Problem Solving & Advice by Pam Johnson-Bennett Cat Behavior Expert & Best-selling Author
Cats don’t like change. Cats take comfort in predictability, familiarity, and routine. They’re also territorial so imagine how they must feel when they suddenly find themselves in a new location. Moving is stressful for humans so you can certainly understand how unhappy the whole thing makes the family cat. Everyone in the family except the cat received the memo that you’re about to change addresses.
Even though a certain amount of stress will undoubtedly be involved with a move to a new home, there are things you can do to make the transition a little easier on the cat (and ultimately on you).
Prepare Your Cat in Advance
The cat carrier. If your cat doesn’t like being in a carrier, spend time getting him comfortable with the process. Since your move will likely involve either car travel or air travel, your cat will endure much less anxiety if he views the carrier as a. safe place. Begin by feeding your cat near the open carrier, and then work your way toward being able to put his meals in the carrier itself. You can also use treats and offer a special treat in front of, next to, on top, and then inside the carrier. Clicker training is also very helpful for teaching cats to accept being in a carrier. Work up to being able to put your cat (in his carrier) in the car. Do several of those quick exercises and then advance to turning the engine on. Finally, start taking quick trips around the block and back. Make each phase gradual and positive
Cardboard boxes. Start packing well enough in advance so the moving boxes can be out and about for your cat to investigate. You can actually make the packing process kind of fun if the cat can enjoy playing in empty boxes for a few weeks.
If your cat reacts negatively to unfamiliar scents, spray the corners of the moving boxes with a synthetic feline facial pheromone spray. This is a product containing synthetic facial scent chemicals. The facial pheromones are associated with security and comfort for a cat. Feliway is the brand most familiar to cat parents and it’s available at your local pet product store and online.
Indoors only. If your cat is allowed outdoors, start keeping him indoors at least a week before the move. With all the packing and commotion associated with moving, it’s not unusual for a cat to get nervous and disappear while outside.
Indentification. Have the cat’s new ID ready well in-advance of the move so you’ll be able to attach it to the collar on moving day (if the cat wears a collar). If your cat is an indoor-only cat, state that on the ID tag so if the cat escapes during the move, anyone who reads the tag will know he’s lost.
Many cat parents don’t use a physical ID tag on their cats so microchipping is important. Make sure the microchip information is up-to-date with your current phone number. If you haven’t had your cat microchipped, take the time to get that done. It can be done at your veterinary clinic and it only takes a few minutes.
Stay on schedule. During the packing stage, make sure your cat’s schedule stays as normal as possible. It will only add to his anxiety if meals are late or he doesn’t receive the usual amount of attention from his family. In fact, incorporate some extra interactive play sessions to help with any increase in anxiety he may be experiencing during the packing stage.
Veterinary records. If you’re moving far enough away that you’ll be switching veterinary clinics, get your cat’s records emailed ahead of time to keep with you. When you get to your new location, be sure you know the location of the nearest pet emergency clinic just in case something unexpected happens in the middle of the night during your first few days in the new home.
Photo: Pam Johnson-Bennett
Have pictures. I know you probably have countless pictures on your phone of your cat, but make sure you have a couple that are very clear in case your cat gets lost during travel. If you have a multicat household, have clear pictures of each cat individually. Even though you’ll be taking every precaution to ensure your cat’s safety, if something tragic happens you want to be prepared with clear, current pictures so you can begin posting notices, sharing on social media, and contacting shelters immediately.
Your Cat’s Big Moving Day
Prevent escapes. To make sure your cat stays safe and doesn’t bolt out the front door while you or the movers are carting boxes and furniture out of the house, keep him in a separate room. You can either empty the contents of that room ahead of time and just have his carrier in there and a couple of empty boxes (as extra hiding places) and his litter box, or make that the last room the movers will enter (you’ll put your cat in his carrier beforehand). Instruct everyone involved with the move where the cat is located and as an extra precaution, post a sign on the closed door. If you’re concerned someone might still open the door, keep the cat inside the carrier during the moving process.
If the moving process will totally freak out your cat, talk to your veterinarian about boarding him for the day if your new location will still be in the same town.
The New Home for You and Your Cat
Cat proof. Go through the house and look for potential dangers (window screens that aren’t secure, places where the cat can get stuck, etc.) and make the necessary preparations so it will be a safe home for your cat.
Safe room. Set up a sanctuary room for your cat so he’ll have a safe and quiet place initially. Set up this room with some familiar furniture, his litter box, food and water bowls, scratching post, toys, and some hideaways. Since the house will be totally unfamiliar, it’ll be less overwhelming for him to be confined in one room so he can get his bearings and start to create some familiarity.
When Should Your Cat Explore the New Environment?
Let your cat set the pace. Depending on whether your cat is stressed or frightened will determine when to let him out to gradually expose him to more of the new environment. When you do open the door to start letting him investigate, set up an additional litter box in the spot where you’ll permanently want to locate it (if the house has more than one story place at least one box on each floor). Keep the litter box set up in the sanctuary room so your cat will always have a safe place to return to if he isn’t comfortable venturing too far out of his comfort zone. If you don’t plan on keeping the box in the sanctuary room located there permanently, wait until he’s totally comfortable with other box location(s) before taking that one away. You just don’t want to shock him by having the box disappear suddenly if he still likes using that one.
Photo: Pam Johnson-Bennett
Engage your cat in interactive play sessions to help him form positive associations with the new house. If he’s very frightened you’ll have to start these sessions in the sanctuary room and then work your way into the hallway. Go at your cat’s pace. Don’t ask him to venture too far out if he’s not ready. Always allow your cat to return to the sanctuary room if he gets overwhelmed.
Use Familiar Scents
Pheromone therapy and familiar scents. Help your cat become find familiar scents in the home by either using Feliway, a pheromone spray, (available at pet product stores and online) or use my sock method. Take a clean sock, put it on your hand and then gently pet your cat around the mouth to collect his facial pheromones. Then, rub the sock on the corners of objects (at kitty’s nose height). He’ll think he facially rubbed there and that may help him begin to become more comfortable in the environment. Do this several times.
Feliway also makes a plug-in diffuser that can be used for releasing pheromones generally into the environment.
If you purchased new furniture, place worn t-shirts, sheets, or towels over them to help create familiar scents. You can also rub the corners of the furniture with the socks containing your cat’s facial pheromones. Some cats get stressed by new objects in the home because they don’t smell familiar. Little things you can do to create familiarity and identity can help as your cat gets acquainted with this new territory and the objects in it.
Increase Marking Opportunities
Scratching posts. In addition to the scratching post(s) you brought from your previous home, invest in a few corrugated cardboard scratching pads to scatter around the house. These will provide additional options for your cat to do some visual and olfactory marking. If the move you made was from an apartment to a home or from a small home to a larger one, it’s a good idea to increase the number of scratching posts anyway.
If you have a multicat household, multiple scratching posts and pads scattered around may also help with displacement behavior as the cats work on negotiating individual core areas.
Should Your Cat Go Outdoors?
If your cat was allowed outdoors in his previous home, this would be a good opportunity to make him an indoor cat. You don’t know what kind of outdoor territorial issues might be going on with other cats and he will be the new kid in town. He will also have no connection to his new territory so just letting him outside will greatly increase the chances of having him never return home. If you’re determined to let your cat outdoors, wait until he’s totally comfortable with the new indoor surroundings before opening the back door to the outside. To make it a safer outdoor experience, my recommendation would be to install an outdoor enclosure, commonly referred to as a catio. This way, your cat can enjoy the outdoors without the risk of getting lost or being the victim of a fight. The other option is to walk him on a harness and leash around the yard. Harness/leash training must first be done indoors to make sure your cat is fully comfortable with the experience of being connected to a leash.
Need More Information?
For more specific help on easing your cat’s transition during a move to a new home, refer to the best-selling books by Pam Johnson-Bennett. The books are available at bookstores and also online. We have included Amazon links here on our website.
