Moving house advice please

[Phoxinusphoxinus]

Hopefully moving in September. Have a 12 year old cat. We're not moving far only about 10 minutes drive from where we are now.

Any advice as I've never moved house with a cat before.

I left mine in the old house for a few days ( 15 min drive away and went in twice a day to spend time with him) until I had all furniture in the places it would stay, Inc cat furniture and boxes stacked safely where they wouldn't need to move from until unpacked, so he wasn't unsettled by things moving all the time and the house would hopefully smell of us by then to him. I rubbed his face with a soft cloth then door frames etc in new house at his head height in new house over that few days. ( he sniffed at these when he got there. I also let his beds and blankets get to stage where they smelt of him ( normally wash them before I detect the smell) so when he moved he could find his beds easily in the new place. I also used feliway and xylekene ( my boy is v anxious!!) and if its that close def keep him into for a good 3 weeks so he doesn't try to fund his way home to the old house. Have moved cats before without all this fuss but my boy has a history of peeing on carpets when upset!

I moved recently with 3 dogs a 10yr old cat and a parrot. Cat left in an empty bedroom (locked door incase the removal guys opened it by accident) with food and litter tray and basket until I was ready to leave. Then we packed dogs cat and parrot in the car and went. When we arrived at the new house I locked her in a bathroom (no removals going in there) with food and litter tray. Once we had moved everything we made sure all doors and windows were closed, then set up one room with the food and litter trays and left her in there until the next morning.

She was kept indoors for 6 months because she was going to live with DD in her house - when she moved there she did actually escape after about 10 days, but came back after a week or so - and now comes and goes at will.

Despite rumours to the contrary, I think cats like their people - our cats have always been attached to us and have coped with moving house OK.

Thank you, @kitkat463 feliway is a great idea.

I was planning on confining him to one room on the day of the move like you say @dianebrewster. But no idea how long to keep him in the other end. But I do think he's attached to us and he's not a cat who roams far.

If your DCat is OK in a cattery I'd suggest putting him in there for a few days.

I did this with my old cat and although she hated the cattery, she'd not have coped with all the people in and out, even if she'd been locked in one room. Ultimately it was the least stressful option for her.

I took her there a couple of days before the move and picked her up a couple of days later once the majority of stuff was unpacked.

I then kept her in one or two rooms in the new house for a couple of days as she acclimatised to the new smells, etc. She was fine.

They do say to keep them in for a good few weeks after the move but I've always found that my cats don't want to go out for a while anyway.

I read one page that said keep them in for 2 weeks, but that seemed way too soon to me. I kept mine in for about 4 weeks but then she started showing interest in exploring a little more. She then still didn't leave the garden for a few more weeks after that.

Following as I will be moving with cats in (hopefully) a few months and I’ve never done this before, they are DP’s cats and we are moving in together, about 15 mins from where I live now but at least 1hr 30 mins from where he is.

I am an experienced animal person (dogs, horses etc) but haven’t had cats for years, or moved house with them before.

He is getting nervous as they are indoor cats and haven’t travelled much. They are quite chilled though, mature but not elderly, and fine with using their litter trays etc so I think they’ll be okay.

I’m trying to convince him to try a light sedative from the vet though, just to make the travelling experience better as it won’t be nice (or safe) if he’s driving down the motorway, potentially getting stuck in traffic, and the cats are screaming in the back! Would any of you recommend this approach?

I like the idea of rubbing door frames with their scent, and we will be taking their old scratching posts etc. They like to go up high to look out of the window too so we will make sure their favourite bookshelf is in place early.