Moving house - a pet's survival guide

Moving house can be an incredibly exciting yet stressful time for us, and it can affect our pets too. Dogs and cats like status quo and they’re incredibly intuitive; so, a combination of their environment changing and picking up on our frazzled emotions, this can lead to our pets displaying unwanted behaviours after the move. Below are some helpful tips for a safe and stress-free pet!

· Check the property for any potential problems such as holes in the fence, dangerous items being left in the garden and so on.
· Introduce your cat to his new home gradually; restrict him to one or two rooms at first. Place the litter box, bed, scratching post, food and water in the room with it. This gives your cat the chance to get used to the new sounds and smells, and provides him with a ‘safe’ place to use later as a refuge or if he feels uncertain. Place your pet’s favourite bed, blanket, toys or any item that’s familiar to them in that room. This helps him feel more secure in the new surroundings.
· If your cat will be allowed outside, keep him indoors for at least two weeks, so your home is familiar to him. After two weeks, take the cat outside with you, let him explore a bit. After ten minutes bring him back inside. Each day increase the time until he feels safe and knows the area.
· Ensure your pet is properly tagged with your new address and phone number.
· If possible, allow yourself some time before you go back to work. This enables you to help your dog adjust. During this period of change, practice ‘Gesture Leaving’ - where you spend time coming and going from the house, building up in small increments (from a couple of seconds to minutes) to see how your dog will respond. This helps reduce separation anxiety and with practice and repetition your dog should adjust to being home alone in the new environment.
· You should also take your dog straight into the garden of the new property on moving day. Ensure he is on the lead and allow him to explore his new environment. Practice some heel work and general obedience requests to get him focused onto you too – this keeps his pulse rate steady and avoids over excitement. Introduce your dog to his new area very slowly. Explore the area one street at a time, so he can ‘suss out’ who else lives in the neighbourhood. Strange dogs can pose a threat and cause your pet unnecessary stress.

Cats - a brief history

The cats we know today have a long history dating back millions of years. Paleontologists have discovered evidence of a cat with a retractable claw, Miacis, who lived about 50 million years ago. Most scientists believe that the descendants of Miacis and other prehistoric cats divided into three separate groups nearly a million years ago; the big cats (lions and tigers), the cheetahs, and the small cats (ocelots, bobcats and lynxes).

Cats come in many shapes and sizes, but the fur coat found on each feline is a big part of how they are classified; long-haired, short-haired, or "hairless". Long-haired breeds include; Persian, Maine coon, Norwegian Forest Cat and Rag doll. Short-haired breeds include; American Shorthair, Siamese, Burmese and Singapore. While "hairless" cats, such as the Sphinx, merely appear to be hairless, they have a thin layer of hair covering its body.

Cats first started living with people approximately 6,000 years ago. Ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian farmers domesticated the African wildcats, Felis hybica, a natural hunter, to keep grain storage areas rodent free. Egyptians worshipped Bastet, the cat goddess of fertility, happiness and the moon. Impressed with the cat's natural beauty, Egyptian artists painted and sculpted them, making them cultural icons. Although ancient Egyptians are known for their love of cats, they are not the only people who worshipped them. In Thailand, Siamese cats were sacred temple cats. In Japan, these animals kept Buddhist temples free of mice. In Norwegian mythology, Freya (the goddess of fertility) rode in a chariot pulled by two white cats. Throughout history, sailors and other explorers helped spread cats across the world. Keeping cats abroad their ships was also a good way to rid their living quarters of mice. In time, it was considered lucky to keep cats on board. When cats came to Europe in 900 BC, they crossbred with a native cat found in the British Isles, Felis silvestris. Yet by the middle Ages, cats fell out of favour with most of Europe. The Catholic Church connected cats and those who lived with them with paganism, devil worship, and witchcraft. Superstitious people believed that cats (especially black cats) had diabolical powers.

Today, cats are the UK’s favourite pet with an estimated population of 9.2million. Walk the Dog is proud to support the Cats Protection League Hemel which helps rehome and foster cats. Show your support for Britain’s best loved pet by logging onto http://dacorum.cats.org.uk/

Understanding your cat

Ever wondered why your cat eats grass or wags its tail? Here’s a brief run down on common cat behaviours, to help you understand your feline friend.

• A purring cat is not necessarily a happy cat. Cats purr when in pain, distressed or giving birth. Cats in pain will purr when approached by people; this suggests cats purr to show they’re friendly and approachable - ready to be comforted or helped. Kittens purr to communicate to its mother that it’s well and content.



• Kneading is when a cat extends and retracts its claws – this usually happens when resting on its owner's lap. This behaviour comes from kittenhood. Kittens knead their mother while suckling to make the milk flow more freely. Adult cats do this when they feel safe and contented. If a cat dribbles or sucks at the owners’ clothes whilst kneading or purring, this is an indication that the cat may have been taken from its mother too early.



• Eating grass often occurs when your cat needs to clean out its stomach by vomiting (e.g. get rid of fur balls). If your cat doesn’t have access to grass, house plants or anything similar will be eaten! It’s been said that cats eat grass to obtain Folic Acid, something that cats need in small quantities for its well-being.



• Taking food out of the bowl and eating it off the floor is very common. Two theories as to why your cat behaves this way are that cats find the pieces of food too large, put them outside of the bowl so it’s easier to chew into smaller pieces. Or if the cats’ whiskers touch the side of the bowl, he may find this uncomfortable to eat, so he’ll scoop the food out.



• A wagging tail could mean your cat is angry or he’s feeling indecisive – the cat wants to do two things at once and cannot make up its mind which action to take.



• Cats bury their faeces so as not to demonstrate its presence to more dominant cats; a dominant cat will leave its faeces uncovered. A cat kept on their own will bury its faeces in the litter tray, suggesting the cat feels its owner is dominant. But in households with more than one cat, you’ll often find one or two cats leave their faeces uncovered, while the rest will cover it up.



• Cats greet one another by rubbing their faces, so when yours stands on its back legs, he’s simply trying to reach your face! This greeting is only done to humans the cat trusts. Cats have scent glands on their temples, around the mouth and base of the tail. If a cat rubs itself against you, it’s rubbing off its scent, saying "this is mine".