The Bean (domestic shorthair caught wild)

Question
I stumbled across a cat (a starving kitten at the time)who eventually allowed me and my husband to reside with him.  It has been 7 years and 2 moves, the last being when The Bean was about 1 1/2 years old to the house we reside in now.  He was wild from the beginning, but I had him neutored and hoped for the best when he went out at night.  He has been going out every night since, and comes back every morning.  This is how we managed because if we didn't let him out, he'd make a mess.  
The problem today:  We have our house up for sale, and when we finally sell our house, we will be living with my mom and dad while we build a new house.  
I want to know ahead of time how to deal with this transition for the Bean.  Please tell me what I have to do to prepare him for the move.

Answer
Doreen,

The problem is there is no way of knowing what will happen when you move.

You may have to convert the Bean to an indoor cat.  I do not understand the "...if we didn't let him out, he'd make a mess." comment.

The problem you will face is that cats are very, very territorial and, since he has his own territory, there will be a natural tenedency for the Bean to go back to his old haunts.  He may or may not figure out the new house is home.

In the long run, the safest thing for the Bean is to transition him to an all indoor cat.  This can be done more easily when he moves to a completely new home.  As long as his bathroom habits can be contained and people are vigilant to watch that he does not quickly escape through an outside door, the transistion can be done "cold turkey".

Thus, any problems which could arise by him wanting to go back to his current territory would disappear.

Some things to keep in mind:  Cats live in all three dimensions, so any new home should have places for the Bean to jump on so he can sit and look out on his new domain from on high.  One or more floor to ceiling exercise posts with shelves and cubbyholes would be a great addition, especially if he could perch on one of those shelves to look out a window.  No matter how much he complains, once you would decide to keep him inside, you must never, never, never let him out.

The raw truth is that most outdoor cats do not make it to 5 years of age, whereas indoor cats should be able to live 12+ years easily.

Best regards... Norm.