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Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

The litter tray

How long should I keep my cats in!?

9 replies

LST · 04/04/2012 22:16

I'm moving house some time this week and I have 3 cats. 2 mental case boys and a docile tortie. How long are you meant to keep them in for?!

(prepared to be drove batty)

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Goawaybob · 04/04/2012 22:21

two weeks, put butter on paws (mad but so many people say this works). Try a felliway diffuser in the house you are in now, spray some in the boxes you move them in, have diffuser in new house.

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issey6cats · 04/04/2012 22:22

i work at haworth cat rescue and we reccomend new adopters of adult cats to keep them in for about two weeks, let them nose oput of the windows to orientate themselves , good luck my good intentions flew out the door twenty four hours after moving when my mob did a mass excape due to my grandson opening the door lol

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Catsmamma · 04/04/2012 22:25

let them out before breakfast....and make sure they only had a small supper the night before!

be busy in and out of the garden with stuff so they can hear you and smell the house.

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LST · 04/04/2012 22:33

Thank you for replying I got told yesterday 4 weeks!!!!!! My tabby got hit by a car just before Christmas (he's ok now) and the vet told me to keep him in for 3 months... It was more dangerous after the first four weeks to keep him in. He kept diving at the windows! There is no where for them to get lost as such as new house is surrounded by fields (and horses gulp)

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aJumpedUpPantryBoy · 04/04/2012 22:38

I think it depends on the cat.

We've always erred on the side of caution when getting a new cat and kept them in for four weeks.

When we moved we kept the majority in for a fortnight, although Cat#1 escaped on day 1 but he is such a needy boy we couldn't lose him if we tried.

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ragged · 05/04/2012 20:47

We only kept them in for 3 days when I moved as a kid. Which was fine, all 3 adult cats. Was some rule of thumb my mother had used in past successfully.
Let my kittens go outside briefly from 6 days.

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LST · 06/04/2012 05:10

Thanks again! I think we'll be in by tonight. 2 of them have never seen stairs before! They are going to hate me!

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southchinasea · 06/04/2012 23:18

My 3 had never seen stairs before we moved house and the novelty of rushing up and down, leapfrogging/ jumping out on eachother completely distracted them from the fact they were being kept in!

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Fluffycloudland77 · 07/04/2012 08:25

I'm going to have to do this soon with a Bengal.

Bengals do not give up nagging. It was 45 mins last night of shouting because he napped all afternoon and then decided he would quite like to go out now.

Dreading it.