| s-1
| How do you make your cat adjust to a new house? |
| s-2
| Me and my family are moving into a new house just outside a small town. |
| s-3
| We are currently living a mile from the town in a house surrounded by fields but the new house is beside a busy road. |
| s-4
| We have had the cat for 10 years and dont want to leave it. |
| s-5
| How could we make it settle in a new house. |
| s-6
| you are not just moving house - your cat is losing his territory. |
| s-7
| territory is very important to cats, and they are very nervous when they go into a new place - a new house could be full of predators, or unknown menaces - well at least he thinks so. |
| s-8
| you will need to give him only a small place to explore, so he can make it his territory, and feel safe there. |
| s-9
| then, he can have a place to retreat to when he feels scared. |
| s-10
| you will need to get his box and bowls, and whatever blanket and toys are his, and smell like home, and put him in a room. |
| s-11
| the room you sleep in is best (seeing you so relaxed that you are sleeping will send the message that everything is OK), but others will work just as well. |
| s-12
| close the door, and keep him in there for a week. |
| s-13
| he will feel much safer in that one room, than in a huge unknown house. |
| s-14
| he will explore the room, mark everything with his cheek, and try to make it feel like his territory. |
| s-15
| he will reassure himself that no other animal is in there, and that no other animal will come in - he is afraid that he is in someone else's territory when he is in a new house. |
| s-16
| in a week's time, he will have made it his, and will be getting more bored than afraid. |
| s-17
| let him out for half an hour, to explore. |
| s-18
| then put him back in. |
| s-19
| he will be freaked out, so going back to his territory will make him much happier. |
| s-20
| extend the time he is out each day, but for the first month, always put him in his room at night, so he feels safe to sleep. |
| s-21
| soon he will make the whole house his, but he needs that one safe place to start from. |
| s-22
| remember to visit with him while he is in the room, and tell him how good he is. |
| s-23
| remember to give him the time he needs to feel that the room is his - rush it, and he will be afraid of the whole house for a long time. |
| s-24
| he might even start peeing on things in fear. |
| s-25
| good luck with your new house and with his new territory! |
| s-26
| Let her explore when we moved my cat had to explore the entire house before she felt comfortable. |
| s-27
| In time though she/he will adjust. :) |
| s-28
| they just do it on their own. |