# Moving house with an outdoor cat



## Linz27 (Dec 1, 2014)

Hi 

I know that no one will be able to answer this question as you cannot control a cat's behaviour but I'm hoping for some advice/people who have been in similar situations. Basically, I have 2 indoor cats and 1 outdoor, I currently live in a quietish road but am looking to move. I have found my dream home which is actually in a quiet village but the house itself is right on a cross roads (literally right on it, no pavement etc) now the roads are quiet as it is out in the country but due to being empty roads, when a car does come down, it comes down with a fair amount of speed! 
A lot of friends/family are telling me he will likely stay out the back where there is a huge field but I am not so sure as he goes out the front now much more than the back and as much as I love the new house, I wouldn't want to put him at risk. My dilemma is that most houses will be near a road of some sort anyway so I will never find a perfect one and I thought with this being on a quiet road would be better but on reflection could be worse where the traffic is less regular but much quicker, I also have the concern that if the 2 ragdolls (indoor) escape, they will be straight on to the road as there's nowhere else to go from the front door!

Has anyone had any experiences with moving and any advice as I would love to get the house and hope he would stay out the back!

Thanks so much


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## kittih (Jan 19, 2014)

It depends on the resources your cat seeks out when outside and whether any of those resources are present on the other side of the road. 

I live in a quiet cul-de-sac with woods and fields behind the house. After tracking my cats movements with a GPS tracker it was clear that her preferred resources were long grass and undergrowth. She didn't use the woods except as an access route to the undergrowth at the wood edges and had no interest in the crop fields. This made sense as her preferred prey inhabited long grassy areas and undergrowth. The fields with crops or pasture were devoid of prey. She also had some areas were she rested that were sheltered.

A kitty that my parents owned valued the food that neighbours were feeding as a resource and therefore was prepared to cross a road with tragic consequences to access it.

If you do purchase the property then I would ensure that he isn't out at night as he is more likely to be hit by a car as drivers are unlikely to see him.


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## Linz27 (Dec 1, 2014)

kittih said:


> It depends on the resources your cat seeks out when outside and whether any of those resources are present on the other side of the road.
> 
> I live in a quiet cul-de-sac with woods and fields behind the house. After tracking my cats movements with a GPS tracker it was clear that her preferred resources were long grass and undergrowth. She didn't use the woods except as an access route to the undergrowth at the wood edges and had no interest in the crop fields. This made sense as her preferred prey inhabited long grassy areas and undergrowth. The fields with crops or pasture were devoid of prey. She also had some areas were she rested that were sheltered.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the useful information, it's so tricky to know what to do as people keep telling me I can't live my life for a cat but I do and it would kill me if anything happened to him, but I think I will be paranoid wherever I move to unless I'm down a long off road path which isn't going to happen! He loves the front now, he pops in to all the neighbours drives and always walking down the pavement so I'm very concerned.....if only I could tell him huh!


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## kittih (Jan 19, 2014)

Some people on here have put cat proof fencing around their gardens to allow their kitties to be outside but kept safe in the garden. This may be something to explore if the house you want is in an unsafe area for cats. 

I am sure they will be able to provide advice and ideas if that is a route you want to explore.


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

@Linz27 - I think the only way I could move with my cats to a location such as you describe would be to do as kittih commented and fence in my garden completely with high sloping cat proof fencing. Nothing else is going to be safe in those circumstances, other than keeping all the cats indoors all the time and making sure they never get out.

What you describe - a straight country road, no pavement, at a crossroads, very little traffic, but occasional vehicles passing which are travelling fast is a terrible scenario where cats are concerned.. The cats are lulled into a false sense of security simply because it is quiet most of the time and they learn to treat the road as though it's safe to wander about, sit on it, snooze on it etc. They hear a vehicle coming from a way off, but are not bothered as there is so little traffic on the road they assume the vehicle is going elsewhere. Then a car suddenly appears, the cat senses danger, panics and wants to get back to the side of the road so at the last minute dashes across the road, and unable to assess the speed of the oncoming vehicle goes right under the wheels. 

There may be the most wonderful enticing fields full of wildlife out the back of the house but you absolutely cannot guarantee your cat will always keep to the back of the house, and won't at some stage decide to go and explore the front and cross the road. 

Yes, I agree you cannot live your life for your cats, but at the same time having taken cats on, one does have a moral duty to do everything within one's power to protect them from traffic etc.

If you feel it would break your heart if he got killed or badly injured on the road, then I'd say don't take the risk of him being harmed.


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## Linz27 (Dec 1, 2014)

kittih said:


> Some people on here have put cat proof fencing around their gardens to allow their kitties to be outside but kept safe in the garden. This may be something to explore if the house you want is in an unsafe area for cats.
> 
> I am sure they will be able to provide advice and ideas if that is a route you want to explore.





chillminx said:


> @Linz27 - I think the only way I could move with my cats to a location such as you describe would be to do as kittih commented and fence in my garden completely with high sloping cat proof fencing. Nothing else is going to be safe in those circumstances, other than keeping all the cats indoors all the time and making sure they never get out.
> 
> What you describe - a straight country road, no pavement, at a crossroads, very little traffic, but occasional vehicles passing which are travelling fast is a terrible scenario where cats are concerned.. The cats are lulled into a false sense of security simply because it is quiet most of the time and they learn to treat the road as though it's safe to wander about, sit on it, snooze on it etc. They hear a vehicle coming from a way off, but are not bothered as there is so little traffic on the road they assume the vehicle is going elsewhere. Then a car suddenly appears, the cat senses danger, panics and wants to get back to the side of the road so at the last minute dashes across the road, and unable to assess the speed of the oncoming vehicle goes right under the wheels.
> 
> ...


Thanks, good advice, I just think I will worry wherever we move to as it will be new for him and most places I am looking at are on those country roads! The garden isn't really set up for a fence as it is really open planned - it's a barn next to a farm, very hard to describe but where it is also on the road, it would look like a prison all fenced in!! I unfortunately do live my life for my cats, I started working from home so they always have me around (so I get zero work done with needy ragdolls!!) 
What sort of roads would you say are the 'safer' options in your opinion?


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## LoopyL (Jun 16, 2015)

Could you fence an area outside a downstairs back window with trellis & netting around & overhead? 
All roads are dangerous but quiet fast roads are often the worst for cats

My old house was in the middle of town so roads constantly busy but slow moving traffic, however there was an island of gardens at the back so my old cats stayed safe as they avoided the noisy road. This house is up a 1/3 mile bumpy farm track surrounded by fields & woods off a quiet partially single track lane (Wicca still found it but thankfully avoided any cars) so as cat safe as I could find. Sadly my cats have gone (old age) but one day I'll have another.

If you can't find something off the beaten track a cottage in the middle of a rural village might be safest rather than on the edge as people tend to speed
up when leaving villages


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

Linz, as you know no road is going to be 100% safe for your cat, but in terms of what would be safer, I would look for a house that's similar in location to your current home. i.e. what type of traffic levels he is used to now.

Generally roads with slow-moving, fairly frequent traffic are safer than quiet roads with occasional fast moving vehicles. When I say "slow-moving" I mean specifically less than 30 mph, more like 20 mph, as it gives drivers time to see a cat, and brake. As LoopyL says, living in the middle of a rural village might be safer than living on the edge of one.


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## Linz27 (Dec 1, 2014)

LoopyL said:


> Could you fence an area outside a downstairs back window with trellis & netting around & overhead?
> All roads are dangerous but quiet fast roads are often the worst for cats
> 
> My old house was in the middle of town so roads constantly busy but slow moving traffic, however there was an island of gardens at the back so my old cats stayed safe as they avoided the noisy road. This house is up a 1/3 mile bumpy farm track surrounded by fields & woods off a quiet partially single track lane (Wicca still found it but thankfully avoided any cars) so as cat safe as I could find. Sadly my cats have gone (old age) but one day I'll have another.
> ...


Thanks for the advice, sounds sensible. I may just get a huge outdoor pen and hope that he thinks that is normal for moving to the new house!! I am so particular with houses, I have been looking for over 12 months so no rush to move so can definitely wait until something as safe as possible shows up. Thanks again


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## Linz27 (Dec 1, 2014)

chillminx said:


> Linz, as you know no road is going to be 100% safe for your cat, but in terms of what would be safer, I would look for a house that's similar in location to your current home. i.e. what type of traffic levels he is used to now.
> 
> Generally roads with slow-moving, fairly frequent traffic are safer than quiet roads with occasional fast moving vehicles. When I say "slow-moving" I mean specifically less than 30 mph, more like 20 mph, as it gives drivers time to see a cat, and brake. As LoopyL says, living in the middle of a rural village might be safer than living on the edge of one.


Yes, that's good, to be fair, the road I am on is probably not too dissimilar (slightly busier but not an awful lot) to the potential new property but the difference is we have a drive/pavement separating us from the road so at least 10 or more metres but the new house is on the road literally so where he sits now in the drive would be the road!! Thanks for your help though, all very much noted


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## LoopyL (Jun 16, 2015)

You'll need to keep him in new house/pen for several weeks anyway so hopefully he'll get used to not wandering & become an indoor cat
Finding cat safe houses is tricky but hope you find something suitable soon


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