Barks Blog

by Misty Hampton

Last year, after living in the same house for 13 years, we decided to move across town. I hoped this move would give us a fresh start as well as an opportunity to help our cats get along better. I want to share our story here, so that others who are planning to move can learn from our experiences. (We only moved a short distance, so I will not address long road trips, hotel stays, or air travel in this article.)

Planning – Mapping Out Safe Rooms

We were living in a 1400 ft² one-level, 3-bedroom house with our five cats: Linus, Jasper, Abby, Pearl, and Piper.

All were adopted as kittens – Linus and Jasper first; then, the others, each staggered about a year apart and the current social dynamics among our cats are complex.

The new house is three stories, plus a basement and the square footage is slightly larger. My thought was that the three levels would give us more of an opportunity for territorial separation for the cats while we’re working on helping them improve their relationships.

While the new house has an open floorplan with numerous windows, providing great views for cats, the challenge was that there are very few doors: the main bathroom and walk-in closet area on the third floor; the guest bathroom; and the hobby room and walk-in closet on the second floor.

We wanted the guest bathroom to be accessible to visitors, so we chose to use the primary bedroom suite and the hobby room as the starting areas for the cats after the move.

I was torn on what to do, though. I didn’t want to separate all of them, because Linus, Abby, and Pearl form a weird love triangle. Abby and Linus do better together, and Pearl takes comfort from Abby. I chose to have those three start off in the hobby room where there was enough room for all of them to have their personal space.

Jasper and Piper don’t like the other cats. They tolerate each other, but Jasper would pick on Piper if she got in his personal space. Since they shared the bedroom in our old house though, we planned that Jasper and Piper could start off together, so they could eventually share the upstairs bedroom area. (Looking back, it’s obvious we should not have put them together in the new place. More on that later.)

A little history– When Jasper and Linus reached about a year and a half in age, they started to have conflict. They would stare and yowl at each other before breaking into a fight. After Jasper started spraying throughout the old house (even spraying on FELIWAY® diffusers!), I reached out to cat behavior consultant Katenna Jones. She helped us recognize that Jasper was most likely spraying as a result of territorial anxiety. We set up a divider in our hallway to keep Jasper and Linus separated, we had them take turns in the catio, we made sure to spread out cat resources around the house, and we worked on optimizing our litter box setup. We also consulted with our vet to get Linus and Jasper on prescription antianxiety medication.

Preparation

Medication and Supplement Administration Practice

For the month leading up to the move, I practiced getting the cats to eat empty gel caps from a pile of Churu and freeze-dried treats – what I call a “treat sundae.” I also gave them a behavior supplement, Zylkene®, mixed into the Churu.

Cats in Carriers

We worked on carrier training.

I had seven different carriers for the cats to choose from, so I put all of the carriers in the living room and opened them up to let the cats pick which ones they were most comfortable going into.

Piper, Linus, and Abby would go into the carrier on cue.

Pearl had a scary experience with a carrier when she was a kitten that involved chasing her around the house. (That was before we knew better!) She became very fearful as a result. The carrier she’s most comfortable with is one that looks totally different from the typical plastic carrier. It’s a fabric carrier that opens on the top, the end, and the side. It has a sturdy frame, so it won’t collapse on the cat. During training, Pearl was a little hesitant, retreating from the carrier as soon as she ate the treats I put in it, but I was careful not to close the door behind her, so she wouldn’t feel trapped. I worked on being able to touch her rear end without startling her so I could tuck in her tail, and then closing the door briefly after she turned around.

We weren’t totally there yet, but we were making progress.

Working with Jasper was a different story. It quickly became clear that Jasper was too fearful of the carriers – both the traditional plastic carriers and the fabric ones – to go inside voluntarily.

I didn’t want to force the issue and risk making his fear worse, so I decided to look for a different style of carrier.

I wanted a Sleepypod®, but I felt the $200+ price point was too high for something that may or may not work. The Sleepypod® carrier reminded me of a baby bassinet, so I decided to look for a used bassinet on Facebook Marketplace. Sure enough, I found one like new for just $60. I put a pillow in it and placed it in Jasper’s hideaway area in the bedroom, in place of his platform bed. That same day, I found him taking a nap in it, so I knew that it could work as a carrier. (He still uses it as a bed, now that we’ve moved, so the experience must not have been too stressful for him.)

Breakaway Collars

I wanted to ensure that the cats could be returned to us in the unlikely event that one of them slipped outside and escaped on moving day. I purchased breakaway collars for them and wrote my phone number on the collars with a permanent marker. I also updated the cats’ microchip records with our new address.

Tracking Tags and More Positive Reinforcement Training

I was concerned that the cats might hide somewhere in the new house and get lost. Because cats tend to keep quiet when they’re scared, I wanted to make sure I could find them.

After doing some research, I decided on Tabcat Tracker tags. The remote beeps louder as you get closer, similar to a metal detector. It also detects differences in elevation, unlike a GPS-based tracker that only gives you a circle showing the general area they’re in. (GPS-based trackers aren’t designed to work indoors. On top of that, most GPS-based trackers require a paid subscription.)

I bought Tabcat Trackers for four of the cats because the remote is only designed to handle four. I figured Linus doesn’t really need a tracker, because he rarely hides. He’s very social and comes when called, and he’s not in the habit of door-dashing.

Piper is not in the habit of hiding, but we plan to take her out on the forest trail in our backyard on a harness and leash, so we want a way to locate her in an emergency if she gets away outside.

I trained the cats to get used to the beeping sound that the remote and the tags make. I set the volume low and pushed the button to locate a cat. Then I said “Come find me!” and shook a bag of treats. The cats learned that the beeping sound predicts treats.

Moving Day with Five Cats

We were fortunate in that we had a month and a half to pack, then two weeks to move into the new place. We decided to move our stuff over first and then bring the cats later that night.

The cats got gabapentin the night before and on moving day.

They were closed off from the rest of the house so they wouldn’t be in the way and they couldn’t dart out the front door.

Jasper and Piper were closed in the bedroom – their usual space – and Linus, Abby, and Pearl were in the catio.

I put their carriers with them, so they could use them to hide in, and so it wouldn’t be upsetting to them, seeing me bring in the carriers after everything else that had been going on that day.

Change of Plans and Going with the Flow

When we took a break for lunch, Abby was meowing at the sliding glass door of the catio, asking for attention. We slid open the door just a bit to let her inside, and Pearl darted in past her. She made a beeline for my office and went in there to hide.

I went to check on her and saw that, while she was clearly still scared, she was able to calm down somewhat while hiding behind the bookshelf – one of her regular hiding spots – so I closed the office door and let her stay in there. Luckily, we had already moved all of the boxes out of the office. The desk and the bookshelf would just have to wait.

I called our vet to see if I could give Pearl more gabapentin, and they said to wait 8-12 hours and then I could give all the cats a little bit more.

Later in the day, when it was time to pack up the bedroom, we transferred Jasper and Piper to the hobby room – now empty.

I put their carriers in there and I set up some empty cardboard boxes with towels draped over them, so they had additional places to hide.

I left the lights off in the room and stayed in there with them for a few hours, playing calming classical music from my smartphone. It seemed to help, and they settled down to take a nap. They definitely picked up on my energy though, because each time I sat up, they would get up and wander around for a few minutes, meowing occasionally. So, I did my best to remain calm, and not be consumed with restless anxiety.

Once enough time had passed, I gave the cats a little more gabapentin, as the vet had instructed.

A Long Road to Transport Cats a Short Distance – Trust Comes First

Finally, around 11:00 that night, my husband Jesse was on his way back from the last trip with the moving truck. It was time to get the cats in their carriers.

I decided to start with the most mellow cats, hoping they would not cry and upset the others, making it harder to get them in their carriers. I put treats on lick mats for Abby and Linus. They didn’t eat all the treats, but they went into their carriers readily. Then, I went into the hobby room. Piper went into her carrier right away.

Jasper didn’t go in the bassinet. He was still a little unsteady on his feet. I scooped him up gently and placed him in the bassinet with treats on a lick mat. He ate the treats and didn’t panic when I zipped the bassinet top closed. Together, Jesse and I carried the bassinet the way royal pole-bearers might carry a king or queen. We got the bassinet loaded into the back of my car.

At last, it was Pearl’s turn. I went into the office and knelt on the floor, next to her carrier. I coaxed Pearl out of hiding with some Churu, and then I put treats on a lick mat in her carrier. She went in partway to eat the treats, but she was glancing over her shoulder and her movements were jerky, so I could tell that she was on edge. At that moment, I knew I would only get one shot.

I considered pushing her into the carrier, but I knew that might cause her to panic.

And it would erode the trust I had worked so hard to build.

So, I let her turn away from the carrier.

She went back to the bookshelf. This time, I coaxed her forward and pet her gently while she was eating the Churu. The thought crossed my mind that I could grab her quickly and shove her in the carrier, but I wasn’t confident that I could pull it off, and I knew there was a risk that she would be traumatized. That’s not a risk I was willing to take, considering how long it took us to get her moderately comfortable with the carrier.

I didn’t want to start over, and have her be afraid of the only human she trusts – me.

I coaxed her to move farther forward, until she was almost on my lap. Then, moving slowly and deliberately so as not to startle her, I put my arm under her chest and belly. She didn’t run. So, I used my arm to guide her into the carrier and I zipped it behind her while she ate treats from the lick mat. She didn’t freak out. I was overjoyed!

The drive to the new house was smooth and easy. It took about 20 minutes. I played classical music at a low volume. (Pearl scratched at the carrier briefly and only meowed once.)

Starting Out Together in Our New Home

Once we got the cats inside and in their safe rooms, we hurriedly set up the litter boxes we brought from our old house. Then, we opened their carriers.

As planned, Jasper and Piper started off in the walk-in closet/ bathroom suite on the third floor; and Linus, Abby, and Pearl started off in the hobby room on the second floor.

We hadn’t unpacked yet, but we made sure they had extra beds and hiding places in addition to their carriers.

The cats were a little unsteady on their feet, due to the gabapentin, and they looked – understandably – a bit overwhelmed, but all of them were eager to eat a late-night snack.

The first night…

We spent the first night in our new home sleeping in the rooms with the cats to help them feel more at ease. Since it was super late, we just threw down a few blankets and pillows and called it good.

The next day…

Before we could let the cats roam around the house, we wanted to make sure it was cat-safe.

Jesse put carpeting on the second-floor ledge, so cats could jump up there and have traction, not just slip off the other side. He also built a wide shelf below the ledge for cats to land on and lounge on. The shelf has a lip on the outside, so cats won’t roll off the shelf if they sprawl out as they’re sleeping. There’s carpeting on that shelf and on the railway that goes across to the window.

We also closed the blinds on the upper window to discourage cats from jumping up there. And, Jesse added carpeting to the ledge on the third- floor stairway. Just in case a cat did get up that high, he wanted to make sure they would have grip, not fall over the edge.

Safe Exploration

As soon as we finished making the house cat-safe, Piper was ready to explore. At first, she was a little hesitant to go up and down the stairs, which makes sense, considering she had never encountered stairs before. But she caught on quickly, and began following Jesse everywhere, just like she did at our old house.

We let Jasper out into the main bedroom. We put a baby gate on the landing at the top of the stairs to keep the other cats out of his safe space.

Linus started exploring shortly thereafter. He checked out the third floor first. Then, he came down to the first floor and quickly decided that was his territory.

His high-tailed posture made it evident that he felt confident.

A few days later…

Abby followed Linus and started exploring the house. But, when she came downstairs, she got overwhelmed and started meowing until Jesse brought her back upstairs. We continued to bring the cats back to the hobby room and close the door at night.

It took a few more days before Abby got brave enough to come downstairs again.

About a week in…

Late at night, a cat pushed the door to the hobby room open. (Apparently, I hadn’t closed it fully, so it didn’t latch.) I came downstairs from the bedroom to investigate the sound, and Pearl came out of the room to explore. She made it all the way down to the basement, the whole time walking close to me, with her tail at mid- to high-level.

She went back into the hobby room that night but, the next day, she was ready to roam around the house freely, so we left the door open.

Implementing Territorial Separation – A Story of Trial and Error

Once again, Jasper was another story. The first few times Jasper came downstairs to explore, he came face-to-face with Linus and Abby on the second floor, and he didn’t have much of a reaction. That was a huge improvement over how things were at the old house, where he would hiss upon seeing them.

But, when Jasper got down to the first floor and the basement, he became overwhelmed.

I could tell from his crouched posture and low tail.

When he encountered Linus on the first floor, they started staring at each other, hissing and yowling, so I had to lead Jasper back upstairs.

We tried bringing Jasper downstairs with the harness and leash – which he is somewhat used to – but he meowed in protest and went right back to the bedroom as soon as he got the chance. He proceeded to try to attack the harness as soon as I got it off him.

I got the message: Jasper feels safest when he can stay on the third floor.

A baby gate on the third level was enough to deter Linus from entering Jasper’s bedroom space, but it didn’t take long for Piper, Abby, and Pearl to figure out that they could get into the bedroom by jumping and climbing over the gate. So, we added a second gate on top of it. That confined Jasper in the bedroom and also made it less convenient for Jesse and I to come and go. Plus, Piper and Abby were determined. They both learned that, with some effort, they could climb over the gates.

A few times when Piper was in the bedroom with Jasper, he chased her and attacked her. It definitely wasn’t playful! There was vocalizing and fur was flying. That’s when we decided to get a tall (71-inch) pet gate.

Reintroduction Exercises, Buffer Zones, Training Games

Since then, we have done some reintroduction exercises using an extra baby gate, with a blanket draped over it, to create a neutral buffer zone with a visual barrier, to prevent Jasper from coming face-to-face with another cat.

Jasper engages in the reintroduction games but, when we take the extra gate down, his interactions with Piper and Abby consist of staring and swatting at each other, and he often chooses to walk away. We have tried doing supervised training and “play date” visits with Jasper and Pearl, where I toss treats in different directions and otherwise let Pearl explore the space. 

It seems clear that Jasper would prefer to be an only cat. However, since we’ve had the cats for years, we’re very attached to them and they are bonded to us. We can make adjustments to improve their well-being, so we aren’t considering rehoming any of them.

We’ve decided that the next best thing, for now, is to just let Jasper share the main bedroom space with us, but no other cats there. He is now also on a different antianxiety medication.

Results and Discussion

I will continue to look for ways to provide new enrichment opportunities and improve the cats’ relationships so they can have the best well-being.

We do our best to spread out resources to eliminate the need for competition and to avoid creating “ambush zones.”

We feed four meals a day, plus puzzle feeders overnight, to avoid “hangry” interactions.

The cats still have occasional conflict though. Anytime Jasper sees Linus, there is hissing and yowling. And, Linus will approach Pearl and not get the message when she hisses at him, telling him to back off. (His social skills and communication are a work in progress!)

But, on the positive side, Abby and Pearl sometimes take turns playfully chasing each other (with no vocalizations), which they hadn’t done much in our old house. Pearl has become much more confident here. She will even approach visitors to solicit treats and petting. I often ask visitors to toss treats away from them, to give Pearl plenty of space.

We carefully observe her body language, so we aren’t luring her into a situation where she’s uncomfortable.

Update: We’re going to be moving again in a couple of months – this time, nine hours away – so we’ll have an opportunity to give the cats another fresh start. This time, Jasper and Pearl will start off together. Interestingly, with Pearl, there have been no negative encounters, only polite sniffing with tails held high. I’m considering using a dual scan microchip cat flap/cat door so Pearl can come and go from Jasper’s room freely. That would make it so she can escape Linus when he’s approaching her and won’t back off. I don’t want her feeling that stressed all the time! 

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About the Author

Misty Hampton (CCBC, FFCP) is a cat trainer and behavior consultant and owner of Fellow Creatures Pet Consulting   . She started teaching at age 12. For 13 years, she was an instructor for a home-schooling community. Since 2001, she has been a math and science tutor. Now, she is a life coach for teens and young adults as well. She also runs a birding club for Lake Oswego Parks & Recreation.

Her passion is helping people better understand misunderstood animals. She shares her life with her husband Jesse and their five cats: Linus, Jasper, Abigail, Pearl, and Piper.

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Learn More

Moving to a New Home with Cats with Misty Hampton

CEUs: PPAB 1, PMCT 1, IAABC 1

August 6, 2026    

1:30 pm – 2:30 pm (ET)

Learning Objectives:

• Take a creative, individualized approach to medication and carrier training
• Ensure your cat can be found if they accidentally escape – including a TabCat tracker demo
• Plan the moving day with a focus on cat safety
• Reduce stress for the cat on moving day
• Choose the best starting area for your cat in the new home
• Set up the new home with a focus on cat safety
• Help the cat build confidence in exploring the new home