Help! Moves house and cat is not happy

[InkyPunkyGothyPoo]

We have a 5 year old cat which we had since she was a kitten.
Moved yesterday which was sudden so no time to gradually make her an indoor cat or anything.

Advise seems to be to keep her in a while.

She is very unsettle and just keeps meowing over and over. She has eaten very little and has not been to the toilet.

She is happy to have cuddles and has had a good purr this morning, but I can’t figure out what the meowing means or how to help her?

Is she voicing her dislike to moving? Is it because she wants to go out?

I feel like a terrible cat mummy right now. And we have the rest of the move to complete today which will cause further unsettle.

Hoping you lovely people on the pet board can give me some lovely helpful advice.

Some cats are very unsettled by moving, and it can take some time to adjust to using a litter tray indoors if they usually go outside.

It may help to have more than one tray for a while and put them in places that feel private- far away from the food.

You may need more toys for the time period where she's kept indoors to occupy her mind, and Feliway diffuser or collar might help her feel calm.

Our cats have moved twice with no long term effects.

Things that I think helped them included:
Feliway plug-ins / spray
Plenty of litter tray options, tucked away in bathrooms.
Plenty of water options.
Hidey holes to hide in.
Los of reassurance / time.

She has 2 litter trays. It’s like she is searching for something. Maybe the old house? Or the cat flap?

She must be tired from the constant meowing. But nothing seems to be settling her.

I’ll try and pick up a diffuser today.

Mine hid under the cupboards and inside things till they settled a bit

She’s just had a poo on my sofa :/

My DM always swore by butter on their paws, it seemed to work for us when we moved or brought an older cat home. An old wives tales probably but worth a try. Hope he settles soon.

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After keeping them in? Or letting out straight away?

We're having the same issue, moved a week ago with 2 cats. 1 is fine the other meows at night from 2am onwards it's driving us bonkers. We've got feliway, used the calming pipette on the back of his head. Toys, a massive litter tray tucked away. Nothing works, it's only if you get up he'll stop but we don't want him to get into the habit of doing this for attention. I hope he settles soon

Even now I’m up she’s still at it. I think she’s looking for somewhere to wee :/

She is refusing to use the litter trays but is probably desperate now.

I know it's not the usual advice but I let the cats out pretty much straight away, I leave the door open or go outside with. Then feed them as soon as they come back in, then repeat a few times.

*they need to survey the terratory.

Must admit I don't keep mine in for the recommended 2 weeks either. They find it too stressful to be shut in. I try and go out with them, give them extra tasty food when they come back in, and hope for the best.

Sorry OP, butter on paws then let them out to survey their new territory as said upthread. The butter is to induce cleaning, which in turn makes them feel at home so hopefully they come back in for dinner.

Lots of scratch posts or scratch post equivalents- this enables the cat to scent mark and take more ownership of the space.

When we moved house (have moved a couple of times with our cat, who is now 5) we always kept him in for 2 weeks. We took him out on a lead a few times before letting him out properly so he could get used to the smells and spread his scent before being let out. Also, in the house you can rub a cloth along the cats face/cheeks and then rub the cloth at cat height on door frames/ walls/ new furniture etc. This helps them feel at home, and be more likely to come back if they get out. Another thing is to initially let the cat out for a few minutes in the morning before feeding them, so they are unlikely to go far. If they do, then they have all day to find their way home.

Until Kitty actually manages to use the litter trays, I'm afraid your soft furnishings are at risk. If they are trying to hold in wee or poo for too long, the moment their foot touches something soft like the sofa, they can't hold it anymore.

Is your cat used to a litter tray? If not, then they may need you to put them in it a few times. Sometimes they can be picky about litter too, so it's worth trying a couple types.

Once you have a used tray, sprinkle the used litter around the perimeter of your property to show them where their territory is.

She eventually used her litter tray, but has only used it once since being here. It’s been very busy and noisy so I’m sure she will be fine now.

In fact she’s currently playing with a toy mouse in my bedroom! So clearly feels happier.

I thought I would update on this.

She is now much more settled and seems almost back to her normal self.

She’s having moments of growling at the front door, but I’m taking that as a good sign of her seeing this as her territory.

She’s still not eating as much as usual, but she is eating so I’m not worried about that. Plus the treats are being snaffled when offered.

She’s been sleeping under the covers on my bed which isn’t the normal for her, but I’m assuming she feels safer doing so.

She usually sleeps on top of the covers lying on my back or legs. But the new bedroom is huge compared to the old and quite echoey.

She'll get used to it, but she's had a major upset in her life. Give her time.
Only let her out when she's hungry so she comes back to eat.

I would let mine out to pee in the morning then do breakfast for them they would go out after and I would call them back in for lunch we had lots of small meals and recalls for ages