The 4 Simple Truths Of Moving With Cats

Moving with cats is a stressful experience for you and your cat. Although you'll face many challenges when helping your cats adjust to a new home, you need to be aware of these four simple truths and how to handle it all.

Moving with cats can be difficult, but you may not expect to deal with these problems.

 

Moving with cats. Oy.

To be honest, I knew it was going to be difficult. Misha and Tippy get quite nervous about unfamiliar spaces, car rides, and new people. What I’ve learned during this experience is that you will never be 100% prepared for an event such as this. Still, there are four simple truths about moving with cats that I’d like to pass on to you.

Messes Will Be Made

Your cats are going to break things. They’re going to get dirty. It’s inevitable. Unless you live in a house with no furniture or doors, you’ll experience the frustration of hearing a phantom crash of which you may or may not discover the source of.

Moving with cats requires a lot of patience, especially when it comes to unpacking. Make sure to check each box before you seal it up – cats love to hide inside!

You Will Experience At Least One Sleepless Night

Whether it’s from worry or being awoken by a wet pink nose, sleep will evade you. You’ll get a couple hours of snoozing if you’re lucky. At some point within the first month of moving, you’re going to lie awake, praying for sleep to come.

My experience happened in the wee hours of the morning, sometime around 2 a.m.. I was awoken to the sound of Tippy tearing through the house. Curious, I went to investigate, only to find Tippy downstairs with a bloody nose and tape stuck to her foot. Evidently, she had run into something while trying to get away from the tape.

She was literally shaking with fear, and I couldn’t really sleep for the rest of the night. She’s okay now, thank goodness, but it was super scary for the both of us.

Don’t Get Too Attached To Your New Furniture

Okay, so the couch in our living room isn’t new, but it was inaccessible for Misha and Tippy in the old house. This is not the case in the new house. It’s front and center on the main floor, and I’ve already had to put sticky tape on it. They are not deterred.

The process of moving with cats includes them refamiliarizing themselves with their territory and marking their scent on, well, everything. Cats have scent glands in their paws that they use to do this, so don’t be surprised if they try and scratch everything made of fabric.

It’s Normal For Your Cats To Have Accidents

By “accidents”, I mean the bathroom kind. A new home means new smells, and your cat (or cats) may have trouble finding the litter box. It doesn’t matter if you put it in the middle of the room they’re in; if it doesn’t smell like theirs, they might not use it all the time.

Scent is the sense that a cat uses the most, and almost all of their activities revolve around their sense of smell. One thing you can do to help your cat adjust is to save used litter. Sprinkle it on the new litter in the litter box (about a cup of old litter). This will help your kitty recognize their litter box.

If your cat does have an accident, DON’T GET MAD AT THEM. They literally have no idea where they are. They’re confused, frustrated and lost. Try using these methods to make your cat more comfortable in their new home:

  • Pheromones (we use Feliway)
  • Put some of your cat’s unwashed possessions in each room so their scent is there
  • Let them explore the new house slowly – one room at a time
  • Spend plenty of time with them; they need to know you haven’t left them!
  • Give them a quiet safe space all their own during the moving process

Have you ever experienced moving with cats? How did you handle it, and what advice can you give to other pet parents? Let us know in the comments!

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8 Thoughts to “The 4 Simple Truths Of Moving With Cats”

  1. Miss Amber, these are such great tips for humans! Thanks for saying, ‘Don’t Get Mad at Them’ if kitty has an accident. Peeps should never yell at or scold we cats for having a potty accident. Instead they should try to understand the reason for the accident. So nice to find your blog! Mew Mew!

    1. Thanks so much for stopping by, Valentine! Yes, you’re exactly right – hoomans should never yell at kitties for accidents. Cats’ brains don’t work the way humans’ do, so we shouldn’t expect them to behave like humans. Happy to have you as a reader, and we hope to see you again soon! (Hugs & Purrs)

  2. It is very trying to move with cats, but it can be done. I have had to do it twice. I must admit that my cats did very well both times. They were very anxious, but they adjusted fairly quickly to their new environment. My secret has been to move the cats last (or at least after most of the big boxes have moved.

    1. We did the opposite; we moved the cats first. We would have moved them last, but the schedule we had demanded that we take our heavy furniture (beds, etc.) over first, so we had to sleep at the new house. I think our biggest problem was when Misha and Tippy got into the ceiling (yes, that’s right… the ceiling) downstairs. There were a couple of missing ceiling tiles, and they somehow managed to get up there (several times!) and they wouldn’t come down for hours. Oy!

  3. Aw, poor sweeties. That tape story is especially sad.

    I’ve been really lucky, in that the cats I’ve moved with most often seem to love adventure. They found the packing experience really fun, and they loved exploring a new home. My only real problem was that I almost packed them a few times. They kept hopping in the boxes!

    Jean from Welcome to the Menagerie

    1. My cats tried to pack themselves away a couple of times. If there’s a cardboard box, they have to inspect it!

  4. Hi,
    I moved with dogs and I don’t remember a problem. However, you are right we have to get used to a new place so they don’t make messes.

    sed to a new environment so that they don’t make messes.
    Maybe you can check out my site if you need tips. That’s what I write about. I also have blog parties like Danny Ray. I met you on his site.
    Janice

    1. Thanks, Janice. 🙂 Dogs are definitely easier to move with than cats. They’re pretty laid back when compared to felines. I’ll have to check out your site and see what I can find!

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