Moving nervous cats to new house.

[jomcandrew]

Hi, I have two cats that I resued at about 3 months of age and 9 months. I have had them for 2 years. I will soon be closing on my new home and we will be moving. They have always been very frightened of new people, places, noises etc. I feel this is due to possible abuse and from being abandoned. The new house has a dirt basement floor. One cat is now having a hard time because I recently purchased an automatic litter box. She is very frightened and after she went on the rug we had to put down a small regular litter box for her. I know I need to introduce them to the new home on their terms and keep things quiet. Is there any advise you can give me to help them adjust? Do you think they will use the basement floor as one big litter box? That is where I always have keep the litter box and was hoping to do the same when moving. I am worried the little one that is afraid of the automatic will go on the rug, and I think she is part skunk because she leaves a terrible odor,(worse than a male) and it's very difficult to get rid of. Do cats do that in a new envirnment? There were no animals there before and I am having the rugs cleaned first. Thanks for any advise you can send my way.

 

[sicycat]

I would make sure you move the cats last.. make sure you have all of their familiar things set up before you move them. Then once you move them keep them confined in one room with their familiar things, litterbox, food, bedding, toys etc.. for awhile until they get used to it. Give them a place to hide in the room too so that they will feel safe.

Spray some Feliway in the carrier cages before you put them in and move them. You can start using Rescue Remedy in their food and water prior to moving. I'd post the links to these things but I'm dead tired lol (sorry) you can do searches on the net for these items.

I dont know about the litterbox issues.. if they're scared of the new litterbox I would let them use the old one to stop them from peeing in other places.

 

[hissy]

Here is an old thread that has great advice in it. The only thing I would add is to buy a blacklight flashlight from PetSmart and use it in your new place to find old pet stains. If you see any, then use Nature's Miracle or another enzyme cleaner (or Hydrogen Peroxide will work as well) and scrub the areas clean before releasing your cat.

Moving