Should I take my cats when we move?
We live on a farm, and I have 5 outside cats that I feed every day. In a year or so we’re going to be moving. I want to take my outside cats with me, as I’m very attached to them. If I leave them, I don’t know if the next people who move in will feed these cats. If I take my cats with me when we move, I’m afraid they will run off or get lost. The place we’re moving to has about 50 acres of timber, and think there are probably a lot of foxes and coyotes. My cats and I are pretty close to each other, so I think they may stay with me close to the house, but afraid to take a chance also. Has anyone else ever moved cats and how did it work out? Would it be cruel to them to take them and hope they adjust to a new place? Or would it be best to leave them and hope someone feeds them?
yellakittee
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Cats are pretty smart. Take them with you and they will adapt.
Beachbaby
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Outside cats don’t belong to people, they belong to a place so if you moved them to another place they would run away trying to get back to their territory. If you left them, like you say, you’ll never know if they are been fed by the new people plus, it’s never a good idea to let cats out (they live, on average, 7 years less than inside cats). But, if they became inside cats, you could move them because they would transfer their loyalty to the place that smells like home (people, furniture, etc). They need to be fixed, if they are not already, and then, slowly get them used to staying inside. Do it gradually and in such a way that it seems it’s their idea, not yours. Start feeding them by the door, then the stoop and then inside every morning, after they get used to it and start coming in for their breakfast on their own, start leaving them inside for a while (cats are nocturnal and they usually take a good nap after their breakfast), offer them a treat when they wake up (cat milk or canned tuna has always worked for me). Make sure they always have several clean litter boxes with the finest grained clumping clay you can find, get them scratching posts and put a pheromone plug-in in the room (or rooms). Gradually increase the time the stay inside until they only go out at night. You are going to notice that as time goes by, less and less of them will want to go out but there will always be one or two males that are hard to convince, those you will have to prevent from going out about three months prior your moving. You have plenty of time so it should be OK.
Good luck!
Bibi
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Making them become inside cats is a super idea, and that’s what I want to do, but I already have 8 cats inside the house, and a dog, and my husband is flipping out. Ha! They are all spayed and nuetered, and all are fed really well. I’m thinking that taking them might be best, but not sure. When I’m outside with them, they follow me everywhere, or sit with me when I sit outside. I know I still have a year or so, but I’m worrying so much about them, I can’t sleep at night, or I have nightmares about them.
yellakittee
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Take them with you by all means!
Beachbaby
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Start being real nice to your husband (LOL), you have an entire year to convince him and, in the meantime, start training them to come inside. I have 12 cats, 7 dogs, a parrot (and I am adopting a second one), a turtle and 26 canaries (and 9 eggs at last count this morning), and they all get along just fine. My husband only had one cat growing up but he got used to them and now he loves them as much as I do.
Worse comes to worst, you can always bring in as many as he allows you to and leave the others for the new owners (it’s easier to convince somebody to feed two cats than five).
But, I still think that being REAL nice to your husband is your best bet.
Good luck!
Bibi
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Does your new place have any outbuildings like a barn or large storage shed in which you could confine the outside cats for a while? If so, and if you really can’t convince your husband to bring the outside cats in the house, then I’d move them onto the new property and into an outbuilding. Set up food, water, litter boxes, and comfy sleeping areas for them in the building and leave them confined for several weeks until they have established familiarity and a sense of ownership in their new territory. Once they feel comfortable and at home in their new environment, they should stick around even after you give them freedom from the building.
Don’t count on the new owners of your farm to feed the cats if you leave them behind, regardless of what they may promise. If you leave them, assume they will be on their own.
BTW, how far is the new place from your existing farm?
Tempest
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The new place is 30 miles from here. There is a barn and a shed on the farm, but both are open buildings, and wouldn’t be able to confine my cats in them. My mother-in-law lives on the farm next door to it and she has a few outside cats she feeds, so that is a good thing. I know there are coyotes and foxes on the place and that worries me, although she told me she’s never had any problems with them hurting or killing her cats. There have been several cougar sightings within 100 miles of the place also, one sighting about 6 miles from there. And that realy concerns me. Would a cougar try to kill one of my cats for food? I’m trying to convince my husband to put up some sort of building for them to stay in for a few months, or possibly permanently as not to be eaten by a cougar. HA! I really appreciate everyone’s opinion on this. I love my cats so much. We don’t have any kids, so they are my babies! Thanks so much for the advice.
yellakittee
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