Moving an outdoor cat to a new home?

Question

we have been living here for ten years with our cat Tigger. He is an outdoor kitty and likes to roam a lot around the neighborhood. anyway, we are moving to a new home and we don't know how the cat will be able to adjust to the new neighborhood. our main fear is that it will go out to roam at night and not be able to find his way back home. how can we keep Tigger calm so he doesn't get anxious about the big change? feel free to share any personal experiences. a HUGE thank you to any advice!

Answer 1

I had to do this with mine.  For 6 weeks, I took her out in the backyard.  Not on a leash, she was pretty good about that.  I wouldn't let her out alone, and whenever it looked like she was going to jump or go past the fence, I said NO in a loud voice.  When she backed off, I said "Good kitty".  It took awhile, but she eventually learned the boundaries of her new home, and we never had a problem with her disappearing.  Good luck!

(Also, make sure he's microchipped, just in case).

Answer 2

My experience has been, if you move an older cat you need to confine it of 5 to 10 days so it will get its barrings straight and can find it's way back home.  They have a good sense of direction and if you just turn them loose they may try to find there way back to there old home in stead of  staying  at there new home.Good luck 2u.

Answer 3

Our experience was with a 4 year old female outdoor cat we moved from the woods (middle of a national forest) to a city lot. We kept her indoors for 3 weeks. When she got out, she disappeared overnight. I was frantic until she began to mew from under the house the next day and I coaxed her out with tuna. Since then she's adapted quite well, going in and out.

If your male cat (I assume he's neutered) is prone to fight, there will be some of that. He will have to claim your yard as his own and leave the other Toms alone. If he's never used a litter box, you might want to try training him before the big move, so you can keep him indoors for a few days. When you first let him out, go with him and show him around the yard. I'd do that a few times before I let him out alone.

Some of my friends have used Bach's Rescue Remedy to calm anxious animals. Just put a few drops of the liquid on his tongue.