Moving With A Feral and my FeLV Housecats, Tips?

di and bob

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We are finally completing our 1930's farmhouse on 9 acres just outside of town, I can't wait for the peace and quiet of the countryside. Our current road is super busy and has been a source of heartache and never-ending noise. I have a live trap bought and plan on setting it out for my feral, Stewart, to get him used to it. I also will have an 8x10 pen set up for him to stay in for a month to get used to the move. It will have his current house set up in it. The thing I am worried about is my housecat, Yammy (or Tommy) who has been diagnosed with leukemia and I have nursed him through two really bad episodes in the last 6 months before I knew. The vet said to assume my other two have it too, and Dutch has had a couple of illnesses too. All have been fine since I have kept them strictly indoors to avoid illnesses, for going on 6 months now! But now this move......I know stress will not be good for them, can everyone give me tips on how to reduce their stress through this move? All three are on DMG to build up their immunity, and absolutely hate vet visits and change. Please give me some tips on how to protect their health during this stressful time!
 

shadowsrescue

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I moved 2 years ago and brought 6 cats with me. Three of the 6 were feral cats who had been living on my deck and cared for by me for many years. I decided the 3 outside feral boys would become inside cats. It was an huge undertaking.

I too use DMG and upped the dosage to 2x per day. I have 2 FIV+ cats and wanted them to stay healthy. I used multiple multi cat feliway plug ins. I had a room set up for the 3 feral boys and another room for the other 3. While we were having furniture moved. I made sure that no one entered the rooms where I had the cats. I had signs on the door. Any furniture for that room was just left in the hallway. I played music in the room for the cats to help drown out some of the noise. I had their favorite blanket and toys there too.

Once the movers had left, I still kept the cats in a room until I could secure the house. I did let them out to explore the next day, but I made sure to watch them closely. The basement was off limits!

While we were unpacking, I was sure to watch the cats closely. It it was too chaotic, I put them back into a room.

We moved almost an hour away and my vet prescribed a type of antihistamine for the car ride. She also gave me 2 extra doses to use in case they needed it with the movers. It made them very very drowsy. I do think it really helped them the first day.

I did my best to stick to the cats normal routines on feeding times. Also some play time fit in.

My 3 inside boys adjusted quite well and very quickly. The feral boys (as expected) had a harder time.

Congrats on the new home! We moved out away from the suburbs to peace and quiet too. WE just love it!!
 
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di and bob

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Thank you so much for your thoughtful and helpful reply. I'll definitely get some feliway, forgot about that,and I plan on setting up the bedroom to keep them in for a while. Great tip about hanging signs too! Thank you!
 
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