To move or not move our cat

Good evening,

Hi everyone, I am new here I hope it's ok to just jump in and ask for advice. As a family we are in the position of having to move from a rural village in Portugal back to the Uk. We have a two year old cat, her mum was feral, she spends about sixty percent of her time catching mice hanging out with the village cats, sleeping in the woodshed and lazing in the sun, the other forty percent she spends indoors when it rains, she likes one of our dogs and having a fuss from us humans,

The house we are moving to has a tiny garden but one garden away is a wild country park, my elderly neighbour here would feed her and keep an eye on her but would not take her to the vets, when I was a child we have a cat we moved from one house to another, despite leaving her in the house for weeks she went out one day and disappeared. Sometimes I think it's wrong of me to even think of leaving her her but I can't bear to think that we might move her and then loose her, we will be keeping our house in Portugal and will return a few times a year, does anyone have any experience of this or advice? Thanks so much x

I would usually advise taking her with you.  However, it seems you have some options.

On leaving her  - I would do that ONLY if you think your neighbor is to be relied on for feeding her and also for making sure she has shelter.  If she is used to coming into your house, the neighbor should be willing to allow that, too.

On bringing her with you - she will need to be confined at the new house for up to a month, to make sure she learns the new territory is her territory.  Confining her in the house is an option but if she's allowed to go outside, you will need a crate or enclosure of some sort, to keep her in the yard.  Perhaps she can be walked on a leash until you are sure she won't run.

The cat belongs to you. You cannot leave her behind. Have her spayed first if she is not already fixed. She will be so sad if you don't take her.

Thanks both for your replies, yes I know the responsible thing to do is to bring her with us, and I am 99 per cent sure this is what will happen but I have been reading so much lately about how bonded cats are with thier environment more than thier owners that I worry that we not be doing the right thing for her. Her life will be a different one after the move for sure but yes, she is ours and we need to do our best for her, x

Una stars said:

Thanks both for your replies, yes I know the responsible thing to do is to bring her with us, and I am 99 per cent sure this is what will happen but I have been reading so much lately about how bonded cats are with thier environment more than thier owners that I worry that we not be doing the right thing for her. Her life will be a different one after the move for sure but yes, she is ours and we need to do our best for her, x

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If she will not get reliable medical care, you cannot even think of leaving her behind. Also, something could happen to your elderly neighbor. Your cat needs you.

Una stars said:

Thanks both for your replies, yes I know the responsible thing to do is to bring her with us, and I am 99 per cent sure this is what will happen but I have been reading so much lately about how bonded cats are with thier environment more than thier owners that I worry that we not be doing the right thing for her. Her life will be a different one after the move for sure but yes, she is ours and we need to do our best for her, x

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Never heard of a cat being more bonded to its environment than its owner. Its environment does not provide food!

Cats do bond to their environment.. They are territorial animals and it's a very strong instinct.  It's one of the reasons I have cat sitters rather than board cats out.  But they can adjust to a new territory. I just takes time and care:

 I would be concerned about the welfare of your cat if you leave her, and I think you would too.  What if something happened that did require medical attention?  Health issues can develop over time and when you are with her you can keep and eye on her and provide preventative help.  And I believe she would simply miss you (and, of course, you will miss her).

As Ondine said, if you take her with you (and I hope you do) she will need to be kept inside and perhaps have access to some kind of outdoor enclosure.

Here's an article you may find helpful:

 [article="33377"]How To Move With Your Cat To A New Home In A Safe Way​[/article]  

Thank you Mani for the article, that's really helpful. I know she will miss her home and territory, it's pretty much a perfect life for a cat here and I feel bad for taking her away from it but she will just have to adjust like the rest of the family! I think the reason I even considered leaving her was that she lives a very outdoor life, she chooses to sleep out for days at a time and catches a lot of food. There are a lot of outdoor semi wild village cats here that lead good lives but yes, if they get sick no one is there to take them to the vets.

I now need to spend sometime reading more on how to settle her in to a new home and also how to transport her on a 2000 mile journey by road and sea!

Mani said:

Cats do bond to their environment.

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They definitely do. But my point was that I doubt a cat bonds more with its environment than its owner.