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Getting cat to stay in new house

3 replies

confusedofengland · 02/01/2014 11:18

We moved into our new house about 6 weeks ago. We didn't bring our cat with us at the time as the house wasn't ready for him & we were due to go away. He has been living with my parents for about 6 months, as were we before we moved here. They live a 2 minute walk from us.

We tried bringing him over to the hew house yesterday afternoon. We kept him in all afternoon, fed him here & kept him in overnight (he usually stays outside overnight). He was happy enough & sat on my lap & next to me throughout the afternoon & evening & we fed him roast chicken (a rare treat) which he liked smile. But he was obviously impatient to get out, looking out of the windows all the time. So we let him out first thing. Then when DH went round to my parents' house this morning, there he was sad

Does anybody have any ideas about how we can get him to stay here & recognise this as home? When we moved from our previous house to my parents' house, about 6 months ago, he settled immediately & did not run away. Our old house & my parents' house/our new house are about 3 miles apart. He is 10 years old & a neutered tom, if that makes any difference.

OP posts:
FairPhyllis · 02/01/2014 12:22

I think you have to keep them in for a couple of weeks for them to learn that this is their new home. Especially as the area is already familiar to him and he thinks that your parents' house is home.

Still at least it is your parents' place and not some random stranger's - makes it easy to retrieve him.

PixieFairy · 02/01/2014 12:56

They generally say to keep them in for two weeks. However, I kept mine in for 6 months. That was more to do with the fact they were kittens and hadn't been done though.

issey6cats · 02/01/2014 13:01

i would agree with keep him in for about at least two weeks at the moment he hasnt been in your house for more than 24 hours and the house to him wont smell like home as he wont have put his scent everywhere, i dont mean spraying just things like where his food is and where he has slept will smell to him like he belongs there, and keeping him in will make the scent trail from your house to your parents less visible to him at the moment your parents home is home to him as familiar

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