For some reason, my email inbox gets more play on the issue of moving outdoor and feral cats than just about anything else (except those pesky deals on Viagra, which I definitely do not need and am utterly confused as to why this kind of spam gets addressed to me).
People perhaps view me as someone who would actually know more about moving and relocating felines than the average Joe. And that’s probably true. However, I’d be willing to bet that more than a handful of Dolittler’s regular readers are far more attuned to this topic than I’ll ever be.
Yet as someone who’s had cause to move ferals around when their habitats were being destroyed (a new Pizza Hut, strip mall, etc.), I’ll provide you my two pennies in this post. Here goes…
The one thing you can rely on is that cats will generally stay around their new location as long as there’s food to be had and there isn’t any more competition for it than there was before.
That goes for moving the tamer variety outdoor kitty, too. While it may be stressful to move cats from one outdoor environment to another, and though some attrition may well take place (cats lost who knows where or running back home, miles away though it may be), the majority of cats will comply with your human interventions.
(That’s my experience, anyway, and I welcome your differing opinions in your comments below.)
Nonetheless, here are a few helpful suggestions to those of you considering a move and electing to move your outdoor adoptees along with you.
1-Consider: Are these cats truly feral or the sweet outdoor types who happened to adopt your porch as their territory?
There’s a vast difference between these feline varietals. The former will require serious trapping and stable relocation may be very difficult in the absence of their entire colony. Moving a whole colony is typically inadvisable unless it’s absolutely necessary. Perhaps a next-door neighbor will take on the care of these cats, as long as they’re few. (But care means more than just feeding—spaying, neutering and caring for injuries and illnesses is important, too.)
2-Outdoor kitties who can be picked up and lugged around (to the vet, for example)—but whom you’ve been unable to bring inside for whatever domestic reason—are the ideal candidates for relocation when moving to a new home. But consider:
∑ Are there predators where you’re moving? (Loose dogs, coyotes, etc.)
∑ Is it on or near a busy street?
∑ Are there ferals or many outdoor cats there?
∑ Is it a songbird sanctuary?
∑ How different is it from your previous location?
These and other issues should be considered.
3-Keep moved kitties in an enclosed area for a few days (or longer) after your move (a bathroom or garage will do if the temp is right). Interact with them as usual—if not more. Feed them their stable diets at regular intervals. Then spend time with them out of doors as you introduce them into their new environments over a relaxed weekend. Then bring them indoors at night for a week. Afterwards, they should be stable—as long as you adhere to meticulous feeding schedules.
4-Semi-ferals are the tough cases. They often aren’t attached to a colony so moving them may be doable. But you may have to trap them. Move them. Socialize them in a smaller space than they’ve ever been accustomed to (as described for the more tractable outdoor kitties in #3). Release them next to their food and water bowls. Follow the rigorous feeding schedule outlined above for at least a month and—usually—you’ve got them.
I don’t know what else you can do. Offering yummier foods than usual may help. Maybe a more protracted semi-confinement might be useful for the very stressed out personalities among them. Perhaps those far more experienced than I am in the relocation of cats can offer some tips of their own…
The most important thing to remember is to make sure you’re not exposing your moved kitties to greater dangers in your new home than they’d suffer through your absence. I know that’s not easy to determine; none of us has a crystal ball. But if we can’t bring our cats inside, we’ve got to make he most of what we CAN do for them, despite our ambulatory modern lives.
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Agreed on the confinement part. We used the confining in one room with
all kitty basics with a sweet, tame indoor kitty who was being re-homed to
us. It seems to take a cat several days in a smaller space simply to calm
down and realize no harm is coming to it. We provided food, water and
a litter box, but did not approach her at first. We sat still in "her" room
and waited for her to seek attention. After a few days she was interacting
with us. Then we started letting her have the run of the house over
night after she had become used to our "ugly mugs" and was seeking
attention from us. I'm quite sure that had she been given the run of
the house initially she would have become the "invisible cat". Instead,
she's now quite affectionate, vocal, and forward, as a Tonkinese is
expected to be.
Miss Kitty's Mom April 30th, 2008 08:50:00 PM
Confinement is a MUST for moving or bringing in a new kitty, regardless of how socialized it is. We have had great success by confining our separate groups to their own areas in the house. We successfully moved our 12 indoor kitties doing this. It is important to add that only 4 of the 12 were not completely feral when they acquired us.
As for my experience moving the very timid to completely antisocial feral(s), I can give some advice as to the mechanics of it, and a few "what not to do's". We trapped using a humane trap for a kitty just under one who had been letting me pet him for months, but would have no part in being picked up. Not to mention, attempting to pick him up only once resulted in having to regain his trust again. The thing with traps is you have to succeed the first time, or it'll never happen. With his older sister, it wasn't an option. She clearly knew what the thing was. She sniffed the $2.00 canned food that was in it, after not eating for 6 hours, and just looked up at me like I was some kind of comedian. She was a bit harder to get, it involved 2 adults, a thick comforter, and of course, the 5lb cat. I think it took 1/2 an hour. Cats are a bit smarter than people give them credit for. I know it would never work again for the male we trapped.
My husband made something that looked much like a rabbit hutch. It was about 6'x3'x3', made out of sturdy materials, with a hinged opening on top. He also made a small latching door on the side for scooping the box/feeding/changing linens. He covered the hatch with a strong plastic mesh for ventilation and so they could see. He also made two "windows" on the sides using plexiglass. He finished it off by adding handles to the ends so we could haul them off. And haul them off we did.
All was well for a week. They were happier than ever. They had been so terrified before the move with us not being in the house. We still fed them at the same times, and spent time there, but they had always been more afraid when we weren't around. By they time we moved them, I don't think our little Romeo had slept in 2 weeks. He was always on the lookout for the cat trying to take his territory, the raccoon that could be lurking, or any other danger. We managed to put a kitty condo in the "cage", along with Princess' favorite rug that she loved to sleep on, their beloved toys, food, blankets, and their box. I was able to scoop the box with the hatch open, no one tried to get out, they were calling me to come pet them, and they were finally sleeping well.
My husband, being the blundering idiot that he can sometimes be violated the rule you just don't violate with terrified cats, who have chosen for whatever reason to place their trust in you and are relying on you to keep them safe and healthy. Most people wouldn't even put that kind of trust in another person. I wouldn't let my husband "cage" me and rely on him to make sure my every need is met. I can only imagine they many things that could go wrong, and would. Anyway, a week after the move, he brings a stranger onto the enclosed back porch where the cats are in their cage. I chewed him out after the fact, pointing out that they were counting on us to keep them safe, and that they were in a completely foreign environment. I had just got done feeding them, and was petting little Romeo, who was purring his little heart out, when genius opens the sliding glass door. I was doing nothing out of the ordinary, I had done this at least 10 times a day each day since the move. Princess bolted up and out, and Romeo followed.
I figured that they had just been scared off temporarily. I left their food out as usual, put some of their beds out on the porch next to the "cage", left everything else as it was, and figured they'd come back for food. We don't live on a busy road, and there aren't any other dangers that they weren't used to dealing with as far as wildlife goes, so why they never returned is beyond me. Their former feral mother and I spent hours every day walking the area, with her leading the search team. She did her baby call, with her roll of socks in her mouth(something she'd always done when they were kittens), she sniffed everything everywhere, and I don't think she slept at all. She still searches, and well, I still leave their stuff out for them. They never did show up at the other location, and animal control has their photo and said they would hold them if they were picked up dead or alive, they never showed up at the shelter.
Aside from learning that losing the love and trust of these curious creatures is much more heartbreaking than I would have imagined, I learned a few other important things. I think it is very important to keep whatever area they are confined to, and the area surrounding it free of ANY foreign people or animals if you can. If they are used to the backyard setting, where you control who comes in and out, you MUST try to do this in the new location. This may seem rather simple, but just as important, DO NOT open the containment area if there is the possibility of any loud or startling sound occurring at the same time. They may well get scared to death by it. I agree with all of the tips in the blog as well. I have had much experience with ferals in the last few years, and have picked up quite a bit of knowledge, and new "friends". If you have a bleeding heart like me, and you're attached to the little critters, be extra cautious during and after the move. The "who knows where" cats are the hardest to deal with. The not knowing is probably worse than the alternative would have been in our situation. Maybe I should have left Princess behind to continue having babies under the shed, and hoped the very neighbors who had carelessly caused the feral situation that came with my rental house to happen would have decided to take great care of her and Romy.
Not a Cat Lady February 21st, 2009 12:43:20 AM
I have a combination problem. Some of my outside cats are tame enough to pet and handle. The others won't le me get too close and some are over six years old. The have all been spayed/neutered. I have a total of ten (10). I am planning to relocate six miles away to a wooded area on a lake. There is one home next door, that is it. On the other side is all woods. I plan to plant a thicket between this house and mine. For the time being, how will I get them acclimated to their new surroundings? I have also been blessed with a "drop-off" of three feral kittens this past winter. One is very sociable and comes in and out of the house. The others, which need to be neutered, are partially wild and won't let me get near them. They will have to be trapped and released at the new house.
This will be a problem trapping, relocating and hoping the new neighbors will not hate cats. The lots are large, however. Apparenltly the former resident had cats too. I gathered this from some of the items I saw inside the home we are looking at.
I would appreciate any input from someone with experience in this realm. The new ones and three of the wilder ones will be much more difficult. I have heated cat houses for them in winter. Most often they lounge on my front porch and driveway now. This is not good as I have had people ask me "just how many cats do you have?" I am on borrowed time here. I have a huge, private back yard and they resist going back there to eat and lounge. I have tried for a week now to move the food around there and they prefer to starve rather than move to the back yard for food. They would be much safer there. If I get the contract on this house, they will all have to be moved in the next three or four months anyway. I cannot leave them here, it would be certain death for them.
Help me, Please.
Thanks,
Linda
Linda June 19th, 2009 03:50:31 AM
hi. I've cared for a feral cat for six years. There were 3 to begin with, and I TNR them, 2 got hit by a car and the 3rd, she has taken residence in the back yard. I got her a little kitty condo, and she is at home.
In the past 6 months, she has finally let me pet her - I'm sure I'm the only human whom has touched her.
I am moving out of state and I'm wondering if I should try to bring her with me? I know the neighbors can't stand her (even tho, because of my TNR and trapping/adopting any kittens, I have completley eliminated the neighborhood of ferals.) and I don't trust anyone to treat her as well as she deserves to be treated.
What should I do?
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