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Moving with Your Cat

Moving cats across the globe can be a challenge. How the cats react to the changes can vary, but there are some common-sense rules to be followed to avoid losing your pet or creating unnecessary stress for them.

Moving with your cat

  • Cats that have been transferred at the beginning yearn for their old, familiar home (sounds human, doesn't it?!) It will take time, before your pet feels at home again, it will have to mark its new territory, maybe even fight with neighboring cats; so sometimes it may happen that rather than getting into the ordeal, the cat may decide to return to the previous home. (Or try doing so...)
    To avoid losing your pet, there are a few suggestions you might want to consider.

Indoor cat

  • Do make sure the cat identification is up to date and get new collar tags with your current address and phone number. You may wish to include "Lost, if you found me outside".

Outdoor cat

  • Don't let your cat leave the house for at least three weeks (the amount of time needed to get familiar with the new house and - most of all - to associate you, food and safety with the new surroundings. If you find it difficult and wish to let the cat out before the 3 weeks period, let it out  in a confined environment for short periods under your supervision. You may want to walk with your cat, using, if tolerated, a harness or leash.
    Place food outdoors, so the cat can associate home with food.
    Do make sure its identification is up to date, get new collar tags with your current address and phone number.
  • If your cat gets into fights with outdoor cats, there are higher chances of being injured or bringing home diseases (like feline leukemia; vaccination is the only way of preventing this, otherwise the disease will end deadly).

Adaptation signs

  • Your cat may be slow to adapt to the new home and can show some distress. The signs are indoor-soiling, excessive grooming or not grooming alltogether, excessive meowing, destructiveness or self-mutilation activities like tail biting. Other symptoms of anxiety in your cat may include depression, loss of appetite, hiding or aggression.
  • A vet consultation is necessary if your cat stops eating altogether or the signs of being unsettled do not disappear.