I don’t want to loose my cat….

As posted before I have a brand new house. My cat goes outside a lot where I am living at the moment and im just scared when I move into my new home and he goes outside that he will get lost and wont smell his direction.

As anyone else been in the same situation and everything has worked out ok?

Well keep him inside the house. But getting lost is the least of the problems to worry about - what about getting hit by a car, or attacked by a dog, or accidentally locked into some place he investigates (happened to my cat), or eating the wrong thing, etc. etc.

There are indoor cats, and indoor/outdoor cats. Mine are the second type. It depends on where you live, I think, and we live in a VERY quiet neighbourhood with tons of other cats and dogs that are indoor/outdoor too.

Now, as Larke pointed out, there are many things to fear about having a cat that goes outside. These are all valid fears, and it would be best, probably to keep your cat indoors.

However, if you can't do this, then there are things you can do when you move house to help. Firstly, you need to remember that cats are creatures of habit. Moving house is very stressful for them, and they are likely to roam initially.

As a result, you MUST keep your cat indoors exclusively, with litter and toys, for two weeks. Then, you can let him outside ONLY supervised and ONLY for very short periods of time - 20 minutes at most. He will look around, have a sniff, and mark his territory. As time goes by he will get more and more used to his new surroundings, and his scent will be everywhere.

But if you do this too quickly, or just let him out randomly when you first move, chances are you will lose him. It's a slow process but you must take it step by step.

I have been through four moves with my cats, and never had an issue with one of them. But this is because time was spent making them at home.

I assume when the original poster says they are in Melbourne, I assume Australia. In Melbourne it is common for cats to be indoor/outdoor cats (mine are). We dont have as many predators etc to worry about as some of our other members, although your fears are valid.

I have thought about this question many times over the years for when we move as both my boys are indoor/outdoor cats. I think the best way to do this is to not let your cat out for a while when you move home. When you do decide to let him out, do so when your home and can supervise and only do short visits outside until you feel comfortable that he is ready.

I did this when both my boys were kittens and took it slowly over many months... they are fine outside now.

good luck!!