Moving to a new house with a cat

Hey,

I was told by the SPCA when we got our cat from there(she was 1 year old), to keep her inside for 2 weeks, and then let her out.
We didnt end up waiting 2 weeks, be kept her in for at least a week.
Aparently it helps them realise that thi is home so they come back etc

I have moved a bit, and I have always left my cats in for about a week. You can tell if they are ready to get out if they are hanging out by the doors or windows and trying to race out when you go out. Take that as a sign that they want to. I had one cat get out of a window after 2 days and she was fine.

The SPCA and vets do say 2 weeks but I think that is too long usually.

How I manage it is I let the cat out for short bursts at a time, going out with them and walking around the yard etc they don't usually run away cos they are so busy sniffing etc then after a few times of doing that I leave a sliding door open somewhere so they can go in and out and their own leisure and then just keep checking on them. They usually don't bolt, they go a little bit further then come back to the door again, then they go a little bit further and eventually you feel confident they will come back each time. They mark their own scent on things so that they know how to get back.

So I say play it by ear and when he seems ready, give it a go in short bursts and see what happens from there.

OMG I'm sorry Shaza but i'm laughing!

1-2 weeks is about average, and visiting the outside world with them is a good idea. We've been where we are for 3.5years & we lock our cats inside at night. every now and then we get woken up because they need to loo (i'm mean and dont have a dirt box inside), but they are locked in from 8pm to 6.30am every night. they know so even if we forget to lock their door they are inside anyways.

a special treat when they do come back inside is good - I've got those wiskers temptations - my cats do back flips for them (and they last ages!)

We did 3 days for both cats when we moved. One stayed all the time, the other ran away, came back for a few days and then ran away again for good. I was gutted    I went looking on roads, back at our old house but nothing.   I am hoping a nice person has adopted her.

susieq wrote: and put butter on their paws for the first few days as well

snap! was about to come in and say that lol.

It IS an old wives tail (lol), the only thing that your cat will leave (other tahn your property should it get out) is flamin' greasy footprints everywhere.
I asked my vet ages ago. He just told me the old inside for two weeks etc thing.

ha ha I remember mum doing the butter & cat thing so I have always done it. We moved a few times with our cat & twice in the country. It was impossible to keep him inside so I just showed him were his food is & he never got lost. Our cat is a real out doors cat.

I wish my cat was as well behaved as most of yours!

He let himself out the day we moved in...he opens windows you see! Eventually he turned up at old house, which is only the street across from current one, but he took a few days to turn up there and then we managed to keep him inside for nearly a week and then he managed to let himself out again and turned up at old house a few days later. As for our girl cat, she got outside the first time and came back and keeps coming back home, though she visits the old neighbour most days. We let him out side for a sniff after nearly 2 wks and he was looking like he was about to bolt again! And then he keeps getting desperate to bolt outside, so who knows when he'll stop doing this!...naughty boy!

In my experience with cats, if you feed them, they will come . thats also true of every other cat in the neighborhood