Cats are notoriously difficult to move house with: What can you do?

MBOMBELA – Cats. These mysterious creatures may have evolved to become modern-day Internet stars, but where their territory is concerned, little has changed. They are attached to their stomping grounds, and remain notoriously difficult to move house with.

This poses an obvious challenge, which is exacerbated when you don’t move just down the street.

Rudi Cronjé says he and his wife Stephanie were so attached to their five four-legged friends that when they recently moved from Mbombela to Salt Lake City in Utah, USA, the two dogs and three cats went along.

“It was relatively stressful, but we used pet movers which handled everything. We dropped them off at the hotel for animals in Kempton Park on the Friday and picked them up from the Salk Lake City Airport on the Wednesday.

“It helped that they were transported as cargo, so they got used to being away from us and in cages. By the time we got them back, they were so happy to see us and be released from the cages that we weren’t worried that they would run away.”

Naturally, the dogs posed no problem.

Experts agree that social pack animals like dogs use their affection for their humans to calm themselves in a new environment where they feel insecure, but cats are the opposite.

Cats tend to be more loyal to their environment, and need to feel secure in a new place first. This can take up to two or three weeks to achieve fully.

The Cronjés put Milo, Freddie and Ghato in a “safe room” for a day and a half, and kept them indoors for another day.

“We put our bedding in the room, and sat with them and played with them,” Rudi explains.

Dr Laura McIntyre of West Acres Animal Hospital recommends giving cats a “home base”. She is studying towards a post-graduate qualification in animal behaviour science.

“The stess caused by a new environment can cause cats to flee,” she explains. “Putting them in an access-controlled space, with their food, water and litter box and a familiar blanket provides a bit of comfort.

“You also have to spend a fair amount of time in there with them. Do calm activities, like reading, and keep them company so they won’t feel you have banished them.”

But she recommends taking a long time about it: keep them in one room for a week, and then gradually let them explore the house for another. Only then should you risk letting them outside.

Karin Erasmus of Pro-Life Pet Rescue agrees. She says when she moved to Mbombela from Tzaneen with her two cats, she was very worried that they might run away. “They had lived in the same house for eight years,” she explains.

She closed them up in a “home base” for a full week, after which she kept them in the house for another week before letting them outside. “And I have never had a day’s trouble with them since.”

But how practical is it in this heat? “Stay strong,” Erasmus advises. “You don’t want to risk them running away. It happens so often.”

Of course pet owners can make it as nice for the animals as possible. If they like biltong, give them some.

“Then they think this is a nice place, as they get biltong here, and they will stay,” she adds.

McIntyre says medical help is also available. Feliway is available in various forms. Humans can’t smell the synthetic cat pheromones, which calm the feline down.

“They find the scent calming and relaxing. It is very helpful placing it around the cat’s area.” It can be sprayed in their safe room or dispensed through a diffuser.

Sentry Calming Collars are also available. It uses the pheromone produced by a mother cat to make her litter of kittens feel safe.

“Cats then remember these scents for life, hence the collar provides a feeling of security and safety,” she explains.

Calmeze tablets are a natural product containing vitamins and amino acids which also serves to calm nervous pets. It is available for both anxious cats and dogs.

McIntyre further suggests asking your veterinarian for motion sickness medication, in cases where the move will occur over long distances.

Back in Salt Lake City, Milo, Freddie and Ghato have returned to their hunting ways.

“They are very happy with the mice they get to hunt at their new home. And yes, it was all worth it,” Rudi concludes.