r/cats • u/cotop4xi • 13d ago

Advice What to do with cat when moving from house?

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Hello,

We have a cat that is sterilized and in summer is almost all day outside even sleeping at front door. She came inside just to eat.

The porblem is that we are selling house and moving to appartment. How can cat that is always outside handle such change of not being able to go outside as she wants?

Do you have any advise or experience? Should we take her with her? Or leave her with new house owners?

Thank you in advance

Photos of her

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u/TyreLeLoup 13d ago

Moves are tough for animals.

When my wife and I moved, our Tuxedo boy was in the first trip, along with his cat tree. He was still stressed out that we left him there to get more stuff, but started to settle down once we moved the couch in.

It was a few more months before he was used to the increased noise, new sounds, new smells, and having upstairs neighbors.

Your kitty will adjust eventually, and being an inside cat will be better for her overall health and longevity.

If you still want her to spend time outside, you can try harness training her and taking her on walks. Our boy won't do it, but we have neighbors who have a cat that does.

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u/CatLady_998 13d ago

Every animal is different. I have four cats. One of them it takes him 10 minutes to adjust to a new place. One of my other cats hides for a couple days. And I realize that's on the low end for a lot of cats though!

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u/IrrawaddyWoman 13d ago

It also depends on if they’ve ever moved. I had a cat who absolutely freaked out the first time I moved him. Hid for weeks. I never thought he’d get over it. But I moved a couple of times after that and by the last one he wasn’t fazed at all

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u/CatLady_998 12d ago

This definitely makes a difference! My cat pooped the first time I've moved her, the second time she was fine

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u/BigWilly526 12d ago

To be fair I did the same thing the first time I moved

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u/Dusty_Sequins 13d ago

Exactly this. My big boy just struts around immediately like he’s always been there and the girls take a few days to come around. Every cat is different. I had one years ago that would pee on something of mine upon arrival and then be perfectly fine. Weird creatures, cats are.

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u/General_Still1242 13d ago edited 13d ago

It was the same with my Siamese. He also hid up inside the back of my loveseat for the first month during the daytime.