Moving and need Kitty advice!

[TaraF]

Alright so on March 5 I will be moving and was wondering if I can get some advice on how to introduce my cat to the new place. Let me set the scene LOL

We own House # 1 (where we are living) and are moving to house# 2 which we will be renting. Our house isn't even on the market yet as we decided to take the time to move things over to the rented place and with 2 cripples in a house of 3, we NEED that time LOL So on moving day we are literally just moving the BIG items over, well we are HIRING people to move the big items Living room set, fridge, stove,washer/dryer, bedroom sets,tvs, etc and leaving boxes to grab at a later time.

Which brings me to kitty: for starters, do I put her in her cage while everything is being moved out of House #1
and leave her in her cage until everything is moved into house # 2? Further to that, do I take her cage to house #2 while things are being moved in there or leave her at house #1 while things are being moved out?

We are moving from a 1 level small house to a house that has a basement and we intend for her litter box to be in the basement. I assume she should be taken down there straight away and shown where her litter box is, right?

Any tips on how do successfully deal with her during the move will be GREATLY appreciated! She has been a little witch the past few weeks with nipping and biting me and hissing and I don't want it to just be aggrivated on moving day. I assume she is feeding off my anxiety and the stress in the house but I don't want it to escalate either.

Thanks for ANY advice guys!

Koshka thanks you too!!

[Michelinagp83]

I move a lot b/c of work. I always put my cat in her cage and bring her to the new place while it's empty. Then I stick her in the bathroom with some water and shut the door. That way she can hide if she wants to. Cat's don't like moving very much. but at least this way when I let her out of the bathroom all of her stuff is in the new place. She usually walks around checking everything out the first night.

Good Luck with moving.

[abbasgirl]

I did the exact opposite when I moved with my cats. I put them in the bathroom of my old place while everything was being moved out (with a sign on the door to prevent people from opening it.) When everything was moved I put them in their carriers and brought them to my new place. That way they weren't in unfamiliar territory until all their familiar furniture was there with them and until I was no longer driving back and forth and could be with them to help them adjust.
Oh...and yes, the first area of the house she should be introduced to is where her litter box will be. She will either hide down there for awhile or will want to sniff out the entire house all at once, depending on her personality.

[TaraF]

Thank you both for your advice. This is what I originally was going to do:

Stay in the spare room, it's really just a junk room lol but it's where her litter is, so I was thinking that while everything is moved out of the other rooms that I would stay in this room with her in our current house with her out of her cage and once everything was moved over there than cage her up, take her over and immediately show her the litter in the basement and kind of let her roam. Or would it be better to show her the litter, cage her up again and bring her upstairs where most of the familiar items would be? Becuase most of the familiar items will be upstairs.

[Miss_April]

When I moved (I have 3 cats) I put all the cats in the one bedroom that was completely cleared out except for a blanket for them, food, and a litter box. I left all the kitties in the room and moved everything out of the house to the other house. I brought the cats to the new house when last minute when everything else was moved in so they weren't so freaked out.

I just let them out of the cage and let them roam around for a bit. I closed all the doors so they couldn't hide. I put the litter boxes in the basement and later showed them where they were. It was all pretty smooth sailing from there, they figured it out pretty quickly.

[misslollieputty]

We brought our cats to the new place while we were cleaning it out and getting it ready to move in - just a day or half day kinda thing. Just so they could get used to the new smells. When we moved, we had them put into one of the spare bedrooms in the new house that was closed off to the movers and they seemed to be okay with that. They're very skittish around people and they took some time adjusting but it didn't take too long. And trust me - movers with the big stuff - best thing ever! You'll never regret paying to have that done!! Good luck with your move!

[abbasgirl]

Your plan sounds fine. Show her the litter box in the basement and then let her decide if she wants to hide down there or explore upstairs. If doors are still being opened and closed upstairs though, you could leave her in the basement with a favourite blanket or something.

[Lynn49]

I've never moved with a cat, so I have no sage advice...just want to say good luck with your move; I hope your new home provides you all with many years of joy and where you will build beautiful memories!

[lekate]

My old roommates left their kitties in my old room with food, water and a litter box. They were brought to the new house after everything was brought in and put in their proper rooms (they also have a lot of stuff, so they couldn't just lock them in a new room in the new house, everything had a pre-determined room to go in).

Goodluck!

[TaraF]

Thank you Lynn, and thank you all for your great advice. It does make sense to introduce her to new surroundings when most ir not all of the familiar things are there in hopes she doesn't have a major freak out lol It will be an interesting day that's for sure.