Moving and transitioning tips?

[whammytap]

Hi all.  It's been a while since I've been here, but I'm looking for some tips and opinions.

In three weeks, I will be moving from a house to an apartment (foreclosure).  My five-year-old domestic shorthair, Rufus, has lived in this neighborhood as an indoor/outdoor cat his entire life (he used to belong to the next-door neighbor).  After the move, I'd like to keep him as an indoors-only cat due to the apartment's policies and the health benefits.  Rufus will be boarded at the vet's office on moving day and picked up the next morning, when everything will be set up for him.  I will be bringing a gallon of water from the old house for him to drink to avoid tummy upsets.  The information on his collar tags will be current.  I was hoping for some tips on making the transition as smooth as possible.

His litterbox had been kept in the utility room at the house; as the apartment has no utility room, I have purchased a cabinet in which to conceal his box.  I'm cutting a hole in the side of the cabinet through which he can enter and exit.  The cabinet is roomy; there is plenty of room for him to stand up and turn around.  The box only takes up half of the cabinet's length so I'm putting a track mat in the empty space.  He's never had a covered/enclosed litterbox before--any tips for making the transition?  Should I put a little light inside the cabinet and/or leave the doors open at first?

I'm also working on acclimating Rufus to a harness, as I'd like to be able to take him outside on supervised excursions.  I've been putting the harness on him for just a few minutes a day, usually while he eats his wet food, so he associates it with good things.  He's a very tolerant cat, but I can tell from the stiff-legged way he walks that he is very aware of the harness as a foreign object.  Everything I've read tells me that he'll eventually get used to it.  Should I keep on as I have been doing?

Thanks everybody, sorry for my longwindedness!

 

[busybee]

when moving into the new house have some of their familiar scents around. for an example the conforter off your bed, or the couch. Also start them off by giving them a small area of space to explore. Just one room (prob a bedroom or bathroom). Then once they seem to be comfortable open up a door to explore more. 

Transitioning litter box space is very simple. Once you fill it up and put it where you want it, just place the cat in the box once and they will know where it is and use it just fine. 

If you do put your cat in your bedroom and think it will have to go to the bathroom before he is comfortable enough to explore the house placing the litter box temporarily in your room for an evening or night might be your best plan. 

Typically they will have a hard few days. When i moved one of my two cats was comfortable in 3 or 4 days around the house while the other stayed hidden for almost a month! Give them somewhere to hide (under a bed, in a cupboard, under blankets). They will venture when they are ready or with a little coaxing 

Good luck. 

 

[busybee]

sorry here is a little more for you. My cats never enjoyed harnesses. i tried it for a long time but eventually gave up. Those little ninjas seemed to be able to slip out of any harness when i wasnt looking too. but i would often but a steak in the ground and just let them in the yard. then boom how did kitty get across the street. so just be careful not to leave them unattended. if you really want your cat to get used to the harness increase the time its wearing it every once and a while. but in the end you might find it isnt worth it. 

with the enclosed box i wouldnt worry too much about the transition. show him how it works. that might mean kind of shoving him through it once, but he will get the idea. no light will be needed for him though. hes a smart cookie. 

 

[whammytap]

Thanks, Busybee!  I'll start him off in our bedroom at first, which is probably where the litter box cabinet is going to go anyway, until we get the living space organized.  Once he seems comfortable in there (no longer hiding under the bed), we'll let him out into the living area.

I'll keep trying with the harness, just in case.  I haven't even bought a leash yet; I'd want him to be 100% comfortable in the harness before I try to leash him.  If that day never occurrs...oh, well.  I understand, from your reply and from the general consensus in the harnessing thread, that some cats learn to like it, some cats learn to tolerate it, and some cats just never do.

 

[nebula]

We just went through this. Had a rough patch for a few days, now they love the huge house we have.

We did things wrong (then again I did thing s"wrong" when brining the baby bandit into the house the first time with smokie.

But not lasting damage. They scrapped a bit, Smokie threw a temper tantrum for a few days then got over it.

When we moved, got everything moved in- then just let the cats roam. They were back to normal in a few days!!

Now they are best friends, BTW

 

[princessesme]

We just finished a move and thankfully, it went pretty smoothly. Before we brougt them in, we plugged in a Feliway diffuser where they would be for a little while, since they were quite stressed at first. We also made sure plenty of things in the house still had their scent too. I think the Feliway diffuser worked best with them and then having familiar scents.

As far as the litter box goes, like everyone else said, just show him where it is (and maybe nudge him through the opening, so he gets the idea) and he should be good. I've seen some people use motion sensed sticky lights (I've seen them for about $7) which might be nice. We usually just plug in a night light across from the opening (usually across the room).

I hope it all goes smoothly for you!