My husband and I just bought a second home at the beach, about 2 hours away from our main home. We brought our two cats with us to the beach house 3 days ago. One of them was under the bed for about 5 hours, the other was roaming immediately when we got here. Both cats are heavy eaters normally, but not since we brought them to the beach house. They have hardly eaten at all, although they are both very playful and seem happy and relaxed otherwise. Tomorrow we head back home. My question is, if we travel with the cats between the two houses, will they recognize both as their "home" eventually? We are now regretting buying the beach house, because we want our cats with us!

Give them a chance to get used to the beach house. As long as you keep them safe and indoors, they will be fine, exploring and checking out everything. Give them their usual food, a bowl of water -- always in the same location. Bring something familiar to the beach house -- their usual beds or pads, a scratching post, a few familiar toys (and some new ones). Cats usually adapt very well; within a month they'll be fine.

You've taken them to a new and unfamiliar "country," so be patient with them. And let us know how it goes!

I totally agree with Wondergirl. I had 4 cats, presently have 3. I travelled with them for three days & 2 nights when I moved from my old house to the new one. Of the 4 I brought with me, all of them reacted differently. I raised my cats to be comfortable being in cages - both dog cages and cat cages/crates. So, when we moved to the new house I left them up in the bedroom with the door closed and all of their cages in the room with their litter box. That night, we slept in the room with all of them in there with us (in addition to our 2 dogs). All of them seemed very comfortable by morning so we allowed them to tour the house. I tried to keep as much as possible 'normal', as Wondergirl suggested. We used the same feeding and water dishes; same toys; same blankets/bedding; same scratching posts; same food; same kitty litter & pans, etc. We tried to feed them in the same area of our new kitchen that they were used to and kept the same feeding schedule, etc.

I do have one word of caution. Until they are totally comfortable be careful with the doors. One of my cats 'escaped' the next day the moment the door was opened - which was NOT in her character. Sadly, she never was seen again. :( I am confident that she would have been fine the next day if she hadn't managed to get out. The other 3 cats settled in very nicely in a short time.

Cats are great pets for people with motor homes, cottages and beach houses because they are so adaptable. They will soon get used to travelling back and forth and probably even look forward to it. Unless they stop eating altogether, I wouldn't worry about it. In fact, the change of routine has probably made them a little more inquisitive and active allowing less time for eating... especially boredom eating. Give it awhile and everything will fall into a new routine. Just watch that they don't sneak out in a panic.

Hugs, Didi

THANK YOU SO MUCH Wondergirl for the encouragement and advice. I had been thinking that we would just have to come without them from now on, and that we would be coming a lot less frequently. We will try it again with them after Easter and see how it goes.

Didi, I didn't think to bring their food bowls with them. I bought them new ones. Next trip I'll bring the ones from home. And one of them absolutely loves a crocheted blanket... that is coming next time, too. And, I am always watching the doors! I just don't want to cause them stress. They are the best cats ever! I'll repost after next trip. Thanks to you both!