Moving...do we take our stray friend?

[CFD-JTZ]

We have become friends with a "stray" cat in our neighborhood. His name from us is Meatwad. We initially took him in for a few days back in February when the wind chill reached -30. We have 6 other cats and found that he gets along pretty well with them. We think he was about 5 or 6 months old at the time.

Anyway, he stays outside for the most part, but he still spends time every day at our house, usually for several hours and sometimes overnight. He has had a few injuries, 2 of which we believe would have eventually killed him if we didn't take care of him. We live on a busy street and there are crazy people, loose dogs, and meth heads all around us. Hence the move!

However, he roams the neighborhood like it is his own. Will he hate leaving his home? We are moving to a home in a quiet area with a little acreage. His only big threat would be wildlife in the area. He would not be able to stay out all night like he is used to. In fact he wouldn't be outside unsupervised at all until we had a good fence.

We are leaning toward taking him with us. I worry he won't like it but in the long term I think he will. Am I overthinking this?

 

[Cat McCannon]

Am I overthinking this?

Yes. Yes, you are. Take your cat with you and keep him indoors for a long, happy life.

 

[CFD-JTZ]

Yes. Yes, you are. Take your cat with you and keep him indoors for a long, happy life.

OK, since you said so!


It is going to be rough moving 7 cats! But it must be done. Thank you for confirming my thoughts and easing my doubts. I just needed to hear it from someone on here

 

[daftcat75]

If he relies on you for food, you should take him. If he is comfortable with the cats you have, you should take him. And if you can provide him a comfortable indoor life where he gets warm places to sleep and the occasional health check, you should definitely take him. I feel most people overly romanticize the outdoor life of cats. Hunger, questionable water sources, fights, predation, and disease is not that glamorous. Most would trade it for an indoor life if they weren't so afraid of people.

 

[Kat0121]

Yes. Yes, you are. Take your cat with you and keep him indoors for a long, happy life.

I couldn't agree more. He has already adopted you. If he already gets along with your cats, that's even better. It will be an adjustment but he will be OK. Thank you for caring about him.

 

[CFD-JTZ]

daftcat75 Thank you for your input. He spends enough time away from us sometimes that it seems like he gets food from others as well. But I don't know that for sure. He really loves it out there. But I am in agreement with you. We like to spend lots of time with them outside, but it will still be a big change for him!

Cat McCannon Thank you! Very encouraging!

Honestly, we even feel bad about leaving the birds! We are going to put up some additional bird feeders and leave a little food in hopes that the new owners will continue to feed them

 

[terricacatwood]

I vote to take him. I wonder about this scenario myself as I’m in a similar situation with my feral cats (who sound much more feral than Meatwad) and have been stressing out over how to transition them when I move in the next few years (hopefully they’ll be more tame when the time comes). It sounds like he’s very comfortable with you. I’ve read that when you rehome a feral cat to like a barn situation you have to keep them enclosed inside so they don’t get out for a minimum of 6 weeks in order to prevent them from leaving the area when you let them out, so it would make sense to at least keep him in for the first 6 weeks at your new place. If you do decided to let him out eventually you could perhaps put in a cat door that locks at a certain time of day and get him on a feeding schedule so he comes in before dark. Or you could build him a Catio, if he has trouble adapting to indoor only. I’d love to hear how the transition goes for you as I’m already obsessing over the transition to a new home for my ferals one day. Thanks for being so good to Meatwad and good luck with the move!

 

[maggie101]

You can always build a cat home for him outside if he has trouble adjusting

 

[Kflowers]

The wonderful thing about moving is that it erases everyone's old territories and makes them willing to divide up the new place with the new guy included in the group. At least, it always worked that way for us.

 

[Jcatbird]

Yes! You said it yourself, he has had injuries that probably would have killed him if he had not had you. You have already saved him and he loves you. You are his guardian and a kitty hero. There is a process used to transition ferals and strays. Being an inside cat is Best Buy he will need to be inside for at least a couple on months to get to understand where he is, watch the new sights from a window and feel safe with a new territory. I have transition ferals and rescues as well as socializing for adoption and you can do this. If you absolutely must have him outside later, a catio is best. If he can access inside from there, better yet! Lots of people on TCS have moved cats, including one that sticks out in my mind who socialized her feral and moved with him ( long airplane ride and through customs) to another country. They live happily now with a new home and doggies! He is now an inside only kitty. It is totally workable. Bravo to you for loving him and caring! If you need help, everyone here will be around to offer tips that have worked for them and their kitties.

 

[Cat McCannon]

OK, since you said so!


It is going to be rough moving 7 cats! But it must be done. Thank you for confirming my thoughts and easing my doubts. I just needed to hear it from someone on here

You're welcome.

Jackson Galaxy and Hanna Shaw (Kitten Lady) moved 50 cats from Los Angeles, California to Boulder, Colorado, driving straight through, 20 hours in a van, where all were adopted out in a couple of weeks.

You can move seven.

 

[Youcantseemegrrr]

I am in almost the same position maybe. My mom was feeding cats left behind in her neighborhood, couple of them literally waited for me when I go over ever/other day. Luckily we suspect other are feeding also. Otherwise I would be torn leaving them behind. Still will be. I dont think my monsters here would alway outside activity let alone indoors. One didn't tolerate it there. If all yours get along you will be happy in the long run.

 

[Maria Bayote]

I also vote on taking him with you. He already depends on you for food. Who knows, maybe if you decide to keep him inside your home permanently your other cats may also accept him in the family. Otherwise, as suggested above, an outdoor catio would also be better for him, especially that the place he'd be moving to is all new to him.

Keep him contained first once you move. I had a cat that we also brought with us when we moved but my husband made a mistake of leaving the temporary catio unlatched and he escaped. I never saw him again. And it broke my heart.

Thank you for caring for this cat. I love his name, btw.

 

[CFD-JTZ]

Thank you everyone for the tips and encouraging words! Our current home has a screened in porch on the back which has been amazing. We will not have this at the new house but plan on making the back deck into a catio. We ALWAYS supervise our cats outside if they are not in an enclosure.

The move is still a month away...I will keep everyone updated about how it goes. My question to you all now is do we move them all at once or is it better to move the dominant ones first for territorial reasons? I think I've read that in the past somewhere but I'm not sure if its true...

 

[shadowsrescue]

I moved 3 years ago with 6 cats. Three of them were outside feral cats that had never ever lived inside a house. All were neutered. I was able to get them into my house before I moved so they could be seen by a vet. They had all been neutered, but they needed up to date vaccines as well as testing for FIV and FELV. I used a mobile vet so that I didn't need to take them out of the house. It was hard, but the vets were great!

We only moved 60 minutes away. The mobile vet prescribed some gabapentin to lightly sedate the 3 ferals for the car ride. When I moved I had a sunroom with full floor to ceiling windows on 3 sides. The feral cats moved into the sunroom while my other three had various parts of the house. All did so very well with the move.

 

[Molly and Abby]

We have become friends with a "stray" cat in our neighborhood. His name from us is Meatwad. We initially took him in for a few days back in February when the wind chill reached -30. We have 6 other cats and found that he gets along pretty well with them. We think he was about 5 or 6 months old at the time.

Anyway, he stays outside for the most part, but he still spends time every day at our house, usually for several hours and sometimes overnight. He has had a few injuries, 2 of which we believe would have eventually killed him if we didn't take care of him. We live on a busy street and there are crazy people, loose dogs, and meth heads all around us. Hence the move!

However, he roams the neighborhood like it is his own. Will he hate leaving his home? We are moving to a home in a quiet area with a little acreage. His only big threat would be wildlife in the area. He would not be able to stay out all night like he is used to. In fact he wouldn't be outside unsupervised at all until we had a good fence.

We are leaning toward taking him with us. I worry he won't like it but in the long term I think he will. Am I overthinking this?

Please take him with you. I am still haunted by what happened to Methuselah - a friendly cat my neighbors left behind - 30 years ago! I still cry when I remember his abandonment. They left him & when he showed up in my front yard, I was shocked & furious. I have never seen a cat so skinny & so covered with fleas & in such a horrible, horrible condition.

 

[CFD-JTZ]

Molly and Abby I have a very hard time letting those kinds of things go too. I have been trying to purchase a home for over 3 years (the market is insane). I looked at several homes with lots of outside cats and always wondered if they would be left behind. In my current neighborhood dogs are constantly running loose. We saw one dead on the side of the road the other day. I can't not think of how many irresponsible pet owners there are out there

 

[Caspers Human]

Casper's Girl-Human had a cat before we got together. She adopted him as a stray and, a short time later, moved to California, all the way across the country, and took him with her.

Not only did the cat tolerate the move well, he became king of his neighborhood in California.

Girl-Human moved away from Cali. and, now, her mother takes care of him. The cat is twelve, going on thirteen years old and he's still going strong!

If you want to take your stray with you when you move, go ahead and do it!

 

[fionasmom]

I moved the last time with 5 dogs and 7 cats, one of whom was a feral I trapped in a carrier (trained her to eat inside) the day that the actual move occurred. Cesar Millan is right, dogs are a pack, you are their leader, end of story. I moved all my cats at once except for the most uncooperative one who was moved the night before in a rented truck with DH and I and our smaller items that we did not want the movers to handle. We got a huge running start on getting them into a safe room, having carriers ready, and having them packed up very early in the morning. Once the furniture was gone, I moved the dogs, and then we made a trip back for the cats and brought them all into the new house immediately....once we had checked for anything that might go amiss like a door that did not securely close etc.

In your case, some of this depends on how you are moving. We used a company; if you are moving yourself your time frame is a little longer and probably more relaxed.

The cat in question definitely believes that you are his home despite any wandering that he does.

 

[CFD-JTZ]

We will not be using a company. We are honestly not moving very far away. Its only about a 10 minute drive. So that part will be easy.

Maria Bayote his full name is Tazmanian Meatwad! He was such a buff meaty boy when we found him

I will post a picture when I can get one!