Moving to a new environment can be a stressful experience for your cat while they are known creatures of habit and routine.
According to this experience, you might be wondering the reasons why your cat is stressed when you move to a new home and how to move them without stress and anxiety.
Well in this post, we will cover everything you need to know to ensure a stress-free move for your cat companion.
Let’s get started!
Why Do Cats Stress When You Move?
Before you find a way to help your cat to move without stress, it is important for you to understand how moving affects your cat first.
There are some possible reasons which might lead your cat to experience stress when you move:
Moving process: the process of packing and moving can be a stressful time for your cat, as noise and change happen around them. It can cause them to feel unease and stress.
New Environment: cats are known to be creatures of habit, so they are easily sensitive to change to a new home or new place.
They might feel uncomfortable with unfamiliar sights, sounds, and smells of a new home which could be overwhelming for them.
Territory disruption: As we know, cats are territorial animals.The moving environment also disrupts your cat’s routine territory.
In this case, your cat might be stressed because they need to establish a new territory themselves in the new space.
Familiarity loss: cats are thriving on their routine. The sudden change can be stressful and anxious for them as they lose the familiar sights, routines, animals, and even people that they have known.
Unknown humans or animals: cats are known to have strong bonds with people, animals, and the environment around them.
While they move to new a house can make them miss their old cat’s friends and other animals that they ever lived together with.
They might feel lonely and stressed because they don’t know new people or animals around their new house.
Overall, every cat might have their owner’s reason for stress from moving to a new home. It might depend on your cat’s situation.
However, if you consider what are tips to move your cat without stress, well we will talk about it in below.
How to Move Cats Without Stress?
A moving environment can be stressful for your cat, so it is important for you to find out helpful tips for them. There are some steps to help minimize your cat’s stress from moving:
During Moving
Well prepared: You should prepare well before you move. You can pack your items or belongings gradually to give your cat acclimation to changing environment over time.
Secure carrier: during transport time, you need to be sure that your cat is safe. By doing this, it will prevent unnecessary accidents during travel. Your cat also feels comfortable during this transportation.
Reduce noise: during moving, you should try to minimize loud noise.
If you travel by car, you should avoid opening the door or mirror until you arrive at your new home. It will help your cat to create a calmer environment for them.
After Moving
Introduce a new home: when your cat arrives at a new home, you should allow them to explore the new environment. You can introduce them to other areas of the house once they seem comfortable.
Create a comfortable place: after you introduce your cat, it is time to set up a quiet and comfortable place for your cat where they can stay and feel comfortable during this move.
Provide a safe place to hide: cats like to hide when they are stressed, so you should provide them with a hiding place such as a boxed, cozy bed.
Keep routine: cats are stuck on a regular routine even sleeping, eating, and playing. Therefore, it is important to keep everything on routine. It might help to reduce their stress levels.
Provide nutritious food: during this adjustment time, you should care about your cat’s food.
You should provide them with nutritious food and put them (water and food) somewhere they are easily accessible in the safe area that you have chosen.
Spend time with them: you should spend some time playing with your cat. It is the best way to help to reduce stress and also bond the relationship between you and your friend.
Provide toys: provide your cat with some toys that help to keep your cat active while you do not have time to play with them.
However, you should remember that all cats are unique and it takes time to adjust to the new home, so you need to be patient. But it is always the best way to consult your vet if your cat’s stress worsens.
How Long Does It Take Cats to Adapt to a New House?
In general, cats can adjust to the new home for around 1 to 2 weeks, but it is not true for all cats.
Every cat is unique, so the time to adjust to a new home also varies depending on your cat’s individual personality.
According to my experience, my small boy takes about 10 days to adjust to my new home.
On the first few days of living in my new home, my cat had signs of stress such as hiding, changing habits and preferring to stay alone.
During this time, I have created a safe hiding place for him similar to my old home which can help him to hide by feeling comfortable. I also try to play with him every day and offer him some toys.
These behaviors have been improved after one week and he gets better from day to day. After 10 days his behavior was back to normal and I am very happy to see it.
Overall, while all cats are unique to take time to adjust to a new home, it will be best for them if you help them.
The key to helping them is you should make everything the same as you live in your old house.
Therefore, your cat feels like they are staying in the old house and they will adjust to the new home easily.
Finally Thought:
Moving to a new place can be an exciting experience for you, but it can be a stressful one for your cat. There are a few possible steps that you can do before and after moving such as well preparing before moving, limiting noise during the transition, introducing a new home, providing toys, providing a hiding place, and playing with them.
Remember, all cats might have their own reason for getting stressed so they might take time to adapt to a new home.
In general, cats take 1 to 2 weeks to adjust to a new home, but it also might depend on your cat’s individual personality and situation.
It will be better if you help them to adapt to a new home. Your cat might not be lonely and can adjust to a shorter time than normal.
We hope this article will help you and your cats. Thank you for your reading time!
