Moving with cats. Need help and creative solutions

[RegentLion]

I am not a cat person, and I do not understand cats. Yet, I have managed to acquire two of them and now I need help.

The short story is that we have two outdoor-ish cats that live on our current farm. We are planning to move in the next couple of months once the new property is finished, but I’m concerned about what to do with the cats. They do not get along.

Complicating matters, the new house is much closer to the road than our current property, which is a huge concern to me. We will have a similar barn structure as we do now (a shed row), and eventually will have a shop and a bigger horse barn, but that’s not immediate.

I don’t know how to get them to get along so one isn’t driving the other away, and I am allergic so transitioning them to the house would be hard, particularly for the older cat. How do I keep them off the road? Underground fence? Is there a way to manage my allergies? Can I kennel train a cat for night time? I JUST DO NOT KNOW. I (and my children) have grown to love these cats and want to do right by them. Google has not provided any satisfactory answers or suggestions.

I’m not opposed to rehoming one or both, if that’s what’s best. We probably can’t leave them here as we won’t be selling this farm immediately; and there won’t be anyone to check on them or feed them regularly.

In case you want the full story on how someone who never really wanted cats ended up with two…

2 1/2 years ago our whole family was gone several weeks prior to the birth of our last child. (High risk, have to hang out at a bigger hospital, etc). The night before she was born, our farm sitter sent us a message about this sweet cat that had started hanging around with our farm dog…She was still there when we got home and was so friendly and loved the kids, following them when they played, or when we took walks around the property, etc. We decided to keep her, and after her spay, she moved into the shedrow where she gets wet food twice a day. As she’s matured she’s still friendly but isn’t as dog-like as she once was. We so enjoy her antics, seeing her climb on the shedrow roof in the summer, and watching her hunt in the pastures. In the winter, she lives in a cubby under our wood stove. She’s also an avid mouser and has become quite robust over the years. The cat and our GSD have a love love relationship and taunt/play with each other daily.

The second cat is totally my fault. Our house is second story living over a large garage/storage bay. One day this fall, my middle daughter came to tell me she’d seen a kitten run into the garage. Of course I did the only logical thing and shut the door so we could catch the kitten. If you’ve ever tried to catch a scared kitten with 5 excited children, I might suggest that you do not attempt it. IT WAS CHAOS. At one point, my oldest cornered the kitten and tried to pick it up (against my instructions) and got scratched and bit, which essentially committed us to catching it. Finally it got up under the zero-turn mower, and after a frantic call to DH and some YouTube videos, I managed to flip up the seat and remove this terrified kitten out of the mower seat where it was lodged… with the use of a pair of welding gloves. Kitten was deposited in a large dog kennel while I called the shelter/vet/pediatrician to arrange for vet care and to assess the risk of rabies.

It didn’t take long for her to warm up (a couple of hours later she was purring in my arms), and now she is THE MOST friendly vocal kitty. She lives in our garage/storage bays and goes out when the weather is nice enough to leave the door open for the day. She comes when called, has made tentative friends with the dogs, lets the kids carry her around, rides on my shoulders/my son’s shoulders when we do chores, etc.

When the two cats meet, however, they hiss and spit. DH brought the kitten to the shed row and the adult cat then went into the garage/storage bay, which she hasn’t done since she first arrived. She was clearly distressed. I honestly don’t know what to do.

[Simkie]

You can absolutely kennel train a cat. Currently I have two, because apparently I have the word SUCKER emblazoned on my forehead.

A comfy bed, a litter box & treats at bedtime. Or dinner in the kennel.

I have one of these:

Amazon.com: Amazon Basics Large Kennel, 3-Tier, Cat Cage Playpen Crate - 36 x 22...

And one of these:

Amazon.com: Prevue Pet Products Premium Cat Home With 4 Levels, Black : Pet...

The first is the way to go, the second isn’t enough of an upgrade for the price.

You can also just use a regular large dog crate, but the taller ones are really nice for cats.

You may find that the cats get along fine with proper intro, and the stress of moving may also help them become friends. How far from the buildings do they wander now?

In your shoes, I’d plan on moving with the cats, crating them separately in the barn, near each other, for at least a month to reset their cat gps, and then seeing how things are. Go from there.

[RegentLion]

Thanks for the kennels suggestions. I can’t do a cat being free at night. They’re too loud for me to sleep through, as it is sometimes I can hear the kitten below me playing/romping in the evenings. It seems unfair since they’re sort of nocturnal but I am not sure what else to do if I decide to bring them inside and brave my allergies.

I know the new kitty (Frenzy) is used to kennel life because she lived in one until I was pretty sure she was catchable (after her spay). The older cat, Fiat, won’t like that much, but it’s probably the best option. Ideally I’d like to get them getting along in the barn.

Currently, the younger cat stays pretty close to home, ranging among the outbuildings, whereas the older cat has quite a range. She comes from the woods line every morning and seems to have a routine/pattern that she follows pretty regularly. I believe both cats came from our neighbors’ semi-feral cattery searching for an upgrade.

[Djones]

First, you are a great storyteller.

Second, you might ask your vet about gabapentin, I think it was, that I used when my Pheeble cat went missing for 2 months, then wandered up one day, thin as a rail. SOMETHING BAD happened the day she disappeared, and Tinnamous Maximous, my 2 year old tabby boy, was freaked out almost the entire time while she was gone. Her return struck terror in is heart. He associated her with The Bad Thing. He would stalk her, push her, make her miserable. I think I gave him gabapentin 2x a day? for a couple of weeks, gradually tapering it down as he seemed less fractious. I also doped him up with calming cat chews. One day, they were fine.

Just a tangential thought that may help.

[Simkie]

@RegentLion

I can’t do a cat being free at night. They’re too loud for me to sleep through, as it is sometimes I can hear the kitten below me playing/romping in the evenings. It seems unfair since they’re sort of nocturnal but I am not sure what else to do if I decide to bring them inside and brave my allergies.

Totally understand. Don’t feel bad about it–they adapt really well.

That it’s just hissing when they meet is promising. I have a cat now–a starving stray I trapped at the neighbors–who is so opposed to other cats that any meeting ends up in a full body contact fight. Hissing is a much better start to the conversation!

[RegentLion]

Ha! I had no idea that hissing was a good sign. I also tried to look into if we could use underground dog fence collars to keep the kitties away from the road. I’ve literally looked into EVERYTHING.

[Simkie]

I don’t think underground fence works for kitties. There’s a training element that just is not really how cats work. Some might be able to adapt, but they’re probably the oddities, rather than the norm (which might be what you found in your research! )

One other thing you could consider is building an outdoor cat enclosure. You could either roof a cat paddock or install climb proof fencing. They’d be not in your house but also not at risk of wandering out into the road. It might sound a little nutso, but it would really not be much different from building a solid chicken run!

[BatCoach]

I think what @Simkie was saying is that JUST hissing was ok - meaning at least there wasn’t swatting/ striking/ biting involved. Hissing is indeed a sign of fear or aggression.

If it were me, I wouldn’t be focused on trying to make sure these 2 outdoor kitties became best friends. Cats are not pack animals like dogs, but they are colony animals - meaning that some do naturally get on better with other kitties than others but they are all territorial. This means that older kitty sees younger kitty as an intruder to her shedrow territory. Changing their location might help the 2 kitties bond, as it will be new to both of them, but I wouldn’t hang my hat on it.

Once kitten gets bigger and more confident, there is a smaller chance of older kitty driving her away. Cats know where their bread is buttered, so as long as you are feeding them both (from separate dishes or different feeding stations) at regular intervals, they will get used to the routine. The fact that both are friendly and interact well with you and your family is great - these kitties know that you are their people and will most likely stick around even with a change of location. You will have enough space where each kitty can carve out their territory and be fine.

I agree transitioning them into housecats can be tough - it really depends on the temperament of the cat, but with your allergies it might not be the best solution. The most important thing is that you provide them with food, shelter and water. Depending on how cold the nights get - you might need a heater in the shelter and of course a litterbox with clumping litter if they are enclosed.

Until the barn and shop are completed, you can put the kitties up in their own big dog crate in say, your garage, or mud room or porch for the night. OR, there are commercially available outdoor cat houses on chewy and amazon like THIS

Cats are complete individuals. I’ve had some that were incredibly trainable, food-motivated and social, and others that preferred a slinky, solitary life and were not food motivated AT ALL. Hopefully you can start to get these outdoor kitties on a food schedule and maybe get them hooked on treats (temptations brand are a win in my house) so that when you shake the bag of treats those kitties come running up to you. Another great trick to get cats to come up to the house at night is a to use a lazer pointer - they will chase that red dot wherever you point it! It sounds like the young kitty is already accustomed to coming when called, so that will make crating if necessary much easier.

As for the road - there really is not much you can do. Even if you had a fence, a cat can easily climb or jump it. I’d hesitate putting a collar on an outdoor kitty, since they are likely to choke or strangle themselves by getting it caught on a branch or nail (happened under my grandpa’s porch - very sad). I think you just have to do your best to make sure the cats have comfy places to nap and food stations away from the road and hope they have enough sense to stay away from it.