NCEPR: Moving help with kitty

[Deleted]

So, we're moving in 2 weeks (fingers crossed). The plan is to pack up the truck and have the house empty and cleaned Weds evening. We're staying in a hotel that night, then signing papers on Thurs and shifting into the new house (yay!). 

We have a 10yr old calico, who when she is sweet she is very, very sweet. Until she decides it's time to bite you for kicks because you're not paying attention to her signals, or when you are getting her into her carrier and she becomes a demon from the lower levels of hell. And she's even meaner at the vet.  Kidding. Sort of. I'm planning on feliway plug ins, blankets with her smell, our smell, etc, to try and reduce her stress levels.  What would you do: 

• Bring kitty with you to hotel, have kitty at parents' house until papers are signed, then get kitty into closed/undisturbed room in new house for move with her favorite things, then release her once truck is unloaded fully Fri morn
• Leave kitty in empty old house Weds night, Thurs morning take kitty to parents' house until papers are signed, then get kitty into closed/undisturbed room in new house for move with her favorite things,  then release her once truck is unloaded fully Fri morn
• Board kitty at a vet Weds and Thurs night so they wrestle with the demon, ahem sweet, kitty, bring kitty to new home after all the stuff is off the truck (she's never been boarded at the vet before)

Or do you have other suggestions and tips? She's going to have some stress no matter what, but what's probably the kindest option for her? 

 
(will need to run for morning routine, but back in an hr or so)

[tiki]

The packing process and movers coming completely freaked out my cats. By the time the apartment was empty, they were both huddled in a closet, terrified. Is it possible to take her to your parents' place early on Wednesday, before you even pack up the truck, and then bring her to the new house on Fri or Sat, once familiar things are unpacked again?

[Pom]

If she does well at your parents' house, take her there. If not, I'd keep her with you at the hotel. We have a troubled kitty and honestly I think she is upset regardless but happier with us. Good luck.

[Deleted]

The problem with both of our parents' houses is plenty of tricky hiding spaces. It may take a week to find her Though, it does remind me of our one friends (who watched her for several weeks years ago when our house had major water damage and everything was torn up). That may be an idea...

[mich1]

I took my cat to the vets for boarding. He had never been boarded either, but it was the only safe place for him with the packers and movers coming in and out. He wasn't a happy camper, but he got over it.

From the vet, he went directly to his new home.

[tiki]

Sept 21, 2016 6:36:00 GMT -5 @historychick79 said:

The problem with both of our parents' houses is plenty of tricky hiding spaces. It may take a week to find her Though, it does remind me of our one friends (who watched her for several weeks years ago when our house had major water damage and everything was torn up). That may be an idea...

FYI, we had to take our cats into hotel rooms during our move, and each night they found ways to wedge themselves into the base structure of the bed. We almost had to ask one hotel to disassemble the bed so we could get them back out. 

[dottyblue]

Moves are hard for cats. If she can't be with you most of the time, I would opt to board her at the vet. They can sedate her safely if she gets too worked up, and you know she won't sneak out an open door or find an impossible hiding place.

I highly recommend Rescue Remedy. We used it with my cat when we moved 300 miles. Just a few drops on some treats and he was noticeably calmer. He normally SCREAMS in the car and with the Rescue Remedy he actually settled down enough to sleep part of the trip.

ETA:  I would be concerned about stress peeing too.  I wouldn't shut her in a room in the new house, or at your parents' house, until you are there with her.  Leave her in the carrier until it's safe to let her roam her new surroundings.

[snshne322]

We just did a local. same day move a few weeks ago, so we didn't have to worry about overnight. If I had, I think I would have tried to keep my 12 year old cat with me as much as a I safely could. She was in a quiet place in the old house while things got loaded and put in a bedroom at the new house while it was unloaded. She clung to our sides for the first few days. If it were my cat, I would probably have done option 1.

You know your cat though and it's stressful for you guys, too. She'll be alright any way you go about it.

[OscarQ]

We take our cats to the vet for boarding when we move. They stress urinate so I wouldn't want them doing that at my parents or a hotel.

One suggestion on the plugins is to take them with you for the final walkthrough and plug them in then if you can. It'll give the stuff some time to disseminate. We took ours plugins straight to the house after closing to get them going before the movers arrived - and I promptly forgot all about them in the new house awe.

Also, my cats hid in one room for a few weeks after we moved so be prepared for an extended bout of weirdness.

[bernsteincat]

When we moved, we completely cleared out a back bedroom first, then put all of her food, litter, toys, etc. in there with her and shut the door. She stayed in there while we moved the rest of the house out and to the next location. We went back to the old house that night to clean and pack up the last few small things and slept on an air mattress, so she was with us at that time. She was also very freaked out that everything was gone, and ran from room to room and hid in closets for a few hours, but was fine after that. The next day, we officially left the old house, she rode in the car with us to the new house. I left her in the carrier until I got her litter box and food set up, then I took her out and gave her a tour of the house while holding her. Lol. I have no idea if that made any difference, but I wanted her to see and smell where the litter and food were before I let her go. As soon as I out her down, she bolted under the couch for 2 days straight, but was fine after that.

My cat is fairly easy going, though, so that might not work with fussier cats. I might consider boarding her for a day next time, but we'lol see.

[pixy0stix]

I'd board her.

[StrawberryBlondie]

With each move we've had we kept the cats at the old place and moved them to a closed off room at the new pace before the movers came to pack up the old place. Brought their litter box and toys and food and treats and hung out with them for like an hour before going back to the old place to move. Worked reasonably well. They handled the moves ok... They're kind of high maintenance.

[Deleted]

Thanks everyone She is booked for boarding for the two days we are loading the truck at our old house, and 1 day unpacking at the new place. It just seems like the simplest and safest option, and this way she's only in the carrier/car for the trip to the vet then the new home. Hate leaving her for those days, but reality is we can't give her much attention/soothing during that time either. I haven't seen her pee from stress so far, but we've never done a permanent move like this either. Fingers crossed she'll adjust decently once we're all settled.

[awick14]

@historychik79- I think boarding is the best idea.

Make sure that the feliway is the first thing you put in the new house as soon as you get possession. (They need a few days to cover the area they are in.) This has helped us in the past with moving.

We are moving into the ILs basement in October and I am going to put the feliway plug ins in 3-4 days before our move to help with the cats stress.

[bernsteincat]

I've never heard of Feliway, so thanks for that info in this thread.  We'll definitely use that the next time we move.