Moving house woes

[felosc]

Hi,
I have recently moved house with my 2 cats. At the old house they were outdoors all the time, with cat flaps to give them freedom. When I moved to the new house I was wary of letting them out until they got familiar with the new house. I started letting them out for brief periods with me and then bringing them back in again. It all seemed to be working great. Then, one of my cats disappeared, and we found out he had returned to the old house.

I brought him back to the new house and kept him in for a while, and then tried again. He seemed to be settling in a lot better. Then, he did it again. This time though, I have been unable to catch him to bring him back to the new house, although I have no doubt that I will.

Does anyone have any advice on how I should deal with the situation from here. I do not want him wandering off back to the old house again, but being an outdoor cat, keeping him in would be cruel.

Please help!

[CatNap]

My opinion is that is it cruel to let them outside. They are likely to get into all kinds of trouble outside. If you bring him in, it will take a little time, but he will get used to it, without a doubt. I found all 5 of my cats outside and they all adjusted just fine to being indoor only cats. I don't think there is much you can do to keep him from going where he wants as long as he's outside. Good luck!

[Traci]

It is *not* cruel to keep them indoors....quite the opposite, as you've clearly seen. One day, you may not find him at all, not to mention the outdoor hazards are just to great. Search the forum for similar posts.

An indoor cat is a safe, happy, healthy and alive cat.