How long should you keep a cat inside when you move house? I think he’ll be ok after a few days but the missus thinks three weeks! Any advice gratefully received.

How long should you keep a cat inside when you move house?

Is it planning to shit in my garden?

lived on a boat and never kept the cat inside when we moved…did the same when I moved house …you will only loose a stupid cat

make sure it is a bit hungry when it does go out so you can call it back

PS do what your wife says unless you want the blame

PPS you can write shit and piss FWIW

Ask the cat, FFS.

It depends on the animal ! One of ours was determined to go back to the old house & managed this 3 times in as many months. The old place was only 10 minutes away but he managed to navigate his way back & would wait on the doorstep to get in 😀 The others have settled within a month & as long as they know where the cat tray & food are they’ve been fine.

Good luck 8)

D.

We’ve always worked on the principle of 2 weeks, and haven’t lost a cat yet. That said, a cat would have to be rather stupid to walk away from the feline paradise that they find themselves in at my folk’s place.

Oh I’m not alone!

I’ve been told and am working on the basis of two weeks. I’m 9 days in, and am already chucking up at the slightest hint of the smell of cat sh*t, and ready to murder the little bastid to death at 4 am as he scratches on the carpet and (when I get out of bed to stop him) runs away, like its funny at 4 in the morning.

Roll on next weekend, he’ll be exploring the new garden whether he likes it or not.

It’s not just stupid cats who get lost. Cats are deeply territorial and once their territory has been established they will know every inch of it. A cat in a strange territory will be extremely nervous and can get freaked out by the sudden appearance of an unknown cat/dog/human causing to take off and travel much further than it might otherwise. It might then struggle to know the way back or be too nervous to attempt it, fearing that the thing which spooked him would still be lurking/threatening.

Cats rarely get lost but it can happen. Although only really in strange territory. I would let it get fully used to the new house before letting out, and yes, a few days doesn’t seem enough, there’s no point taking risks imo. When you let it out reduce the possibility that it will wander too far (you only want it to sniff around the garden at first) by making sure that you let it out hungry, early in the day (gives you more time to look for him if he wanders, and cats feel much braver at night – increasing the chance they will wander) and preferably when there’s poor weather.

IMO

When we got new cats for a rescue place , we got told that it should be about 4 weeks.

This was day 10 …. Daisy trying to escape ….

2-3 weeks.

As long as possible, my cat got lost after letting them out too early, though she was found and returned safetly (she doesn’t leave the property boundary now).
Apparently a good technic is to not feed them before allowing them out, that way they should wander too far, before returning for food.