Are you going to settle into a new home and don’t know how to approach it, so you don’t stress your cat? Whether you’re moving out of the house or hosting a mini at home, you should take certain precautions to make this process stressful and unbalanced per se for felines, as little traumatic as possible.
Not for nothing, moving in with a cat is one of the experiences that lead the worst by the barrage of noisy movements, new smells, and surroundings that lead. In addition to stress, which is often somatized, negative emotions such as anxiety, fear, and insecurity emerge but do not despair. If you’re in this situation, apply what we tell you.
How to move in with a cat without you just noticing
Although it may seem obvious, the first thing to keep in mind is staying calm and planning to transfer gradually. This way, if you set a calendar and pack your items progressively, you will be more relaxed, and your pet will perceive it through your body language.
Moves are complex processes for cats, regardless of age, breed, and gender. Younger cats will generally be more receptive to making changes, even if they are de-stabilized at first.
Likewise, there is no exact time to know when it has adapted to the new environment. Some minions assume it in a couple of weeks while others take several months. Every cat has its own rhythm, respect yours.
How to execute home transfer step by step
Without further ado, we will show you how you should undertake the move, step by step, so that it is minimally stressful for your cat according to the ethologists’ recommendations. Notes:
- Before the move-in van arrives, you’ll need to accommodate your cat in a room where you can stay oblivious to the transfer train. Try all your items (bed, feeder, drinker, scraper, sandpit, and toys), as well as food and water. Leaving him a cardboard box is a great way to shelter him.
- The stay your pet is in will be the last one you will dismantle and the first one you will order when you arrive at the new address when it’s time to pack that habituation. First of all, put your cat in its carrier and put it in your car.
- You’ll only get him off the carrier when his room is ready. Once again, it would help if you had everything you need to feel comfortable and safe. In this sense, make sure that there are no gaps, for example, between appliances, where you may get trapped. It’s usually common among nervous minions.
- When the rest of the house is furnished and ready to be enjoyed, you can allow it to go out and explore. Some feline behavioral experts advise using synthetic pheromones diffusers to reduce that natural stress and promote familiarization, which will usually last a minimum of 10 days.
- During this adjustment period, keep all windows and access doors to the outside closed. If he’s very nervous and you anticipate he’s going to make it very difficult for you, take him to a feline residence and bring him back when everything is settled.
How should you transport him in the car?
If you follow us, you’ll know that felines are staunch enemies of change. Their attachment to routines gives them safety and, consequently, a move challenges their most primitive instincts. Thus, the new house’s drive is another stage of this process that should be executed with all precautions. It would be these:
- Let him eat on time, as standard, but at least 3 hours before starting the move.
- If your mini doesn’t need minded travel in general, check with your veterinarian. Maybe I’ll recommend giving you some painkillers.
- Half an hour before introducing it into the carrier, spray synthetic pheromones to induce relaxation.
- Make sure the carrier is securely attached to the vehicle. The swing will not help at all in your purpose of providing you with the most bearable journey possible.
- He’ll have to travel with you, never in the trunk or the moving van.
- If it’s going to be a long way, you’ll need to plan a stop to drink or to use the sanitary tray.
- If it is a scorching day, the vehicle must be previously ventilated. Never leave him alone inside the car because he could suffer a heatstroke of fatal consequences.
The first few days in the new house
Once installed, you will have to be attentive and observant of its behavior. The natural thing is that it unfolds in a more cautious way than the usual one and sniffs everything. It’s your way of reviewing and getting acquainted with your new habitat. To speed up this trance, you can take a cloth and pass it through your cheeks and forehead.
Then rub it down the walls, doors, and furniture of the house at your height. When he walks by, he’ll recognize his smell and calm down. Repeat this routine until you check that it stops rubbing with everything in its path. It will mean that it is already marked and recognizes as its territory. Keep your routines going and leave your equipment in sight.
In addition to providing you with a safe environment, you’ll need to pay attention to nutrition and hydration, as well as moments of play and caresses. In these early days, he will appreciate, more than ever, that you are more aware of him. Environmental enrichment will also play an essential role in keeping you entertained and stimulated.
