My lovely cat is somewhere around 10 years old, a (previously abused) rescue cat, and although much improved after 5 years with us, she is still incredibly nervous around other people. She won't go out and has been a house cat her whole life, by her own choice since we've had her.
We're moving house next month and I just don't know what to do. She had an operation a year ago and as she's quite trusting the first couple of times it was quite easy getting her into the basket, but by the end she put up such a fight we had to get the vet to come out. It was horrible, she really fought and screamed and weed everywhere. I don't want to put her through that again but we have to get her out before the movers come in.
My vague plan was to move her over to the new place the morning before the movers arrive and set her up in the spare room with her food and litter tray and something to sleep on - we don't have a spare room at the moment so nothing from here will be going in there, so I can tell the movers to avoid.
It's further complicated by how crammed we are in here - our current place is tiny (thanks 2008 market crash) and we have small children, so there is stuff everywhere. If she wants to hide, she will be able to do a good job. She loves to sit under the bed, which has boxes underneath and vacuum bags of clothes etc. So do we clear out all those areas in advance or would that just freak her out?
I need a plan! And reassurance!