Moving

[Danika's Mommy]

As we prepare for a big move I'm interested in what other parents are doing to keep their pets calm in a stessful time for all of us. Danika has a habit of being slightlly high strung and not a huge fan of change. I know once she has the new house and is adventuring she will be fine it's the moving that I think will stress her out. How do you keep them calm?

[gharrissc]

My Mitsey is also a little high strung,and whenever there is something new going on,I just provide her with her safe room if I can. I would suggest setting up a room in the new place for your cat,and she will let you know when she is ready to come out. Another thing you may want to consider too is boarding her until you are all moved in,so that all you have to do is pick her up and she won't be in the middle of the moving .

[spirite]

Once I started packing boxes, both of my cats got a little anxious - and because it was a fairly major move (1000 miles), I started packing about 2 months before the actual move. One kitty isn't usually easily stressed, but the other is super skittish. I just tried to give them lots of extra attention, and I left the room where they spent the most time as unchanged as possible for as long as possible. It was the last room I packed up. I made sure to shut them in one room while the others were being emptied and until the movers were gone. In that sort of stressful situation, cats might think first of fleeing. And doors are invariably going to be left open.

You could also try Feliway, or pheromone collars, or other things like essences to put in drinking water that are supposed to calm them.

I did the same when we arrived at the new place. Put them in one room with their litter boxes, food, and water, for a while. When the movers arrived, I put them in the bathroom.

[rinserepeat]

We're on the move, too...with a kitten who hates change! Our move is from the Middle East back to the US, so we're pretty nervous about all that change and the lengthy travel time.

But, our plan is to leave all of kitty's things out in one room for as long as possible. Her favorite spot will remain in place until the day we move and we're trying hard to make her airline-approved carrier her new favorite place. (Lots of treats when she chooses to go in there, favorite toys and blanket kept in the carrier, etc.)

Gharrissc's suggestion is great, too. We'll be boarding our kitten when we arrive back in the US, as we spend a week finding a place to live. Even though boarding does stress her out, it will be less stressful than spending a week at our friend's place...with a dog, another cat and a baby...especially since we'll be very busy and unable to give her the same level of attention she usually receives.

Let us know what you decide to do! Best of luck on your move!

[3furbabies]

We moved this last July. One of the cats loves change and exploring new things, the other two are. Bit more skittish and love routine. I started with the boxes two months before the actual move. They all were a bit on edge but became more use to it as time went on. At the time we had only two carriers so the day before the move we brought the two bonded ones first and set them up in their cat room. The other one I brought early morning of the move. I also out stress collars on them all. Everyone settled great with no issues, not sure if it was the collars or a combo of things.


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[Marcia]

I didn't use it to move, but I used Calms Forte on one of my skittish half feral cats when she compulsively started to lick all her fur off. It calmed her down without drugging her and let her relax. I would give one of those to kitty and cover he cage with a towel.
Another option is to put a Fel-A-Way in your car on a battery inverter (available from any boating store or auto store like Pep Boys, maybe $40 or so at most for a small one. Inverters are relatively inexpensive and plug into a cigarette lighter or similiar receptacle in the car They provide 120v AC receptacle for small appliances like a plug in relaxer. With the windows closed it will do a good job of defusing the Fel-A-way. My son used an inverter to power his son's DVD player when he traveled cross country.