I don’t know how for a person, but for a cat, moving is a serious stress and test for the psyche. Home for us is a space of comfort and safety. We get used to the house, everything is familiar to us and everything suits us. And then, one fine day, our man is overcome by migratory itch. He grabs his belongings, family and our balanced life in an armful and rushes to a new nest! Without even asking – maybe the old one suited me just fine!
Unfortunately, having got ourselves a person, we are forced to indulge his stupid and selfish whims. Someone must be smarter…

But a properly educated person will do everything in such a way as to minimize cat inconvenience during the move.
First of all, he will guess his move before the weekend, and even better – take a vacation. So, to be able to stay at home for the first few days and not leave your cat alone. The mental organization of felines is very delicate and requires careful handling. At first, it is important for us to see our man. Who, when we need it, will be able to support, calm, feed. With whom, in the end, you can talk, no matter how ridiculous it may sound.
It is highly desirable that a piece of the old one also move into the new house. I’m not talking about human furniture and belongings, but about really important things – a tray, a couch, bowls, a scratching post.

It is better for the cat to move into a new space while in a carrier. Firstly, carrying, with all its humiliating status and small volume, whatever one may say, is a piece of the old house. You could say it’s a mobile home. Cats are consistent and cautious creatures, so we develop new territories gradually, step by step expanding the circle of already familiar, safe and “accepted” possessions. And for these purposes, it is very desirable to have a starting point, which can perfectly become a “native” carrier.

And in order not to “bomb” the cat with a large amount of new information, an understanding person on the first day isolates his friend in a small space (for example, in one room), ensuring, of course, the presence of a tray, bowls of food and water, a stove bench, familiar toys and others. habitual and necessary devices for a cat. And, as the cat adapts to new realities, it will gradually expand its horizons.

According to the stories of neighbors, I know cases when people, obeying sadistic instincts, which for some reason they call tradition, really push the unfortunate cat in front of them into an unknown and dangerous space. Apparently, counting on the fact that, if there was any threat, the cat would be the first to take it upon himself. Pretty cowardly and cruel, you know! Is it any wonder that under such an avalanche of impressions, the healthy psyche of a cat often hides under the sofa for several days and the unfortunate animal, forgetting about sleep, food and toilet, is forced to put it in order there. Not always successful, by the way …

By the way, about the toilet. We cats are used to honoring established traditions and new for us does not mean better. And the old, tried-and-tested tray is much more valuable to us than the newest, most beautiful and comfortable one. Inexperienced people often decide that since they move into a new house, where everything – the walls, furniture and the air itself – is new, the cat must also be completely renewed! They buy new beds, bowls, trays… Without even realizing that for a cat, a tray is not a place that looks like a tray, but that smells like a tray. Smell is paramount. And, in the absence of a 100% match, the cat will start looking for something similar and familiar. And here are the options!

… Somehow, when I was still young, and my man was not burdened with a family and voluminous belongings, we moved to a new home. And so it was, as I said above – the man shoved me first, then he entered himself, left his modest belongings and fled! After some time, thoughts began to visit me that it would be nice … how to put it more delicately … let some of the new impressions out of me. I went to look for a tray – in vain. But I know that you can only go to the toilet in familiar places! And what could I do if the only familiar and suitable place was the T-shirt that my dunce threw on the sofa? He then became hysterical for several hours, and we didn’t talk for three days … It turns out that he put me a new tray, with a new filler. I thought I’d be happy and appreciate it. I say that the dunce …
To avoid such unpleasant situations, it is better to bring an old tray with you. And if you definitely want an update, put a new one next to it and wait for the cat to get used to it. You can even pour a little used filler from the old one into the new tray. And soon, when the cat gets used to the new tray, the old one can be removed. After all, nothing complicated, right?

By the way, it is important to remember that the older the cat, the longer the period of adaptation to new conditions can last.