Moving from house —> family home —> another student house. Is this too much moving around for a cat?

[jlh9]

We adopted my cat a week ago. Towards the end of April/beginning of May, I would be moving back home. I would then be moving to a student house in September with her. The catch is, there is a family dog that she has not met yet. She’s lived with 2 dogs before. The student house has 8 people and 2 other cats that she also hasn’t met. I know individually that she would be able to handle everything (super nice and patient cat), but would meeting so many new people/animals/places stress her out? She's 5 years old, really sweet, and has adjusted super quickly already.

She was originally gonna stay at the same location and just move once with me in September. However, a last minute change happened and that option became no longer available. Is there anything that I can do?

 

[fionasmom]

How To Safely Introduce A Cat And A Dog – TheCatSite Articles
How To Fix An Unsuccessful Cat Introduction – TheCatSite Articles
How To Successfully Introduce Cats: The Ultimate Guide – TheCatSite Articles

You can successfully do this if you take some careful steps to insure that everyone gets along. Even if your baby likes other animals, the dog and the two cats have not met her and you don't know what their reaction would be. I would treat this as brand new animals introductions and take nothing for granted. She will need to have a safe place with all her things in it, possibly your bedroom. I would also be careful about the comings and goings of the others so that she does not escape in an unfamiliar place.

 

[rubysmama]

Hello and welcome to TCS. It's hard to predict how well she will adjust to the changes, but since there's nothing you can do about it, all you can do is try to make the moves as stress free for her as possible. Do plan to keep her separated from the other animals at first, and slowly do introductions between them.

In addition to the articles fionasmom posted, there's also these ones that might have some tips for you, as well as things to keep an eye on.

How To Move With Your Cat To A New Home In A Safe Way – TheCatSite Articles
Stress in Cats – The Ultimate Guide – TheCatSite Articles

 

[Maggiez]

Similar situation here! We adopted our cats last October when they're 6-month old while we lived in a small apartment. We moved to a temporary Airbnb this February when our lease just ended and the house we just bought is still under renovation. And this May, we'll be moving again into our house while some of the renovation will be still on-going. It stressed me out even before the cats protested lol

I think the best you can do is to get prepared as much as you can. To start, get to know her and earn her trust as soon as possible. Find a good daily routine and stick to it. When you move, bring her favorite toys, cat tree, scratchers (I have a ton and I brought them all) and tunnels with you whenever you go. And spend a lot of time with her after the move.

I was so worried before the first move. But my cats turned out to be more resilient than I thought. It did take them a few days to get used to the new place and resume their routine (they ate less than usual for a while). They got used to the airbnb rather fast like in a week, and they seem happy.
My boy Loki is shy. Back in last October, it took him a few days came out of hiding and a month warming up when we just adopted him. But he came out of the hiding spot in a few hours after our first move. And he was SO HAPPY when I put their cat tree together.
The airbnb we're staying at, the host is living upstairs and have two barking dogs. The dogs always bark in front of our window a few times per day. Loki was so scared at first and went hiding for 30 minutes at the beginning. And now he's quite calm and doesn't even run away. My little girl Pen Pen is super confident, always sit at the window and just stare at the dogs until they run away lol

Moving is super stressful but you and your cat will survive if you give her a lot of attention and love