Cats vs Building Site (new build estate)

[noodlesfortea]

Looking for some advice and opinions on what's best to do about our cats.

We are due to move house in the next few months, and we are moving to a new build estate. Our house is one of the first to be complete on the estate, so there will be building working going on for the next year in close proximity.

We are concerned about our cats getting onto the building site and being injured or getting trapped inside the buildings as doors/windows will be getting opened while they work on the insides.

Opposite the estate is a quiet but fast road, so the alternative to being in the building site is crossing the potentially risky road to enter the woods.

Keeping them inside indefinitely is not as option. They are very free range cats with no limitations on when they can be outside at the moment, and spend most of their days outside when the weather suits, so being indoor cats would be awful for them.

We've had some discussions in the past about rehoming them, as one of our dogs chases them. They are not terrorised or anything, often it's very harmonious, but we have wondered if they might have a better life in a dog free home.

My parents (hi mum if you're reading this) have suggested that now is the time to rehome them, but I would feel so awful doing this during a cost of living crisis when people are giving away pets they're struggling to feed. But equally I don't want them to be hurt living in an unsafe environment.

Does anyone have any experience of cats on new build building sites, or advice for what might be best?

[AllTheOtherCats]

Hi OP,

Have you thought about building a nice big catio for them? That way they can come and go as they please, will be safe and still be able to go outside (and escape your dog if it gets a bit much). I have a catio for mine and it's perfect. They come in all shapes and sizes and you can add lots inside them so that your kitties are stimulated x

[Catwench]

I moved onto a new build estate with cats. I kept them in during the day when I was at work and the workmen were about and let them out of an evening when everyone had gone. I put a tracker on them so could check where they were and let them stay out until about 10pm. For the first few weeks one kept roaming through the unfinished houses and going further afield to get his bearings, he then calmed down and they never really left the garden.

[Victoriancat]

Catio! Rehoming when so many animals need help already is incredibly cruel, they love you and will feel confused and abandoned.

[Alphabet1spaghetti2]

Catio. Once the estate is finished you can always sell/donate it if you wish.

[BungleandGeorge]

Enclose your garden? It doesn’t sound suitable for them to wander. Would they be easy to rehome (young, a specific breed etc?)

[Vonesk]

If you move house,
Let them Roam,
And theyre injured, it would cost plenty $$$$$$ bucks to rehabilitate . Why not spend that Cash instead on a CATIO. Or get a Carpenter to escape proof your Garden.
If you feel they need yo go out take them out on a cat leash once a day.

[Victoriancat]

I noticed you didn't think of rehoming the bloody dogs that chase them!

[InsidiousRasperry]

I am looking to get a cat but live on a new build estate where building is ongoing and had the same worries! I have seen a few kitties about so they must be ok. If I do end up getting one I would definitely want a tracker for a wee bit.

[icclemunchy]

Assuming you'll have the average newbuild size garden I'd cat proof that. You can get rollers which are fairly discreet so now a issue that way either.

We have a catio for ours, even the once free ranging stray is quite happy lazing on a shelf in the sun in it.

[TheSnowyOwl]

Every time we have moved home we have taken into account keeping our pets safe. You can’t just dump them because they are an inconvenience now. That’s irresponsible.

[MrsB74]

We lived on an unfinished building site with two cats - they were absolutely fine (obviously there are no guarantees). I’d be more worried about the busy road. Personally I wouldn’t live near a main road with free roaming cats as I’ve known too many, owned by friends, who have been hit. That said my childhood cat lived to 18, and died on natural causes, and we were by a busy road!

I don’t know how you go about cat proofing a garden, especially if your cats are used to more freedom. Worth looking into though. Rejoining seems harsh; that would break my heart.

[noodlesfortea]

Gosh some of these comments are more harsh than AIBU. I'm not "dumping them because they're an inconvenience". I'm asking for advice on keeping them safe and giving them the best life possible, whatever that might look like.

Thank you for the suggestions of catio, but unfortunately I don't think that will work for us or them. They are currently very free range cats who roam, so would feel very trapped in a catio. I think they can work very well for cats who are primarily indoor cats, but my personal opinion is they're not appropriate for outdoor cats.

The trackers is a brilliant idea, and cat proofing the garden could work well, I will look into this. The letting them out at night but trying to keep them in during the day could also work, we will try this.

[noodlesfortea]

@Catwench

I moved onto a new build estate with cats. I kept them in during the day when I was at work and the workmen were about and let them out of an evening when everyone had gone. I put a tracker on them so could check where they were and let them stay out until about 10pm. For the first few weeks one kept roaming through the unfinished houses and going further afield to get his bearings, he then calmed down and they never really left the garden.

Which tracker did you use? Did it let you track them in real time?

[BeGratefulOfGlimmers]

I’d be more worried about the constant noise and work going on. If you’ve bought first phase on a new build plot, work is likely to be going on for years - if cats are a major priority can’t you rent it out and move in when all the work is done. Sounds like hell. Wish you all the best.

[Angrymum22]

I became a dab hand at breaking an entry when I moved into my first new build house. My cat was locked into the houses the builders were working on. Fortunately she limited her exploration to houses and not the builders vans.
Another of my cats would invite himself to multiple neighbours houses, mainly via their cat flaps. When he was run over, at our current house, three separate neighbours asked after him. He actually tapped on one neighbours door every night because they had an open fire he liked to sleep in front of. He would regularly spend the afternoon with another neighbour. And got rid of the rabbits in the garden of the neighbour who sat with him as he passed away, the neighbour was so upset. I could have filled the local crematorium with people who mourned him.

[User3456]

Cat proof the garden, definitely. They will adapt to not being able to roam. We have got our back yard cat proofed and our 3 previously free roaming cats all adapted (two immediately were fine, the other took about a month, we had good reasons for doing this, one went missing for 2 months and another was diagnosed with fiv). We tried a tracker first but our cat still got herself in a scrape again so cat proofing it was.
Try felisafe or protect a pet. There's a kitty gardens group on Facebook too if you're on there. Good luck

[Catwench]

I’ve moved again since and now use a tractive tracker all of the time. It shows where the cat is, one lost it in brambles and I managed to locate it. The location can sometimes be slightly out if they are in close proximity to a wall but still gives an idea of where they are. It doesn’t seem to bother the cats either and I thought it would.

[Catwench]

@noodlesfortea

Which tracker did you use? Did it let you track them in real time?

I’ve moved again since and now use a tractive tracker all of the time. It shows where the cat is, one lost it in brambles and I managed to locate it. The location can sometimes be slightly out if they are in close proximity to a wall but still gives an idea of where they are. It doesn’t seem to bother the cats either and I thought it would.

[Pineapples198]

Clearly letting them outside at the new address is not safe - and will never be as even once the building is completed the fast road will still be there.
Rehoming them is going to be difficult and you’ve no guarantee they will go anywhere decent. Rescues are full and won’t re home your cats for you.
unless you have any friends who would take them I think your options are either to keep them as indoor cats, build a catio or cat proof your garden. I have 2 indoor cats, they are absolutely fine. You will have to keep them inside for at least a month anyway when you move so they reacclimatise - so in a way that’s the perfect time to transition them to being indoor cats. If you want to let them out after this period a safe sturdy catio would allow them outdoor space safely, and you could have a cat flap out into it. You could also cat proof your garden easily by using angled brackets on the tops of your fences and some chicken wire or mesh.
that way they can go into the whole garden and stay safe

[CatCaretaker]

@noodlesfortea

Gosh some of these comments are more harsh than AIBU. I'm not "dumping them because they're an inconvenience". I'm asking for advice on keeping them safe and giving them the best life possible, whatever that might look like.

Thank you for the suggestions of catio, but unfortunately I don't think that will work for us or them. They are currently very free range cats who roam, so would feel very trapped in a catio. I think they can work very well for cats who are primarily indoor cats, but my personal opinion is they're not appropriate for outdoor cats.

The trackers is a brilliant idea, and cat proofing the garden could work well, I will look into this. The letting them out at night but trying to keep them in during the day could also work, we will try this.

I've read that cats hunt more / more successfully at night than during the day, so, for the sake of local wildlife, letting them out at night might not be the best option.

[noodlesfortea]

Cat proofing the garden it is, this seems like a proportionate solution which offers them some freedom but minimises the risks. Alongside a tracker in case they find their way out the front door/an open window on the non-garden side of the house.

The bit I can't get past on a catio is surely you can never have your windows/patio doors open?

[lostForNames]

We moved to a new build a few months ago. Kept our cat in for 2 weeks so he could acclimatise and let him out ever since. Haven’t had any problems at all and loads of building work still going on

[socialdilemmawhattodo]

@noodlesfortea

Cat proofing the garden it is, this seems like a proportionate solution which offers them some freedom but minimises the risks. Alongside a tracker in case they find their way out the front door/an open window on the non-garden side of the house.

The bit I can't get past on a catio is surely you can never have your windows/patio doors open?

I am 4 years into indoor cats. Never again, ever. You cannot have the windows or doors open. My son built me a heath-robinson ramshackle catio last year (he did brilliantly - we were offered aviary mesh panels). I want to move so didnt want anything too permanent. So we can now have the back kitchen door and 2 windows open. Our catio doesnt have an exit into the garden.

Regarding letting your cats out - the builders will mostly be gone by 5pm. Let them out and call them back in later at night. So they are not out overnight. That will remove some of the hunting risk and road risk.

[Alphabet1spaghetti2]

the whole point of a catio is they YOU CAN have doors and windows open. Look up some of the amazing catios on Facebook - quite a few groups to browse.

[noodlesfortea]

@Angrymum22

I became a dab hand at breaking an entry when I moved into my first new build house. My cat was locked into the houses the builders were working on. Fortunately she limited her exploration to houses and not the builders vans.
Another of my cats would invite himself to multiple neighbours houses, mainly via their cat flaps. When he was run over, at our current house, three separate neighbours asked after him. He actually tapped on one neighbours door every night because they had an open fire he liked to sleep in front of. He would regularly spend the afternoon with another neighbour. And got rid of the rabbits in the garden of the neighbour who sat with him as he passed away, the neighbour was so upset. I could have filled the local crematorium with people who mourned him.

Edited

I loved reading this, what a little character. So sorry for the loss of your puss, glad they brought joy to so many x