while we followed them. They are always a bit spooked at first, wouldn't you be? But we would pick them up, love on them and let them know their new home is with us and a happy one! They reacclimatized themselves quickly!

Hope this helps!!!

A friend just moved 2 days ago.  They kept their 14 year old cat in a room by himself with his food, litter box and a basket for him to sleep in while the movers were at the old house.  After the movers left, they let him out to roam around the empty house on his own.

They brought him to the new house a few hours later.  They opened his carrier and he hesitated maybe 10 seconds before stepping out. He wandered the main level for a while, saw where his litter box was, and then settled himself behind the washer/dryer where he napped for 3 or 4 hours.  He finally came out and had some food.  And when they turned out the lights and went upstairs to bed, it wasn't long before he found them, and spent the rest of the night roaming about and jumping on and off their bed.

By yesterday he had settled in fine and was acting as if he'd always been there.

Good luck with your move. Hope you and your kitties love your new home.

I moved last year in April and my 2 boys....*sigh*......good luck!! You'll hear a lot of crying and they'll hide a lot for a week or 2 but they'll eventually come around.

I have moved twice with my cats. The first time was over 10 years ago with my girl, Boogie Bear. She was still a kitten and I was moving from one apartment to another. I kept her in bathroom at the old apartment while movers and family members helped moved my stuff out. When I took her to the new apartment, I did the same thing with her, kept her in the bathroom until everything was finished moving in. When everything was settled, I let her out to explore. The new apartment was bigger and had lots of low windows that she loved. 

Several months later, my sister brought me a rescued kitten, Sgt. Pepper. He stayed in the bathroom until seeing the vet. Then they became step-siblings We lived there for about 2 years until I bought a house. For that move, I got up way before the movers where scheduled to be there. I put them in separate carriers and packed a box of all their essentials. I took them to the house and set them up in the spare bedroom with litter box and food/water to be safe from all the moving traffic. I left the box I'd packed their stuff in with a blanket in there too. I put a sign on the door, "Do Not Open". Then went back to the apartment to get moved. After the movers left, I let them out to explore the rest of the house. They had no problems adjusting to the new place. We've been there now since 2008. 

Like some said already, Feliway plug-ins are a good idea to sooth stress. I didn't know about them during my moves. I don't care for the calming collars. They're messy and never seem to work for me. The important thing is to make sure they are closed off somewhere they can't sneak out during the move and have everything they need in that space; litter box, food/water, bed, and a few toys. Your cats may come right out when everything has settled, but they may not. That's okay, they will adjust on their own time.