Cats in the Home

Apartment Therapy

Although we don't have a dog in our lives at the moment we really do love all pets and want to include cat lovers and dog lovers alike in this post.  That being said, cat owners will understand:  sometime being a crazy cat person is just unavoidable.  As admitted crazy cat people, we wanted to share a little about how our cats are adjusting to the new house.  Cat lovers never seem to fear including their cats in photos of their homes, so we thought we'd share a few of our favorite shots of cats in while we're on the subject.

Design Sponge

Our first kitty is Orchid.  Orchid is our black short hair who we got from the Oregon Humane Society just a few months after we moved to Portland.  She was just over a year old when we got her and she was so tiny and adorable!

Our second cat is Mia, our white and gray longhair.  We adopted her from a friend who sadly had to find new homes for her cats due to health problems from allergies.  We were glad to take her and keep her close to her original owner.  Mia was seven when she moved in with us and over the last two years she has become a part of the family.

Orchid and Mia have become very good friends and we were glad that we were able to move them together.  Orchid showed some signs of sadness for a few day after the move, but she was eating, drinking, using the litter box and responding normally to us so we knew that she would be okay.  Here are some good tips for moving pets:

Introduce pets to their new environment slowly.  We chose one room that we didn't need to be using right away and made it the temporary "cat room."  We put their litter box, food, beds and toys all in this room and confined them to this small area right away.  In this room they had a safe space to become accustomed to the smell of their new home and had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with where their litter box will be for a while.  Did you know that you should never put a cat's food too close to their litter box?  Since we're keeping both in this room for now we were sure to put them at opposite ends of the room.

Surround pets with familiar objects.  In addition to all of "their things," we also put one of the soft chairs that the cats frequently sleep on in the room.  Sure enough, we often come in to find one of the cats curled up on this familiar spot. 

Show pets the good things about their new home.  As our cats have ventured further from their room in their first week here they have enjoyed discovering and lounging in all the windows in the house. 

Let them explore (safely).  As you know, our kitchen is under construction, so for the time being we've had limited rules about cabinets and counter-tops.  We just make sure all the tools are safely unplugged and screws and nails are stashed away.  We've yet to allow them into the basement (except for a sneaky dash down the steps by Mia last night) until we have a chance to get rid of all the dangerous materials left down there by the previous owners.  We still keep them safely shut away from unpacked boxes and bags at night and when we're not home, but the rest of the time they're having a lot of fun checking out every corner of their new home.

Let them be a part of the home.  Our kitties are indoor cats for the most part, they are flea-treated as a precaution and for their occasional supervised stints outdoors and we bathe them regularly so we know they aren't carrying around a lot of excess dirt, dander or pesky friends.  Because of this, they are allowed just about everywhere in our house.  If you allow it, cats can become part of the decor.

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Apartment Therapy