Hello, readers!
Alana here today. I wanted to give a quick update on what’s going on here at the house. As Crepes may have mentioned before, there was a “great move” being spoken of in the house. For many months, I’d been away working on floors, walls, and various other important parts of a house. As of a few weeks ago, I had finished with the work and last week, we moved in!
Moving with cats isn’t always easy seeing as they don’t particularly like change. I looked at my first cats – Rocky and Niles – who were and are always outgoing, loved people, and never feared new places. And then I looked at Crepes. And Louie. And wondered where I went wrong. What did I do with the first two that I didn’t do with the others?
One of the things that came to mind was the way I moved them. This is Niles’ seventh house in his life. I had my first two guys in college and moved them to a new apartment almost every year for the first few years of their lives. When I moved them, I set up their furniture and let them loose. I didn’t do any acclimating nor did I confine them to a small room. When I was about to move this time, my good friends over at the Tabbies O Trout Towne suggested doing the same and, after some contemplation, I thought, why not? Let’s see what happens.
And so I moved them all and let them go. Now, keep in mind, I didn’ t move to a giant house, just a one floor flat with a really cool tin backsplash (that was my idea), so it wasn’t an overwhelming experience for them. I also made sure there wasn’t anything dangerous out – all kitchen utensils were secured, no cooking was happening, doors and windows were all locked, and everything was quiet. There was nothing available to them that could pose a threat.
The results?
Success! Not one of them freaked out. There were no fights, no tantrums, and so far no struggles for property. In fact, they all like each other more. There’s been snuggling going on, sharing of small spaces, and far less hissing than ever before. The only one that had just a bit of anxiety was Crepes. If you have a really overly skittish cat, this might not work for you, but in this case, it has been nothing but positive.
Have a look!
Here they are all loaded into the vans. I rubbed them with a little Rescue Remedy before leaving and sprayed a burst of Sentry Calming spray into the back of the van, which seemed to instantly calm the symphony of meows.
The first one out of the box was Niles, followed by Sprinkle and then Crepes. We started their journey in the kitchen and they took it from there.
After a week, everyone is totally settled and loving the new house. You’ll see lots more pics of it as time goes on since it’ll be the new backdrop for all of our adventures!
Thanks, everyone, for your patience as we’ve made this transition! We’ll be doing lots more blogging in the coming weeks.
Love,
Alana and Crepes.
Congrats on your new house, how exciting! Glad the gang is all settled in now…Sprinkle is a daring Ladycat!
What a great house! No wonder the move went so smoothly! And the best part…a sun porch! Enjoy your new digs!
So excited your move went well! Happy National Cat Day!!!!!!
Marty, Mom and the Gang
Happy New Home Day and Happy National Cat Day! Wow…you will always get to celebrate your move on National Cat Day!!! Cool…
Noodle and crewq
Mom totally agrees, cats need to get out and explore everything. Glad it all went well, can’t believe the pullup bar picture! Love Dolly
What, you didn’t take Oregano Jones with you? 😉
Good job with the move.. it takes so little effort to make sure they are okay, far less than surrendering them at a shelter.. *sigh* don’t get me started..
Glad to hear the kitties all adjusted so well. Concats on the new home.
So glad the move went well.
The kitties have already staked out their fave spots 😉
Purrs Georgia and Julie,
Treasure and JJ
Great that the move is completed and all are settling in nicely.
Jean and Shoko
We’re glad the move went well. And we know the kitties will love the new place. 🙂
Concats – you must be doing something right!
Concatulations on the successful move! The previous generation of cats went through the head peep’s five moves in six years, and they even the most timid of them were good about making themselves at home in a new place. None of us have had to move since we came to live here, so she isn’t looking forward to finding out how adaptable we are by comparison.
Congratulations on finishing your family’s big move. A lot of work but well worth the effort. Love the yellow wall. Look forward to the seeing the cool tin kitchen back splash.
Congrats on the move, and I’m so glad everyone is loving the new house! Is it safe to assume that Sprinkle and Louis are purrrmenant additions to the family, now?
Sorry Louie!!! I’m blaming my bad typing skills for spelling your name wrong…..
Congrats on a successful new home and move. I’m a veteran mover with cats and tried every method over the years. With a space like yours, I’d do the same allowing the cats to sniff out every corner and perimeter Your mentioned at my blog today. I’ll tag SleepPod in my share.
So glad I saw this today. Soon we will be moving, combining 2 households: 6 cats and 2 dogs. They all know each other, but we’ve not been all together. All the cats are indoor only, and only the Boxer is a real outdoor goer.I am spastic about this move. I believe I will take your advice, move all the belongings, and THEN take the animals over. Thanks!
My human’s first cat as an adult was pretty neurotic, so even though she moved a lot, it didn’t help him much self-confidence-wise! But the other cats, when she moved, she just let them wander around once they all arrived at a new place. Harlot, who was indoor-outdoor, had to stay inside for a few days to acclimate, but once she got that the new place was Home, she got to go outside and claim her territory.
Our current house is large and on three different levels, so when Binga, Boodie and Sparkle moved in, they were confined to one level (that one level alone was probably about 1500 square feet) and introduced to the others after a few days. But that was more so my human could keep track of them better!
moving is never easy, but it sounds like you made it work very well….. now about enclosing that patio 🙂
So glad it went well. Congrats on moving.
Sue B
Congrats on the new digs!
I’m glad things went well. Moves have traditionally been hard on my gang too.