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Environment
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Moving house can be a stressful experience for a cat. You can lessen the impact by keeping your cat well away from the mayhem of packing, either by checking him into a cattery or by keeping him in a cleared room that has his own litter tray, bed and toys.
On the move day itself transport the cat with some familiar items including any material he normally sleeps on. If travelling by car it is very likely that your cat will be sick, as most cats are not good passengers - prepare for this eventuality.
When settling into your new house, it is important to keep your cat inside the house until he or she has settled in, and got used to the new inside environment. The minimum period before they are let out is two weeks, but more timid or nervous cats may well need to be kept in for longer. To start with keep your cat in one specific room with his bed, litter tray etc. When he has settled into this room, allow him to explore the rest of the house at his own pace. When kitty seems happy and confident in the home it is time for him to try going outside. Let him out just before meal times, so that he's hungry and will return for food (strong smelling food, in particular, will help lure him back). Remember not to force your cat outside, it must be his choice. Follow this same routine everyday, until your cat is confident enough to come and go as he pleases.
Download our Moving Home Essential Guide for more information (Leaflet will be delivered as a PDF file).
I live in a flat. How can I safely provide fresh air for my cat?
If your cat has to live an indoor life in a flat, then you can safely give him fresh air by screening your open windows. Screening involves putting a wire mesh over your window, which allows air in but stops your cat from falling out. Do not allow a cat out onto a narrow ledge or balcony, many animals fall to their death from heights.
How can I encourage my cat to stay in my garden, so as not to upset the neighbours?
It is impossible to eradicate your cat's natural desire to explore, but it can be curbed somewhat by neutering. You can also encourage your cat to stay in your garden by making it as interesting as possible so he won't want to leave.
Neighbours are most often upset by cats toileting in their garden - you can encourage your cat to use your own garden by providing a good toileting site within your own boundaries. A good toileting site for a cat is somewhere with easily raked material, which is also private and secluded. Digging over an area that is enclosed by bushes and easily accessible from the house could well be enough to encourage toileting closer to home.
You can also enclose your back garden using a fencing kit; however this can be costly and is not always 100 per cent effective.
How can I keep the neighbourhood cats out of my garden?
It must be remembered though that cats have territory areas that do not necessarily match human boundaries, and of course they do not realise that they are doing anything wrong by heading off next door. By law cats are protected from physical violence, so do not hit or kick them to get them off your property.
There are many ways to deter a cat from entering your garden, some are humane, others barbaric (like electric shock fences). Cats Protection recommends a number of humane deterrents, which are far more effective than many of the products on the market. Shooing or clapping away a cat does the job in the short-term, but often cats will just learn to avoid coming into your garden when you are present, but will still come through when it is 'safe'. Another alternative is to use a short, sharp jet of cold water: this needs to be associated with being in a particular place, so should be used just as the cat jumps onto a fence or wall, or comes under the fence. In this way, the aversive event will be more likely to be linked to entering the garden rather than you being there with a water pistol! As well as doing this manually with a water pistol, you can also buy a product, such as a Scarecrow, to fire the water for you (it uses heat and movement sensors).
Another product you may wish to try is Catwatch, an ultrasound alarm triggered by the movement and body heat of an animal as it enters the protected area. The idea is that the ultrasound frequencies turn off when the cat leaves the protected area and he learns not to enter that area again or the noise will reoccur. Research has found, however, that these ultrasound products do not tend to deter cats very effectively.
Should I keep my cat in at night?
Cats are natural hunters, and for this reason will tend to be more active at night time when their normal prey species are active. For this reason there is a slightly increased chance of road accidents where cats are out at night. It is better to keep cats indoors at night where there is a risk to the local rodent population from hunting. Cats kept for rodent control, however, will be most effective if allowed out at night.
Cats that are used to being out and active at night can become restless and stressed when kept in - where this is necessary, the indoor environment should provide them with lots of things to do, such as toys, climbing frames and puzzle feeders (see below).
A cat should never be locked out all night.How can I give my cat the exercise and stimulation he needs?
Remember that cats have developed as effective nocturnal predators, which will naturally spend between a third and half of their time engaged in hunting activity. Where cats are not hunting, this type of activity needs to be replaced by other forms of exercise and mental stimulation. The best way to use up your cats energy is to play with it. There are lots of cat toys available in pet shops, or they can be made very cheaply from ping pong balls, string or old plastic bottles. The things that make toys interesting for cats are novelty and movement. A toy that doesn't move and which has been on the floor for a week will not entertain your cat! So change toys regularly and actively play with them to make them interesting. Hanging toys up so that swing in the breeze or move with a door will also make them more interesting. Some cats love cat-nip so providing cat-nip toys will be very stimulating for these individuals.
Cats also like to be able to climb and hide inside things, so providing shelves, climbing frames and cardboard boxes will help keep your cat entertained. They also like to scratch; so providing them with a suitable scratching post will allow them to display this behaviour without having to resort to your sofa!
Where cats are kept indoors, they can also be provided with trays of grass, which will not only enrich their environment but also help them to naturally aid their digestive process. For indoor cats, it is also a good idea to feed any dried biscuits in a 'puzzle feeder'. Various types of these can be bought, or they can be easily made using an old plastic drink bottle, with holes cut in that are slightly larger than the size of the cat biscuits. Your cat will learn to knock the feeder along to make biscuits fall out. In this way, getting his or her food ratio will take much longer than it would from just eating it out of a bowl.
