She will get over it. She will adapt to the new routine at the boarding place, and then she will re-adapt to the new home (which will be new and different even if some of her old familiar furnishings are in the new home). I should add that I have, in the past, on two occasions, cared for cats in my home, two belonging to a friend and another to a relative, while both were going through several weeks long moving processes. These cats were a bit spazzed out at first but made themselves at home within a week. When they went back with their owners to their new digs, they adapted to their new homes with the same relative ease and went on to live long lives. My two old cats were aged 18 and 19 when I last boarded them (for two weeks), and they were unfazed by the change in their routine. They slept most of the time, as they did at home, both before and after their time at the kennel. Older cats are less likely to be stressed by a change in surroundings, provided the surroundings are comfortable. The op will be moving and things will change for her cat regardless. A quiet well managed boarding facility is a less stressful option for her cat than to stay with her owner (if this is even possible) in an interim housing arrangement during the upheavals and confusion that accompany overseeing installation of a new home. Cats indeed like routine and everything in the same place and this is more likely to be the case at the boarding place than with her owner.

All of this advice is very helpful for me. A feral male cat would not let us near him for maybe 4 months or so. We leave our garage door cracked for our other strays we feed during the rainy and cold nights. About a full week, this feral cat stayed in our garage. He‘d eventually leave but would come right back and spend the majority of his time lying on a blanket in our garage. I ended up petting him while he ate so he wouldn’t hiss at me. That’s when we noticed his belly was ginormous. It almost looked tumerous. We made an appointment with a vet as this feral guy actually let me pet him and guide him into our half bathroom. We found out had fluid in his belly and they were able to flush it out and prescribe us meds. After we brought him home, he would not stop purring. I think he knew we only wanted to help him. He’s been cooped up in our bathroom for a couple of weeks, recovering. But, has been the most friendliest. I thought he might’ve missed the fresh air and sun, so my fiance and I put him on one of our ofher cats leashes/harness and took him out. He just laid there for awhile and then we guided him to some sun. Once he was in the sun and walked around in some bushes, HE FLIPPED OUT. He unfortunately got out of the harness and ran. We couldn’t grab him and he didn’t want to come near us. I felt so bad, and I hope he comes back because I’d hate for him to go back into the same shape he was or even worse. I’ve put a blanket in our garage in hopes he smells his/our scent and also the crate with his towel he laid on when we took him to the vet. Fingers crossed he comes back soon.

Davidandkasie~ I am SO sorry for your loss... Trust me, I feel your & your kid's pain! I can't believe ppl! I know it would kill me to knock on someone's door & tell them I just hit their pet, but I would do it b/c that's the right thing to do! I can't believe how some ppl are so careless about other ppl's feelings. That was something I was/am thankful for (if it's possible to be thankful in a time like this)... that I didn't have to go search for my dog and that I found him... I can't imagine not being able to find a pet & not knowing what happened to it, having that tiny bit of hope that it would one day return. I was also glad I could be there w/ him when he took his last breath. That had to be difficult telling your kids about it... I'm glad I didn't have to worry about that (no kids yet). I'm so sorry for them, b/c I'm sure the little one doesn't completely understand about death and it's probably really confusing that one minute he's there, then the next he's gone... and the older one, I know how he feels, Coffey had became my constant companion and slept in the bed w/ me every night when my fiance was gone & was there every morning when I woke up and was constantly at my feet following me around, so, I understand, it's hard to lose something that had always been there. I guess that saying is true: "You never really realize what you've got until it's gone." Good luck dealing w/ this! *RIP Hooch* ----------------------------------------------------------- Ninapearl~ Thank you for your condolences, and yes, my Dad is something else! I know that I can't ever replace Coffey, he was definitly one of a kind. Bailey & I do still miss Coffey very much, but I can see improvement in each of us. It will just take time. And, although eventually I will probably want to get another "little brother or sister" for Bailey, I just feel like it's too soon overall. I'm afraid Bailey might not adapt well since it's only been 1 1/2 weeks since Coffey's death and I'm afraid that I might expect too much out of a new dog, so I just feel like now isn't the time. I will know when the time is right. Also, my fiance & I & Bailey will be moving soon and I honestly don't know if I would have the time to train a puppy right now. I have, however, thought about going to a shelter for a puppy. This has made me angry though, looking @ PetFinder.com... We had a special puppy that was WANTED and in a good and loving home and he had to be taken from us, same goes for Davidandkasie, and then, there are all of these dogs out there that are neglected or abused and just plain UNWANTED and just sitting there. It is so unfair how the world works! (Not that I am wishing death on any animal, but it just doesn't seem right how that works out.) Anyway, I'll get off my soap box now. Thank you again for all of your sweet condolences! :)

My nesting box is mounted on a cedar post 5.5-6 feet off the ground, facing the east. No, we didn't put a baffle on it. I am still so sad about my babies. I could barely function last night, and I feel lost. Those babies and their parents were a large part of my daily enjoyment. I cleaned out the box with a paint scraper, hosed it out, sprayed with a 10% bleach solution and took the door off for a day, to hopefully let it dry out. (We have had too much rain over the past week.) We will get a baffle on the post by the weekend, believe me. Thank you for responding to my plea for help.