any advice - we are moving back to the uk shortly bringing our 2 adopted spanish cats with us,all passported , as they are from feral stock, they live outside, only coming in at meal times, my worries is, that when we arrive at our new home in the uk, it will be near on impossible to keep these cat inside (when they are kept in here is spain they go mad, jumping up at windows and making horrid noises) I am so worried that once out the door we will never see them again. any suggestions.

when I moved house with my cats who loved going outside I kept them in for two weeks letting them have access to the whole house and giving them chance to settle in and look out the windows, just to get them used to the new surroundings and for them to realie that this was their new home, if I had let them out straight away I know they would have been gone for good, the first time I let them out I was so nervous but by then they were going mad trying to get out, they were fine and 1 came home quite quickly but the other was gone for hours I was so worried but he came home fine.

Hope its been of some use, I have moved twice with these cats and have done the same on both occasions and it works well for me, good luck with the move and settling in your cats

other members may have some other advice for you

Great advice Vixenlite I know it's hard to stick with it especially when they're making noises like your the most horrid slave ever...but stick with it coz it's for their safety and well being in the longtermWhen we first moved to our current home our 2 moggies bless, were totally confused but we did what Vixenlite has suggested and it worked a treat i'm glad to sayIt'll be a mini adventure for them when you do allow them out too, getting to know their turf and any neighbors they can blag for treats, peeing on new soil etc Ooh the fun they will have is endless and they'll soon settle, being back in England serve em a dish of tea-they'll soon forget Ola and be mewing Hi their good people and Ta-ra folks

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Dogs have owners, Cats have slaves

Burnthwaites Siamese

Hi Elaine,
I am afraid that it`s a case of having to keep them in for as long as possible, or you are likely not to see them again. It`s going to be difficult, one way you can try is to keep them in one room first and then open up the rest of the house to them abit at a time. Make them as comfortable as possible with lots of litter trays, blankets,toys,treats etc. But it will take time and lots of patience.

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Amanjay Siamese & Animal Healer.

You could build a cat-run with access from the house - that will help to keep them IN for a first few weeks and who knows - they might get used to it.

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"Do not meddle in the affairs of cats, for they are subtle and will pee on your computer." --Bruce Graham
There are no rules, rules are only for people who fit inside a box, if you want to think out of the box there is no hope... Life has no Box. (Tony Howells)

Forgotten to say - I do respect enormously people who's going to such as trouble to care about cats as you do.

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"Do not meddle in the affairs of cats, for they are subtle and will pee on your computer." --Bruce Graham
There are no rules, rules are only for people who fit inside a box, if you want to think out of the box there is no hope... Life has no Box. (Tony Howells)

The next thing a was going to mention was how about having a suitable shed with a run. So that they will still be outside, but safe and sound untill they get settled in.

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Amanjay Siamese & Animal Healer.

We moved house last year and thought we would have problems with 1 of ours as she had lived outside for years. But kept her in for 2 weeks she was very nervous and would only go under our bed or in back conservatory were we kept her tray,food and bed for first few days but she slowly started venturing down hall into living room and a year down the line its as if we brought another cat with us. she loves been on my knee when kids have gone to bed or can be found asleep on spare bed wrapped around her blanket.At previous house she was very much like yours if you managed to get her in house she would just sit and howl at back door to get out again. Will be hard for first few days for them but hopefully they will settle if not maybe a run and shed as someone suggested so they are still outside but cant go anywere. You could always put a cat flap in door for them later so they still get use out of it once allowed out to wander

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we to have moved loads of times with our moggies,kept them in for a couple of weeks and never had any problems,once they come home that first day you can relax