Mootle's house move - UK

[montyislay2]

Hello everyone. Just wondered if anyone has any advice for moving house with a diabetic pussycat??!!

Monty has done SO well on Caninsulin and has been OTJ for just over a month now. I don't want to ruin that - but we are moving house in 3 weeks time (to a lovely devon cottage - cat heaven!) and any tips would be most welcome!

 

[Elizabeth and Bertie]

Hi Catherine,

Your house move sounds wonderful! :smile:

I don't have any tips for moving house with a diabetic cat particularly but just wanted to reassure you that there are quite a few US people on this board who are seasoned travellers/movers and I'm sure will be able to offer advice. Are your concerns about travelling per se? Or about how to establish your cat in a new home?

Since Monty is off the juice (crossing fingers (anti-jinx!)) you don't need to be concerned about giving insulin shots 'on the road' at least! Or dealing with a hypo! :shock:

Have you moved with Monty before? When we moved to this house with four cats (many years ago) we put them into one room that we'd set up for them especially; with sofa, cat beds, litter trays, food, water, toys etc. And they stayed in there until all the cafuffle was over. All our cats were indoor/outdoor cats, but we kept them indoors for 3 weeks so they got thoroughly used to the new house; and then when they were allowed outside that was just a 'bonus' for them!

If there isn't going to be a quiet room to put Monty in then maybe arrange for him to board at a local cattery for the day...?

A friend of mine moved his two cats from Southampton to Edinburgh about a year ago. He had them in cat baskets so that they wouldn't be thrown around in the event of sudden stops etc, but he completely forgot about their need to pee and pooh....until he smelt it..... (And he really regretted having put one of his favourite jumpers in the bottom of that basket, cos he had to throw it in the bin at the next service station...) I know of other folks who put their cats into a much larger cage (actually a dog carrier, I think) and provided beds and litter tray. I think my friend wishes he'd thought of that.... :roll:

Eliz

 

[montyislay2]

Hello Elizabeth and Bertie - lovely to hear from you! How is Bertie doing these days?

We moved back down to Devon (we're from here originally) from Birmingham last year with the 3 cats so the travelling is not an issue - the new cottage is just a mile down the road so as you suggest, the plan is to 'move' one bedroom and all the cat paraphernalia the day before, then take the cats there in the morning and shut them in that room until the removal men have gone. I'm well stocked up on Feliway too which seemed to help when we did the Birmingham move. I will definately try and keep them in for a good while too - I think we managed 2 weeks when we did the previous move but we will try and keep them in until after christmas at least. They are not massive fans of catteries and I am worried that putting them in one might stress Monty more than just the one move straight to the new place - since at least we can be around and can give him and the others plenty of attention.

v excited about the new place - where we are is ok but on a modern estate. the new cottage is in the secluded grounds of a manor house - well away from any roads and whilst the garden is detatched down the drive, there are plenty of nooks and crannies for them to explore, loads of trees to get stuck up and access to the fields and down to the river should they decide to amble that far.

Monty will be welcoming cat friendly visitors to his new pad in the new year so if you're ever passing by this neck of the woods (not far off J27 of the M5), he would be delighted to make tea and say thank you in person for all the help he has received.

 

[BJM]

Putting familiar things in a somewhat familiar layout in 1 room is definitely a good idea.

To help reduce stress, you might tire them out a bit with some active play before actual transport to the new location -> play, crate, pack some stuff -> trip 1 to new room. Layout familiar floor plan, release cats, sit calmly while they explore, some play again, then leave them confined in the room to go back and supervise more moving.

Be very careful the movers don't open that room - put a big sign on the door "DO NOT DISTURB"- to prevent unintentional escape!