Runaway Cat!

[natalie_1982]

Nine weeks ago me and hubby moved into our first home and brought our 4year old cat with us. We live approx. 5-10minute walk from where we lived previously so kept him in for two weeks before letting him out. Sadly this hasn't stopped him from running back to our old address, and nine weeks on he is still running back there every few days. I am at my wits end!

To make matters worse, he ran back again last night and when we went to pick him up this morning I found he has two puncture wounds (not deep and not needing vetinary care but I will keep an eye on them) on his back leg where he has been obviously caught by quite a big dog on his travels!

Please, does anyone have any suggestions as to stop him making the journey back to our old address? Thanks.

[jane1098]

you could keep him in for a few days. you'll need a litter tray though. i've also heard about putting butter on their paws but it might be an old wives tale. make sure the people who live in your old house aren't feeding him too.

[ricky1000]

I don't think 2 weeks was long enough to keep him in. I had the exact same problem about 10 yrs ago when I moved 2 streets away from my old house. Poor kitty was so confused and kept going back to the old house (which involved crossing a main road to get there!!)

i was so worried about the main rd I ended up keeping her in with a litter tray for about 3 to 4 months - this may have been overkill, but it worked!

[natalie_1982]

Thanks Jane - the people at the old house haven't been feeding him and we kept him in for two weeks when we first moved. I will try and keep him in for a wile longer again though! If I get desperate I will try the butter trick too ;-)

[weeal]

Buttering their paws is the most commonly tried remedy Ive heard of.
Here's a site Ive found with lots of suggestions on it...

http://www.ehow.com/tips_7153.html

Good luck!

[natalie_1982]

Thanks all - I will just have to keep trying to keep him in I think. The trouble is he is VERY noisy and weighs 18lb (he is part Maine ****, not overweight) so really needs to be outside for exercise and he's not really into toys so doesn't get a lot of exercise that way.

The things we do for out animals!! The little b*gger.

[theonlyone]

When we moved house we kept the Moggie in for 4 weeks
so I think you will have to lock him in until he has lost the
trail to the old home.Good Luck !! Cats are >>> what can you say different .

[Sasha13]

This must be really worrying for you and I'm sure the cat is just confused - I've let my cats out 2 days after moving house before (although not intentionally) and they came back no problem - how long do you leave it before you go and get him? If the people at your old house definitely aren't feeding him, he'll work it out in the end and come back, surely!

I don't know what the roads are like around where you live, but if he's relatively safe making this trip then next time he does it, I'd be tempted to leave it until his tea time and see if he comes back of his own accord.

Hope it works out ok.

[natalie_1982]

The roads are busy Sasha, but he doesn't tend to wander unless it is dark when the roads are quieter. That's a really good idea though, I think I will try that - thanks :-)

[Katy May]

I've read somewhere (and it may have been on this site) that putting butter on cats paws is not a good idea as they find their way home by the scent they leave from their paws, and the butter destroys this scent. Equally, a lot of people swear by it.

We've just moved and like you are only about 10-20 mins from the old house. We let our 4 cats out after 7 days, but starved them for 24 hrs before and let them out 30 mins before feeding time. We stayed in the garden with them and then called them back in. We did this for another week before going back to the 'normal' routine of kicking them out in the morning. We also used Feliway - cat pheremones (sp?) in spray form, allegedly makes cats feel happy and secure in their new place. I was sceptical but it does seem to work.

Finally, I got advice from the vet before we moed and he said that if any of the cats went back to the old house then we would need to keep them in for at least 2 months!

Good luck.

[meltoadhall]

when we moved we kept ours in for 6 weeks and when we left them out it was fine, lot of kitty litter tho

[quizlady43]

Hi Natalie, sorry I dont have an answer to your problem, but hope its not the same as mine-- my cat has run away 25 times since we moved in January this year-- I too lived five minutes walk away, and he goes back to his old haunts--he is so distressed each time I try to find him, that I have tu wait until he is starving before he will come anywhere near me, then I try to lure him with chicken-- after 9 months, its getting really distressing..
thankfully he doesnt have the injuries that your cat has, which would be a nightmare.
Nobody seems to know what to do-- I darent re-home him(if I could catch him) as he might run from thereto an unknown destination.
Im terribly afraid he will starve to death rather than come home--
I hope your problem will ease soon- he may just get used to his new home-- if you find any answer, I would be very grateful to know of it,
thank you,
Chris