Dr. Debbie Horwitz Answers Your Question About Home Environment
I have had my cat all her 16 years. I have left her for six weeks while I visited my mom. I cannot find anyone to watch her and its upsetting to her so I thought I would bring her to my mom’s. I will stay three months come back home for a month and return. Will my cat adapt you think? My mom is 90 and I really see no other way to solve this.
A:
Dr. Debbie answered:
Some cats adjust well to travel and new environments and others do not. One thing that can help is to make sure the cat is used to the cat carrier long before they need to spend a great deal of time in it. Begin by leaving the carrier out all the time so that the cat gets used to seeing it. Place some treats inside to entice her to investigate. It also might help to place a soft and fleecy pad or blanket inside so that she might even nap in there. Once she gets used to it, it will make travel easier and when she gets to her new environment, she will have something familiar and safe. It also will help in the new place to keep her in a quiet space close to her food, water and litter box. Be sure to take her medical records with you just in case.