Moving With An Outdoor Cat

nattybumbums

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Hi all,
I have two cats aged 4 and 5. The 5 year old, Edie is a stray-turned house princess. My 4 year old, Humphrey on the other hand was adopted at 5 weeks and has always loved the outdoors. He wakes up at 6 am to go outside and comes home at sundown to eat, snuggle, and rest up for his next adventure.

I will be moving from a house in the redwood forest where he roams freely all day to an entirely new and different neighborhood. He knows our current neighborhood so well and he absolutely loves it. This place is a paradise for an outdoor cat like him and I feel horrible about moving him to a regular residential area. I am extremely worried that he will be terrified/confused/depressed to be taken away from his favorite place. I've read all of the tips and tricks for moving with outdoor cats but I would love to hear stories about experiences any of you may have had with moving with an outdoor cat. Anything to ease my mind that I'm not breaking his heart. Thanks so much in advance.

-worried mama
 

di and bob

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If at all possible, since the move will be changing his life anyway, it is time to make him into a inside cat if at all possible. His life will never be safe in a residential area, cars, dogs, and mean spirited people abound. And all he is not familiar with. He is extremely lucky that in his 4 years he has not met disaster, i had one 12 year old that finally met his end outdoors, amongst many others. It's just not worth it. If he gets severly depressed, then an outside enclosure would give him some relief, one of those chicken coops they sell now would be good. You can make it happen, it has been done before. Cats hate change, but they can adapt, it takes patience and determination!
 

Talien

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You could make him an inside Cat, it probably won't be easy but it's doable. You could also find someone who lives in your current area who will take him. And as di and bob mentioned, you could build an outdoor enclosure for him at your new house which would hopefully give him enough outside area.

If you take him with you and let him continue to be an outdoor Cat he may well run away and attempt to get back to where you live now since that is the area he considers his territory.
 

tarasgirl06

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Hi all,
I have two cats aged 4 and 5. The 5 year old, Edie is a stray-turned house princess. My 4 year old, Humphrey on the other hand was adopted at 5 weeks and has always loved the outdoors. He wakes up at 6 am to go outside and comes home at sundown to eat, snuggle, and rest up for his next adventure.

I will be moving from a house in the redwood forest where he roams freely all day to an entirely new and different neighborhood. He knows our current neighborhood so well and he absolutely loves it. This place is a paradise for an outdoor cat like him and I feel horrible about moving him to a regular residential area. I am extremely worried that he will be terrified/confused/depressed to be taken away from his favorite place. I've read all of the tips and tricks for moving with outdoor cats but I would love to hear stories about experiences any of you may have had with moving with an outdoor cat. Anything to ease my mind that I'm not breaking his heart. Thanks so much in advance.

-worried mama
It's time to introduce him to the great indoors! Having plenty of stimuli is important -- windows to look out of, cat activity centers (cat trees) for him to climb, scratch, play and relax on, toys including interactive ones you use to play with him, such as Cat Dancer and da Bird, etc. Cat behaviorist extraordinaire, Jackson Galaxy, has lots of videos up on YouTube as well as his extremely popular "MY CAT FROM HELL" on Animal Planet TV and books on catification (making your environment one that includes and satisfies your cats). It's very good that Humphrey has Edie to play, relax, and interact with -- that's maybe the most important part of "catisfaction."
Whatever you do, DO NOT let Humphrey outside unless you have a figure-8 cat harness and leash to walk him on and/or a secured catio for him to play in where he cannot get out/others cannot get in. This just came in to my inbox:

Catios Can Be Built in Three Hours or Less, and Let Your Cats Enjoy the Outdoors Safely
 

lavishsqualor

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I hate to be full of doom and gloom but for Humphrey's sake (and yours) I'm going to tell you what I'm sure most of us here are thinking.

Humphrey will die if you don't keep him indoors.

As someone up-thread already mentioned, you are infinitely fortunate that no harm has come to him yet. Moving to a more urban, residential area exponentially increases his odds of dying outside; however you can prevent that by keeping him indoors. No, he won't like it. He will pace and cry and turn his sad little eyes on you, but you have to engage in some tough love here. Otherwise, you will definitely lose him.

I would start trying to harness train him now, before you move. And if your wallet will permit it, an enclosure is a fantastic idea. The Fabulous Nora Chan is our resident Queen of the Enclosure. You should check out her threads for inspiration. They are awesome! But something on a smaller scale could definitely be built for under $200.00.

Check out this website for ideas: Catio Spaces: Custom & DIY Catios & Cat Enclosures

Good luck with your move and remember: All Humphrey has in this world is you. He's counting on you to keep him safe.
 

lisahe

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I agree with the others that Humphrey can be converted to the great indoors. (To borrow from tarasgirl06 tarasgirl06 !) A catio or other sort of enclosure works really well to let a cat see birds, chipmunks, squirrels, and other wildlife -- our cats love their screened veranda! They also love the loft my husband built for them. They can climb on it, sleep on it, and play on it. Maybe most important is that it gives them good vertical space. They also love the ramps he put up around the room. (I think Jackson Galaxy has ideas about that, too.)

There are lots of ways to give a cat good exercise and distractions inside. And it's so much safer for cats: no cars, no fights, no predators, less ticks and fleas to worry about... and that's just for starters. I think factors like that are why the shelter where we adopted our cats actually requires people to pledge that they'll keep their cats indoors.

There are lots of ways to do this. Just ask if you want more ideas and help!
 

maggie101

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What will you do about Edie? When my cat Coco was outside for 2 years she became bff with a Male cat. Later my neighbor moved and took the Male cat with her. He was an inside outside cat.. A week later he ran away probably back to his bff miles away. After he left there was horrible flooding. I doubt he made it. I strongly suggest keeping your cat inside for her safety and get her micro chipped incase she ever escapes. She would like atall cat tower by the window and wand toys
 

Maria Bayote

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I go with the others. It is time that he be secured indoors only. He will most probably nag at you first, yowl, or even make some destruction here and there, but soon it will be all normal again. All my cats were living their outdoors before I got them in. Now they seem content.

Goodluck and wishing you the best.
 

tarasgirl06

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Agree 100%, Maria Bayote Maria Bayote and big props to you!
All of my beloved cats have been outdoor-living "rescues" to begin with. There has never been any question of them being outdoors once I adopt them. To expose my loved ones to the dangers they would potentially face outdoors would be irresponsible and uncaring in the extreme. I liken it to letting a toddler run the streets. No one does this. No one caring, anyway; and anyone who would would be subject to prosecution and having their child put into CPS.
 
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nattybumbums

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Thanks everybody. I guess there was a misunderstanding. The new house we are moving to is still in a quite remote area. We live in a small town with no stoplights, only stop signs. He is accustomed to living in the redwood forest and our new home is not as wooded but is at the end of a quiet cul de sac with lots of greenery. If anything, with the lack of large predators will most likely be safer for him. Unfortunately, until he is older and ready I don't think that I would feel right making him an indoor cat as he is truly the happiest outside.
 
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nattybumbums

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I will of course be keeping him inside for three weeks to start and will not let him out unless he wants to. We are of course taking Edie with us, she just prefers to be an inside cat for the most part so I am not so worried about her. Anyway thanks for the input. I appreciate all of the advice!
 

lisahe

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When my cat Coco was outside for 2 years she became bff with a Male cat. Later my neighbor moved and took the Male cat with her. He was an inside outside cat.. A week later he ran away probably back to his bff miles away.
It sounds like your mind is made up, nattybumbums nattybumbums , about Humphrey going outside but -- knowing far too many stories about cats who were lost (one of them mine, a very sweet cat) because they went outside -- I wanted to highlight maggie101's mention of the cat who returned after his people moved. I have friends whose cat did the same thing, walking back to his old neighborhood, through two towns, probably nearly ten miles. They did find him but realize how lucky they were. I don't think they ever let him out again.

Cats really can be made very happy inside: like some of the others who posted here, I've had several cats who were either street strays or indoor/outdoor before I took them in and they were all perfectly happy to stay in because they had plenty of stimulation and things to play with. Vertical space really does work wonders for cats!

I feel very, very strongly about this topic but that's the last I'll say about it!
 

Kflowers

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If you are determined to leave him outside, wait about three weeks before you let him out. He needs to understand this new place is home. Up your kitty first aid kit - he will have to fight the local boys including the unaltered toms for territory. This means abscesses and deep bites that may carry FELV and FIV, both can be dealt with later, but you need to be on top of cleaning the wounds when they happen. Just get him tested for FELV and FIV every year to be sure. I'm not being mean. I've had outside cats, they wanted to be outside to fight. Hit the yard at dusk and screamed invitations to everyone to come and fight (and he was neutered as soon as we got him.)

Neighbor's in one neighborhood had a tom - 20lb Siamese who was so into fighting that Animal control made them keep him inside - he'd killed several cats and a couple of small dogs. When he came over to invite my inside cats to fight.

What is the coyote situation where you're moving? What about the neighbors' dogs? Are there trees close to the house he can climb?

Being prepared is the best thing you can do. Find a vet and find who to call after hours for emergencies. Oh, yeah, your vet bills are going to increase.
 

crazy4strays

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I'll weigh in, since I have some experience on this topic. My first cat was a rescued stray and initially was outdoor only. He eventually became indoor/outdoor and then I tried to work on transitioning him to indoor only. It failed.

We moved from Michigan to Tennessee. Our new home is not at all like our old home. It is by a very fast road with heavy traffic. There's also a lot of natural predators here. He would likely be dead in a few days if I let him out. I decided from the beginning that he would be indoor only and we emphasized to everyone to be careful, especially in the beginning. He has transitioned very well. Other than a handful of times where he snuck past us and we had to go outside to catch him and bring him back in, we've done quite well and he's now a happy indoor only cat. We have a screened back porch so that has helped satisfy some of his taste for the outdoors. I think that sometimes moving to a new house can help reset some of the old habits. Our new house is bigger than the old house, so that may help too.

We're getting ready to move to a new house that doesn't have a screened back porch, so we're considering eventually building him a secure outdoor cat enclosure.
 
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chunkykitty

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You can do this!

I moved my 6 year old street cat across the country. He was confused, but he quickly adjusted and did fine.

I did take the opportunity to transition him to an indoor cat.

No matter how much he seems to love the outdoors there, he needs you more!
 

beckbjj

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I agree with the others. Don't let him outside ever again. There's just no reason for it. Cats like a lot of things, but not all of them are good or safe for them. They are 100% happy being indoor-only. I'm not saying he may not charge an open door now and then. There are exciting smells and things outside! That doesn't mean he's not happy inside, it just means cats are curious. And you know what they say about curiosity and cats.
 
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