Moving House- will my cat run away?

[Moshula]

Hello
I'm moving house the week after next and am worried about my highly strung 14 yr old cat. We can't shut him in a room when we get there as he is so used to having free access to house/garden and gets v distressed if shut in anywhere. My Mum suggested getting some tranquilisers but I'm worried that will make him more confused and distressed. We are only moving to the other side of town, so at least the journey isn't too long. I'm just worried that he will run away when we get there and not be able to find his way back. Anyone been through similar situation?

Thanks

Our cat also doesnt like to be shutin a room but its what the vet advised when we moved, we kept her in our bedroom for about 24hours then opened the door to let her investigate, tbh she was that traumatised by the change that she stayed in the room till she found her feet.

After a few days she was fine and was out and about roaming and she never ran away.

I cant see the vet giving you tranqillisers tbh.

The old wives remedy was to butter their paws - the science in it is supposed to be in link between grooming (enforced due to buttery feet) and feline contentment - we did it with ours just in case, but I don't know if it has any proven benefits.

I think keeping him contained to some extent might be beneficial - he'll need time to explore, and that's not best done under the feet of movers.