Advice For Bringing My Shy Cat To College With Me

[UltrontheKitten]

Hi, so I got my cat two years ago for my birthday and she turned out to be very timid. She spends most of her time in the basement (where my room is) and the only person she likes and is comfortable with is me, and she often seems intimidated by our other cats. So it was a no brainer that I’d bring her with me when I moved out. And originally I was going to get an apartment, but things changed and I got scholarships to live on campus and so I went about getting the paperwork done to bring my cat and made sure I got a single dorm and never once was I unsure about it.

And I’m still confident that my cat will fine in the dorm, after she has a week to adjust. I think she’ll actually enjoy it more since there won’t be any other cats around to be weary of. But now with my move only a month away I’m getting kind of nervous. Moving in is going to be very loud and chaotic and I’m worried about how this’ll affect my cat, especially with how timid she is. My plan right now is to bring her in first and put her in the bathroom then bring the rest of my stuff in. Once my family leaves I’ll let her out of the bathroom, my room is going to be rather small so I don’t see the point in having a safe room. The biggest thing I’ve been wondering though is should I get something to calm her during the ordeal?

I’m going to have to catch her at least four hours, and put her in my bathroom at home, before I leave because she has the craziest sixth about when she’s going to get put in the crate (you have no idea how many vet appointments we’ve had to reschedule because she couldn’t be found) the car ride is only going to be about an hour but then when I get to my dorm I have to unload everything at the curb and then go park (I’m going to leave my mom or my sister to watch me stuff while I park lol) and there’s going to be several other people moving in at the same time as me so the whole day is going to be very stressful for her and I know she’ll be fine after a few days but I’m still really worried about her. Have any of you done anything similar? How was your cat? Did you get something to calm them down? I want this is be as easy for my cat as possible.

 

[Pjg8r]

if you do decide to go through with bringing her, I would get all of your things settled in your space prior to bringing her to campus. You said the drive is only an hour so it seems you could set up your room one morning and then go back for her. I might suggest you stay for the first week and see how she does at home with your family before making the final decision. The first week is really hectic and you want a chance to meet your friends and not worry about how she’s doing back in your dorm room. College students come and go from their floor mates units and are not good at closing doors or watching for a cat who might try to escape. I think it’s nice universities allow pets now if it works out well for the animal and the human.

 

[Plumeria]

College dorms get very noisy so I wouldn’t bring the cat. Dorms also have (noisy) fire drills. I don’t know about your dorm but mine had one like once a month. I agree with the above poster that if you’re going to go ahead with the plan to bring your cat, you should set up your first, then bring your cat.

 

[mekkababble]

I'm going to be unpopular with the op- I agree with other posters that a dorm room is not the place for an animal. My roommate and I took in a lost pet for ONE NIGHT until we could get her to a shelter and long story short it was a memorable night.

Dorms are noisy (worse for a shy cat) and hectic.

What is your contingency plan if the cat gets sick? Does your school allow freshmen to have a parking spot on campus to run the cat to the vet? Will your parents help with vet bills? If not, what's your plan? Same with paying for cat food and litter. Can you access the stores selling these things on your own as needed?

More to the point, you'll be coming and going from your one room for everything, people will be visiting you, and you'll be worrying about this cat when you should be making friends, going out, and focusing on studying. Cats get hyper attached to us, but they also feel safe in their territory. Plus, if the cat would only live an hour away (and assuming you'd have a car which you'd NEED to keep the cat anyway) there's no excuse to not leave her at home and visit her in your free time.

I know I'm being harsh, but because your school allows an animal doesn't mean having one is a good idea. Further reading here:

8 Reasons NOT to Bring Pets to College

 

[KarenKat]

Whatever you decide, we found using a Feliway wipe helped out with the carrier stress (wiping down the carrier before using it). Great for vet visits and General angst. They have a spray, a diffuser plugin and a wipe. Many people recommend this for reducing stress.