Moving with cats

[crittergirl]

We are going to be moving in a few weeks. I have 5 cats that are very skiddish (why I have no idea...) and I am worried about moving them. I moved one of my cats to a different room while we were remodeling and she had a fit!
Does anyone have any suggestions on how to make the transition easier for them?
I have seriously thought about a tranquilizer but I do not want to do anything to harm them.

 

[zendora]

I'm not so sure that I personally would sedate my kids if a move was underway. My cats are often WAY more anxious if they are sedated...maybe not while they're zombified, but when they begin to come-to, they tend to freak out. Couple that with new smells and new territory...well.

I'd make sure to avoid washing their beds and supplies, putting up some feliway, and just letting them go through it. The recovery will be way faster than if you cripple their senses with drugs.

 

[crittergirl]

Yeah, I was not really comfortable using sedatives either. I just they will just have to ride it out, and hopefully they will settle down knowing that I am there with them.

 

[momofmany]

On the day of your move, empty out a room and put all the cats in that room while all the noise is happening around your home. After everything has been moved to the new place, set them up in 1 room of the new home and let them get adjusted to the smells and sounds. With my last move, I kept them in a single room for a couple of days then started to let out the ones that I knew adjusted easiest. I had some pretty skittish cats back then and they didn't want to come out of that room for a week.

 

[dr claws human]

I moved my cat with me into a new apartment and it certainly unnerved him. One thing that I found very helpful, though, was the fact that we had begun moving some furniture and boxes in the days prior to moving him. When he arrived, he was very skiddish and frantically crawled all over the room with his body as low to the ground and guarded as possible. But then he found a bed (and a scent) he recognized and gravitated towards it immediately. He spent that night and most of the next day under the bed (when he wasn't clinging to me), but slowly calmed and began to explore the new environment. The more it filled with familiar things, the more at ease he was.

So my advice: help soften the transition by insuring they have something familiar to arrive to.