How to Help a Cat Adjust to a New Home

The old saying "curiosity killed the cat" has been very nearly true lots of times, as many cat owners will tell you. Moving a cat to a new home can look like a real challenge, but not when you know what to do beforehand and for the first few days in a new place. Follow these ideas and easy steps, and the cat should quickly accept his new home, leaving you free to unpack boxes and hang pictures as you settle in.

Instructions

1. Taking along something familiar. Be sure to include the cat's old bed as you move your belongings too. You can always buy or make it a new bed in a few weeks or so. Try to put its bed in the same place as it was in your first home: if your cat slept in the bedroom, then put his bed in the new bedroom too.

2. Put his litter box in the same place as it was in the old home. Your cat may be a little confused at first, but if it can find his litter box, bed and food dishes, he'll adjust faster.

3. Feed your cat at the same time you did in the old place, and use the same food too. This reassures your cat that this is home and it's a good place to live. Cats enjoy comfort food just like humans do.

4. Show your cat where his toys are. If you kept the toys in a small basket or box, then continue keeping them there. Cats enjoy digging around in their toy boxes just like kids do.

5. Put a pinch of catnip in the cat's bed when you leave the cat by itself in the new house for the first time. Tell your cat you're leaving, just so it doesn't suddenly hear the door close and you've disappeared. Call your cat by name when you come in the door, and praise it and pet it when it comes to you.

Tips & Warnings

• If you can spend a day, or a weekend in your new home with the cat, without having to leave for more than an hour or two at a time, your cat will adjust very rapidly. He will understand that this new place is for the two of you, and he's not being left behind when you walk out the door.

• If your cat wants to hide for a day or two, don't be alarmed. Many cats do this until they sort out all the new smells and sounds of its new home.

• Take a few minutes to talk to and play with your cat when you get home from work for the first week.

• Don't open any outside doors without checking twice to be sure the cat isn't trying to get out the door too.

• If you've moved cross-country, you may want to take a gallon of water from your old home and mix a little of the old water with the new water until your cat gets adjusted to the taste.