cat health after arriving and cat food

Can you cat people tell me how yours dealt with the move both physically and emotionally? I am very worried for my dear one, so concerned he will be harmed from it all and develop a serious health problem and/or go totally off in his mind.

If he stays in a cattery until we get a place and it is near us, do you think it would help or hinder to visit him? He may expect us to rescue him.


Also, I know Hills Science food is available there but is it hard to find?

Thanks!

My cat was a bit off his normal routine (as far as food/water/bathroom), but he did do all of the above as soon as he got here. After about a week he was fully back to normal. He's pretty laid-back, but hates his carrier, so 12 hours in it was his nightmare scenario. I'm pretty pleased with how well he settled in.

I would go visit your kitty - even if you leave him there, at least he'll see you and get attention from people he knows.

I've seen Science Diet in every vet's office I've been in. I think it's prescription-only (if you get it outside a vet's office), but I'm not sure. At any rate, at least in London, it seems to be prevalent.

I don't know about the food, since I am a dog person, not a cat person.

However, IMHO, I would visit him. Animals thrive on routine, and if you made regular visits, he would look forward to them and know you are still part of his life while he waits it out.

When I had my dogs, I would say, "See you later, Sweetie" every time I left them, whether it was for 30 minutes or when we took a week-long trip and couldn't take her.  That way, she always knew that "See you later" meant I *would* be back for her.  At least, I convinced myself that she knew. 

You can get Hill's food pretty easily here, most pet stores will stock Science Plan or Vet Essentials (a new Hill's line) - it may be a little harder to find the "Prescription" diets (the ones that have two letters - for example, id, wd, cd, rd etc.) but most vets will carry them in-house and you can find them online.

Every kitty is different, but for what it's worth three out of four of my kitties responded really well to the move - really, no change in their personality/behavior or health. Only one of my cats has deteriorated slightly, but he has chronic GI issues and I don't know that his GI health wouldn't have deteriorated ANYWAY even if we had stayed in the same place. And apart from his GI health - he is behaviorally exactly the same as before, and generally a very happy kitty.

Oh thanks so much from all of you. It makes me feel much better! I will see if pet relocators can get a cattery near us so we can visit. I know we would love to see him but wasn't sure if he would wonder why we didn't fix the problem! (: I do believe that although sometimes we place our psychology on our pets, there is this profound understanding between us and animals if we care and are tuned to their needs. I mean, even horses can love baby talk and look how they can notice our illnesses.

My kitty has had a GI problem all of his life so it might flare. I thought if we kept him confined to one room with his things and we spend lots of time in there with him it would not be so overwhelming to him at first.

We get all Hills foods at our vet as they are just two three doors away but I feel that we will be able to fetch it easily once we know where we are and who we are! (: The prescription formulas are always from the vet here.

Our 2 cats were both 12 at the time of the move and they did very well. We were really, really worried -- one has advanced liver disease and a heart murmur and she was a champ!  She was a little off for a few days, just hid more than usual, and was somewhat jumpier than usual, but our other cat was just fine and was back to normal the time his paws hit the floor of the new apartment. 

Also -- as folks mentioned the Hills stuff is readily available.  We order our Hills Prescription stuff online for the most part -- we don't drive and it's nice to have heavy cans and bags delivered to the door and not have to lug, even though the vet is only a few blocks away.  It's handy, since as you know, you can only get the Prescription stuff with an actual prescription or at the vet in the US and that's not the case here.    

Our 2 cats were both 12 at the time of the move and they did very well. We were really, really worried -- one has advanced liver disease and a heart murmur and she was a champ!  She was a little off for a few days, just hid more than usual, and was somewhat jumpier than usual, but our other cat was just fine and was back to normal the time his paws hit the floor of the new apartment. 

Also -- as folks mentioned the Hills stuff is readily available.  We order our Hills Prescription stuff online for the most part -- we don't drive and it's nice to have heavy cans and bags delivered to the door and not have to lug, even though the vet is only a few blocks away.  It's handy, since as you know, you can only get the Prescription stuff with an actual prescription or at the vet in the US and that's not the case here.    

Oh this is great! I'm so glad your cats did well. Mine is 13 and vey high strung but this all gives me hope.

Good news about Hills as we don't drive either.

Thanks. (:

Hill's Science Diet and Hill's Prescription Diet are two different products. The Prescription Diet foods are more expensive and are generally (but not always) only available at a vet's office - but you don't need a 'prescription' to buy it.

Our 2 kitties just arrived here Friday morning (3 days ago). After arriving at the airport in Manchester, they then had to travel in the car for 3  1/2 hours to get to Scotland. At first, they didn't seem to be that interested in their food, and just drank some water. We didn't find any evidence in their crates that they messed themselves, which surprised me. They are just now really getting back into a routine. They didn't use the litterbox at first, but I think they are now both normal. Tbh, I was really surprised how easily they seem to have come through the whole trip. I expected them to be more scared and hiding under the bed for a week, but they are almost normal already. The only thing abnormal behavior-wise is the occasional howl they both let out (they are Siamese so usually vocal anyways).

I don't know how ours would have reacted if they went from a crate to a cattery. When we've boarded our cats before, they've just been in a kitty 'condo' (a multi-story kennel) with a view to the outside. I don't know if a cattery here is different than that. Would a cattery just be a large kennel or a larger space (akin to a room)? I know ours would not have liked a kennel, based on past experience boarding them, for a long period of time.

Food wise, we've always use Royal Canine Siamese formula, so we were pretty happy to know we could continue the same food.

Good luck in whatever you do!