Hi. I'll be moving house soon (not got a date yet, but may be before Christmas) and was wondering if anyone has any advice on moving with a cat. Jasmine is 12 years old, and is an outdoor cat, but I will be keeping her indoors initially when I move. I know its going to be a bit traumatic for her, (and me!) but to add to the problem, the current owners of the house have a cat too. I know cats are very sensitive to the "smells" of other cats, and wonder if anyone has any advice on how to get rid of the "smell" of the other cat. Would it help if I had the carpets cleaned? I will probably be repainting some of the rooms in the house, so I guess that will help too. If anyone has any advice I would be most grateful.
If you have time to get into the new place before actually moving out of the old one you could clean all the carpets and wash down all the paintwork/lower part of the walls with a biological cleaning agent (like Biotex) that should get rid of the smell of the previous cat. If you can get the decorating done before you finally move in that would also be a very good idea.
If you don't have the time between moves then I'd suggest considering putting your cat into a cattery for a few days (from the day before the move) so that you can do the clean before your cat takes up residence. This is what I did when I moved here 5 years ago; but my cat at the time was also a very nervous puss and by him going to the cattery he was spared the trauma of removal men and the upheaval of the move itself. I collected him a couple of days after the move when all our furniture was in place so it looked and smelt like home to him and he settled very quickly with no problems.
If that's not an option and you have to take Jasmine at the same time as you move in then you'll need to designate one room as a 'quiet' room for her - put in her bed,litter tray, food, water, toys etc and maybe plug in a Feliway Friends or Pets Remedy diffuser to try and keep her calm (you could also use Zylkene or Beaphor Calming Spot-On) Plus BIG notice on the door for the removal men "DO NOT OPEN THIS DOOR - CAT INSIDE"
Ideally you'll need to keep Jasmine in for a few weeks,rather than days, after the move so that she is fully orientated to her new home - if she's used to being an outdoor cat then she probably won't like that very much but it is advisable so that she doesn't run off and get lost at the first opportunity.
Having moved loads of times with my outdoor cat I did the following:
Take as much of your house smell with you! Don't go washing the curtains, bedding rugs etc, don't even empty the hoover! Roll up your bedding put it in a black bin bag, dump it on the bed in the new home and put your cat in that room along with a cardigan or top of yours in with her bed.
Leave her in that room for at least 3 days then allow her to roam around your now organised home with all your stuff out which is familiar to your cat.
Keep her in for months.
When the time comes to letting her out, a few days before, empty her dirty litter tray around the boundaries of your garden, it will smell of her, which stamps her territory on it and she will find her way back easier.
Thanks @Missysmum2 and @ewelsh for the advice, its going to be quite an upheaval for Jasmine (and me) but you've both given me some good pointers, thanks again for the help!
It's probably not relevant but my number 1 tip for moving house with a cat is that when you confine them to a single room, make sure they can't escape up the chimney when they get freaked out by the removal men. Worst two hours of my life!
Oh dear, that must have been awful, was the cat OK when you got him/her out? Fortunately for me the house I'm buying is quite new, so doesn't have a chimney!
Yes, he was absolutely fine - we could just about reach him but couldn't get a good enough grip as he was perched on a ledge right the way up. He eventually came crashing down in a cloud of soot and I managed to rugby tackle him and fling him in a carrier. Then we turned our attention to the cream carpet and the sooty pawprints everywhere...
Awww, glad he was OK. They can be a real handful these cats can't they? Argh the carpet!!!
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