If you’re facing a move with your cat, you can take steps before, during, and after the move to help keep your cat calm, safe, and happy. In many ways, keeping your cat calm during and after a move is very similar to keeping your cat calm after adoption. You’ll be preparing, transporting, and introducing your cat to the home just like a new arrival. We’ve got 10 steps you can take before the move, during the move and after you settle in your new home to help your cat stay calm.
With a dad in the military, we moved every year when I was a child until I reached middle school. For me, it was an exciting time–movers and boxes and days on the road as the whole family loaded up and moved, often several states away.
Now, of course, looking back on it, I realize all the stresses that my parents went through with each of our many relocations and I think about how tough it would be on me now to make a similar move. For me, a big part of that stress would be concern for our cats and how they’d handle the change.
Our cats, like many cats, are homebodies. They love their home and don’t care for change. But changes can always come to a home, even if you’re not planning a move. Renovations, natural disasters, and family emergencies mean relocation for thousands of cat households every year, whether for a brief period or as a permanent move.
This post is sponsored by Ceva Animal Health, makers of FELIWAY® for cats. All statements and opinions are entirely our own. As always, we only share products that we use with our own pets!
Before the Move
1. Make the carrier your cat’s happy place.
During the move, you’ll want the transport to be as calm as possible–and this starts by making sure your cat sees the carrier as a place of safety (not as a sign that she’s going to the veterinarian’s office). Start by placing the carrier in a happy location–perhaps near her favorite cat bed, beside your bed, or by your favorite chair. Leave the carrier open so your cat can come and go freely.
Spray the inside of the empty carrier with FELIWAY® CLASSIC Spray, and spray your cat’s favorite blanket and toss it inside. The natural feline facial pheromone which sends “happy messages” helps your cat feel calm when she enters the carrier–and that will be extra important on moving day. You’ll find more tips on making your cat love the carrier in our post on ways to help your cat remain calm in her carrier.
2. Bring in the scent of the new home, if possible.
Assuming your new home is nearby and you’re able to visit it before the big move, you can begin to acquaint your cat with his new digs before moving day. Take a small blanket to your new place and leave it there for a few days (if possible), to absorb the scent of the new home. Bring it back to your current home and place it near that happy spot, such as beside a favorite cat bed. Let your cat begin to learn the scent and acquaint it with happy times.
3. Pack a box for your cat.
One of the first boxes you’ll want to unpack when you reach your new home is one containing your cat’s must-have items including:
- prescription medication
- several days of food and water
- a favorite toy
- bedding
- bowls
- a cat scratcher
- veterinary records
- litterbox and litter
- first aid kit
- FELIWAY® CLASSIC Diffuser : When you reach your new home, you’ll plug in the clinically-proven, veterinarian-recommended diffuser that produces a copies the feline facial pheromone that provides a continuous calming effect. The diffuser won’t impact you (or dogs in the household) but your cat will get calming reassurance.
4. Set up a cat room
If you’re moving nearby and able to go to the new home before moving day, go ahead and set up a room for your cat. Just as when you first adopted your cat, you’ll want to set up a small room out of the traffic zone with your cat’s bowls, bedding, litterbox, and the FELIWAY® CLASSIC Diffuser (which will cover about 700 square feet). This room is also the perfect place to set up a cat tree for providing some vertical space, and a cat scratcher, a great way to get her off on the right paw in your new house. The new FELISCRATCH by FELIWAY® helps redirect scratching onto the scratcher and helps reduce or stop unwanted scratching in your new home!
During the Move
5. Make your cat’s carrier a safe, calm place.
Secure the carrier with a seatbelt so it’s stable as you travel, and, if your cat is nervous, drape the carrier with a lightweight cloth to reduce distractions while still providing good air flow. We always travel with the cats with the radio on low to minimize road sounds as well. And just as you sprayed the carrier with FELIWAY® CLASSIC Spray when helping your cat learn that the carrier is a safe place in your pre-move preparations, you’ll want to spray it again on moving day to reaffirm those calming messages. Spray the carrier before you place your cat inside (or spray a crate mat or small blanket.) You can also spritz the cloth that you’re using to cover the carrier.
6. Designate a Cat Person.
Avoid that “I thought you were watching her” moment by putting one person in charge of your cat’s care during the move and immediately after. This person will always know where your cat is and if she needs food, water, or a litterbox scooping.
7. Make overnight stays calm.
If your move involves one or more hotel nights, make those breaks calm for you and your cat as well. Be sure to check our tips on how to make your cat’s first hotel stay a success so that your time in the hotel is restorative and relaxing for you both.
After the Move
8. Place your cat in the cat room.
If you were able to set up the cat room in advance, head directly in, place the carrier in the corner, and open it so your cat can come and go from the carrier as she likes. (If you didn’t have access to your new home in advance, you can set up the cat room quickly when you arrive.) Bring in your special moving box with all your cat’s must-have items, set up food and water bowls, and plug in the FELIWAY® CLASSIC Diffuser.
9. Watch for aggression between cats.
Cats that got along great in your old home may go through a period of readjustment during and after the move. The FELIWAY® MultiCat Diffuser, which can help reduce tension and conflict between cats, is a great way to keep multiple cats happy and peaceful during these early weeks in the new home.
Like the FELIWAY® CLASSIC Diffuser, this diffuser has no impact on dogs or humans.
10. Slowly acquaint your cat with the new home.
Just as you would do after adopting a new cat, you’ll want to introduce your cat to the new home slowly. Give your cat a few days to decompress in “her” cat room, giving you time to move in and tend to all the details while knowing your cat is safe and calm.
Once you and your cat are ready, you can begin introducing your cat to one room at a time. Use the FELIWAY® CLASSIC Spray to spray a cat bed or blanket in one of the “new” rooms before introducing your cat.
While the moving process may be a slow one with your cat, the extra steps can help you and your cat settle in safely, reaffirming that, yes, there is no place like home.
For More Information
- visit the FELIWAY® site
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