For me, the most stressful part of my move was how I was going to move the two cats. While I knew that the boxes would all make it to the house, and I trusted the movers to take care of the furniture, but the cats were a different story. Some cats do fine going from place to place, others have a tougher time. I was a bit worried with how mine would function (plus one is a bit dumb and tended to get lost in the 2 bedroom apartment – how ever would he deal with the house?).
I decided that while the movers were at the house, I would lock the cats in the bathroom. Once the furniture was done, I let the cats out, and they were decidedly freaked about the lack of furniture in the apartment. I then went over the house to supervise the movers, and returned a few hours later to bring the cats over. I decided to start them out in my bedroom, knowing how much they love sleeping on the bed. As expected, both immediately hid inside the box spring. No surprise there.
Within a few hours, they started to creep out, so rather than keep them confined, I let them roam. The opinions on that differ. Some people say to keep the cats locked up for a day or so to give them time to acclimate. I decided not to. My cats hate being locked up, and I figured giving them the chance to leave if they wanted would be the better option. I was right.
By the end of the day, they were both wandering around the house, checking out their new home. They were both a little skittish for almost the first two weeks, and weird things still startle them, but for the most part, they seem acclimated. They love having stairs to race up and down, and they definitely enjoy watching the birds and squirrels right outside the kitchen window. And it’s fun to watch them watching the outside.
All in all, the stressful part of the move didn’t go too badly. I’m glad they acclimated so quickly.
It is amazing how different pets act during a move. My dog did her business in the middle of the house on the first day we were here, but was fine otherwise. My friends cats, on the other hand, hid in their little crates for two days when he moved. From what I’ve seen is that dogs seem to handle moves a little better than cats do. I may be wrong, but that is just my personal experience.