How to Move Into a New Home With Your Cat

May 12, 2026

Courtney DePottey        

Your boxes are packed and your cat is safely stowed in their carrier, ready for the big move. But how should you handle the transition to make it as easy as possible for your cat?

This article provides tips on how to navigate the messiness of a move with your feline companion. It covers the main causes of stress for cats, exactly how stressors impact cats, how to slowly and enjoyably expose the cat to stressful stimuli, and how to use environmental enrichment to manage the cat’s surroundings and their responses to it. Let’s dive in!

The Main Causes of Stress for Cats

Cats are sensitive to change. As cat owners, we are responsible for their transition to a new environment. So, when moving day rolls around, it’s important to keep your cat’s stress as low as possible. The main causes of stress in cats can include: environmental changes, a lack of enrichment, conflict with other cats, a bad cat-owner relationship, and a lack of control and predictability to a cat’s surroundings.¹

When moving to a new home, you’re changing your cat’s whole environment and introducing stress into their life. The good news? You can help manage the stress and make moving as easy as possible for you and your feline friend.

Interestingly, certain demographics of cats are more likely to have higher stress levels. For example, male cats, older cats, and cats that have no previous history of confinement are more likely to have higher stress associated with moving.² But all cats can be impacted by the stress of a move.

How Stressors Impact Cats

The health and well-being of cats is intricately related to both the environment they find themselves in and the interactions they experience.³ Stressors in the environment cause behavioral and disease changes in cats, and can potentially lead to:

• Reduced food intake
• Suppression of the immune system and feline herpesvirus
• Gastrointestinal issues like diarrhea or vomiting
• Feline interstitial cystitis (FIC), a lower urinary tract disease in cats
• Various skin diseases

This is a partial list of behavioral and disease changes that stressful stimuli can provoke in cats.¹ In other words, stress can have a negative impact on a cat’s health and well-being. Reducing stress will likely reduce potential symptoms. So how do you reduce stress while moving your cat? Following are several strategies you can use to help your feline friend.

How to Expose Your Cat to Stressful Stimuli

It is vital to expose your cat to stressful stimuli via a gradual and pleasant process.¹ The Merck Veterinary Manual describes the ideal way to expose cats:

“In general, the cat should be housed in its own room with litter, toys, bedding, and food. Establishing a routine can markedly help anxiety. When possible, changes should be introduced gradually.”³

Cats adjust to their environment better if you:

• Control temperature, odors, and sounds – Ideally, cats should be in the thermal neutral zone, which is 30-38°C (86-100°F) for cats [most cat housing areas in homes and laboratories are maintained closer to 22 ± 2°C (68-72°F]⁴
  Strong scents should be avoided, especially chemical smells and perfumes.
• Interact socially with your cats – In a study with domestic cats, their stress level was reduced by day two with extensive social interaction between owners and pets.²
• Provide environmental enrichment – Environmental enrichment provides for the physical and psychological welfare of the animals involved, frequently referring to physical, social, design, or management/husbandry interventions that may improve an animal’s environment.⁶

With these tools in your toolkit, you can help ensure the smooth transition from one living environment to another. But how exactly do you provide environmental enrichment to your cats?

Using Environmental Enrichment to Manage the Cat’s Surroundings

One study found that cats in enriched environments had lower stress levels than cats housed in traditional shelters.⁵ Feline environmental enrichment can prevent anxiety, stress, obesity, and even feline idiopathic cystitis.⁷ It’s important to create a safe and loving space for your cat to thrive in.

You can help your cat thrive by providing:

• Scratching posts – Cats adjust better in areas that allow them to scratch.⁵
• Shelters or hiding places – The preferred coping strategy for cats in a new environment is to escape, but when escape is impossible, they hide or perch for a sense of safety.³
• High perches – Cats enjoy surveying the ground from high places, where they feel safe.
• Interactive puzzle feeders – Interactive puzzle feeders help keep your cat’s mind sharp.⁵
• Catnip – Catnip or other non-toxic plant materials can help decrease stress in cats. Possible alternatives to catnip include silver vine, Tatarian honeysuckle, and valerian root.⁸
• Diffusers or sprays – Diffusers or sprays of synthetic feline pheromones help create a more soothing environment for cats. Avoid chemical smells or perfume use.³

Summary

Moving to a new environment is one of the most stressful experiences a cat may ever have. But it does not have to be stressful – for you or your cat. Keeping a low stress level is vital to your cat’s emotional and physical condition, as it leads to happy, healthy pets. By managing stress levels in your cat, you help their overall health and well-being.

Expose your cat to its new environment slowly, beginning with a room that includes litter, toys, bedding and food.⁴ In order to reduce your cat’s stress, consider controlling temperature, odors, and sound. Frequent social interaction with your cat will also help reduce stress. Finally, giving your cat a space furnished with the environmental enrichment tools listed above, you will make a positive introduction to the new home where your cat can thrive as new boundaries expand.

Sources:

1. 1. Amat M, Camps T, Manteca X. Stress in owned cats: behavioural changes and welfare implications. J Feline Med Surg. 2016 Aug;18(8):577-86. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10816390/
2. Rehnberg LK, Robert KA, et al. The effects of social interaction and environmental enrichment on the space use, behaviour and stress of owned housecats facing a novel environment. Applied Animal Behavior Science. 2015 (169):51-61. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0168159115001677?
3. Kim, S. A. (2025, July). Behavior problems of cats. Merck Manual Veterinary Manual. https://www.merckvetmanual.com/behavior/behavior-of-cats/behavior-problems-of-cats
4. Stella JL, Croney CC. Environmental aspects of domestic cat care and management: implications for cat welfare. (Scientific Review) Scientific World Journal. 2016, Sept. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5059607/
5. Ellis SL. Environmental enrichment: practical strategies for improving feline welfare. J Feline Med Surg. 2009 Nov; https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11383019/
6. Alho AM, Pontes J, Pomba C. Guardians’ Knowledge and Husbandry Practices of Feline Environmental Enrichment. J Appl Anim Welf Sci. 2016;19(2):115-25. doi: 10.1080/10888705.2015.1117976. Epub 2016 Jan 12. PMID: 26756929.
7. Bol S, Caspers J, et al. Responsiveness of cats (Felidae) to silver vine (Actinidia polygama), Tatarian honeysuckle (Lonicera tatarica), valerian (Valeriana officinalis), and catnip (Nepeta cataria). BMC Veterinary Research. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28302120/