# HI - moved, but cat keeps going back to old house



## wanderingcat (Jun 29, 2015)

Hi, I love all cats and currently have 2 little ones, one was a semi-stray and the other a rescued kitten. We have moved houses about 4 months ago and the older cat keeps going back even after being locked in and having catnip trees etc so now I am a very sad cat mummy as I don't know how to keep him happy and at the new house. He has always been a mostly outdoor cat and keeping him in makes him sad, angry and not interactive whereas being let out makes him purr and lie on the couch and play but he seems to then wander off to the old place which I though was only close to the evenings but this last time it seems to be a little earlier so I don't know what to do.


----------



## DebS (Jun 14, 2015)

Hmmmm....that's a tough one. Does he eventually come back to the new house on his own or do you go get him?


----------



## KsKatt (Jul 6, 2014)

How far apart are the houses? How many roads, how many dogs or other predators in between? Just how old are the kitties? How old were the kittens/cat when you got him her? You say him, so I take it the wanderer is male, is he neutered?

Please give us more details and we will do our best to help.


----------



## Dumine (Jun 30, 2014)

W had a semi similar problem when we moved from our old house to our current one.
Angel is a bit of a roamer and the houses were only about 5 houses apart ( in a straight line). We hoped we wouldn't have a problem with her getting confused between the two, but our fears were confirmed when our old neighbours told us that she'd been hanging around there.
Make no mistake, she knew where her new house was, but still saw the old one as part of her territory. There wasn't much we could do about that except hope that she will make the adjustment over time without too many incidents. 
At the end of the day it was because two new cats moved into her old house and it became too much effort on her part to walk over there to pick a fight. See, she is full of bravado when her mommies are nearby, but this was just too far for comfort. 
After a few months she stopped going over there and adjusted her territory to exclude that area.
At the end of the day it's not what you can do to encourage him to stay home, its what will discourage him from keeping that territory. If it becomes too much effort and he's not a fighter by nature, he will eventually roam closer to home.


----------



## Straysmommy (Dec 23, 2010)

I adopted Nikita from downstairs here. She kept going back to her territory (across the street) for years and sometimes staying there overnight, once even for 2 weeks. I was very discouraged. I tried to keep her happy, lots of attention, and eventually she stopped doing it. I think time, age and a cozy home did it...


----------



## littlecatblue (Sep 3, 2013)

Cats are very territorial. If he is used to roaming at his old house and it is close enough to get to, I don't blame him for going there. You could try to keep him inside for some time (or forever, our municipality does not allow for roaming cats, and it is better for them). If you do let him out, maybe you could monitor him, let him explore his new territory while you keep him from wandering away.


----------

