Moving with my outdoor cat?

Question

I have a cat who's been an outdoor cat for a few months now (he is properly vetted and neutered and all the important stuff so don't worry). I am moving to a new home and I am worried about how to adjust my cat to his new outdoor home.

Here, he hangs out on the porch a lot and does his exploring but is never far from home as he always comes when you call him. The surroundings will be very similar to our home now, but I am concerned about him wandering off and not being able to find his way back home. Has anyone had experience with this kind of situation?

Thank you

Answer 1

No, I don't have experience with this because I'm a responsible pet owner who understands how dangerous it is for a cat to free roam outdoors.  

"He is properly vetted and neutered and all the important stuff so don't worry."  Will having his shots protect him from getting hit by a car, poisoned, shot at, trapped somewhere, tortured by cruel children, stolen and sold to a testing lab or eaten by a wild animal?  And when you say he "has this shots" have you innoculated him for Feline Leukemia?  FeLv is a deadly and incurable disease he can pick up from other cats.  In fact, he may already be infected.

Please read this and educate yourself about the dangers of letting your cat roam outdoors - http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?ac...

Answer 2

keep him in the new home for a day or wo and let him look out the window, and get a scent for the house. Let him, go, and he'll know where he lives!

Answer 3

Your cat has gotten used to his home, moving is stressful for pets too. Maybe it is not a good idea for your cat to be an outdoor cat at the new home. It will take a minimum of 2 weeks for he will not stay and will try to find his way to what he perceives as home.  Might be a wise decision to start keeping him inside until the move and after as well.  

Answer 4

We had an outdoor cat who liked to explore when we moved to a new neighborhood. He was out longer than usual at first but after a month or so he mostly stayed around the house. Your cat should be fine, but you might want to keep him inside for the first few days.

Answer 5

The best idea in your situation is to keep him indoors until he his fully comfortable with the new home (like when you first adopted him). After awhile, take him out on a leash to get used to his surroundings. After a period of time, you can let him out. I usually took my cat outside to show her around the house so that she would never get lost. When she did escape, she was able to find her way back home. You can get him microchiped if you are afraid of him running off.