What To Do With Cat During House Extension

[Barry32]

Hi everyone.

I'm new here, hopefully this forum is in the right place. I'm after a bit of advice on what to do with our cat during an upcoming bungalow extension. There's quite an extensive build taking place on the property as we're adding to the side as well as altering the existing layout. There are a couple of unaffected rooms on one side of the house.

We have a healthy 2 year old cat and I have absolutely no idea what to do with her. Does anybody have experience with this? The expected build program is 3 months. The rest of the family are moving in with parents and taking the cat with us is not an option. Is the kindest thing to go for a cattery for the duration or if I was to arrange a space for her in an unaffected room and make sure she's fed each day, is she likely to just get by?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks Barry.

 

[mewcatmew]

I would keep him secluded in the side of the house that won't be affected. The less noise and especially the fewer strangers he sees wandering around the better. Just find the calmest and quietest area to keep him in, and make sure he has his usual comforts (toys, cat bed he likes, etc).

 

[Barry32]

Thanks for the advice. She's very much an outdoor cat. We live in a quiet close and she's free to roam about so she often heads out of the cat flap and we won't see her for hours on end. If we try and keep her in one area of the house for 3 months I fear she'll go mad. However if we give her the freedom she's used to, she'll be roaming around a building site.

She's the first cat we've owned so we're quite inexperienced when it comes to behaviour. I'm hoping if we just give her a space in the house she'll be smart enough to stay out of trouble and not get too stressed out by all the work.

 

[babiesmom5]

Cats prefer the quietest place within their own familiar environment. We are in the midst of a sunporch addition to our home, so understand your concerns. Our brood seeks out the quietest, farthest room away from the noise, hubbub and strangers. Cats are active in the morning, eat their breakfast, then as soon as they hear noise, "head for the hills" until construction ends late afternoon. Then they emerge for supper and are out and about during the evening with us. They are coping quite well with no changes in behavior or eating patterns.

I really think your cat will be least stressed by being in a room farthest from the noise surrounded by familiar scents and the comforts of home.

 

[tvet]

My ex and I went through the same problem when we built a new house. We were lucky and had a detached garage. We put a cat door in the garage door and plenty of beds , food, etc. We had no problems. I hope you find a great solution for your kitty.

 

[verna davies]

Would it work to keep her in the quietest part of the bungalow with lots of familiar things in the room as well as food water and litter tray and let her out when the builders are finished for the day and on their days off presuming they are not working weekends. This is what I have been doing recently when I have been having work done and my cats soon settled down in the room after a day or so when they realised the noise was not going to hurt them.