Dear Pammy, How can I lower my cat’s stress from moving?

A reader writes:

We’ve moved to a new house, and my other cats handled the move okay. But one cat is having issues. I’m paying special attention to him, but he still acts stressed out. What else can I do for him?

Dear Readers,

Cats are territorial creatures, and removing them from their territory is always a difficult task. Some cats cope better than others, quickly establishing new routines and enjoying the exploration of their new territory. Some cats have a tougher time. They are the ones who derive security from predictability and routine, and not having either can take its toll.

We can, as my writer did, try soothing sprays like Feliway and do our best to set up their new dishes and litter as soon as we can. But there’s another option we can try. We can sympathize with their distress, share our own, and ask for their help.

Part of what makes cats happy in their homes is meshing with their territory, but also with their people. Talking to them, explaining to them, and asking them to do things we know will make them happy lets us make up for the lost home until they can have a total “safety net” built for them again.

By sympathizing, we let them know that we are having troubles, too. We can follow them into the kitchen and let them know that, yes, this kitchen is different, but look, there’s still food out. This is a new room for the litter box, but the litter box is the same. Go on to explain that your clothes are in a different closet and the couch is sitting in a new place. Yes, it’s tough when everything is new!

Shared troubles are always lighter. This is true for cats, too. There’s another psychological ploy we can use, which is that helping others lets us handle our own burdens better. So enlist the cat’s help in some task. It could be siting the food dishes just so, even if it’s an inch away from where they were. Follow them around and ask them where their new sleeping and hang out places should be.

Cats who eagerly establish themselves in new places are not dependent on our lead. But the stressed cat probably is. They want and need our involvement in settling into their new home, from knowing the new places to avoid to knowing the new places where they are welcome. When they first arrived in their old home, we took them on the “orientation tour,” teaching them what we expect and what makes us happy. They need us to start over and give them the tour for their new house.

For such cats, general concepts like “eat from the bowl, wherever it might be” is asking for too much independent thought when they are coping with so much insecurity. They love us and worry about making us unhappy, so they can be too cautious about jumping into a routine without us putting our seal of approval on it.

Our help in establishing a new schedule, and also reassuring them that is what we want them to do, will help the stressed cat relax and start to enjoy their new home.



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