Moving to Your New Home with Pets
Moving day is a hectic event, no matter who is involved and how many items you must pack up, move, and unload. However, that frenzy can get even more involved with the prospect of moving a pet as extra questions related to just who will watch the pet during the process and how to transport the pet. Because extra factors like a pet’s surroundings must be considered on what is already a busy day, planning for a pet move is a critical step in removing stress from the equation.
Having the right items ready for a pet’s move can help you not only ease your own transition to a new home but ease the pet’s transition as well. No one likes to be uprooted unexpectedly from comfortable surroundings and dropped in a new, unfamiliar place, but that is just what you are doing to your pet when you move even as close as across town. With these tips, you can prepare yourself and prepare your pet for a move, no matter how far you must go.
Pack with Your Pet in Mind
One of the ways movers can get into trouble is by packing away valuable information that they may need on moving day. Under a pile of boxes that all look the same, finding a piece of paper or bottle of medicine can be an exercise in finding a needle in a haystack. The same applies to your pet’s veterinary records, medications, and other critical items that might be necessary on moving day. With all of the hustle and bustle around a move, it is entirely possible for something to happen to your pet.
In that same vein, make sure that the identification for your pet is on the pet at all times and up to date should the hectic nature of moving cause you to misplace your pet. Proper and securely fastened identification is critical to a pet at any time, but especially so during a move that can expose the pet to sights and situations that could cause it to spook and run. Don’t let what should be an exciting day moving into a new home turn into a search for the family dog without proper identification.
Plan Your Travel
Though you may have a cat that enjoys the prospect of spending time in the car, it is still a good idea to get a comfortable, secure crate for the cat to simply make sure that nothing happens to the animal. In times of great frenzy, no one can predict what an animal might do and even though your cat might have a history of being even-tempered, you never know what will cause them to run, scratch, or otherwise cause issues on your moving day. Play it safe with cats and always use a crate to transport them, no matter how far.
Dogs are a different story and while it is still probably a good idea to use a crate, dogs are more readily found should they run off. Because so much is happening on a moving day, it can be a good idea to designate a pet space at each location where a pet can be secluded from the bustle of moving and simply relax in the seclusion and comfort of an out-of-the-way bathroom or side room.
Planning a move will always entail a lot of time and effort and putting some of that time and effort into determining how to deal with your pet can save you frustration on moving day. The last thing anyone wants to do on moving day is tracking down a lost animal, so avoid that hassle and prepare accordingly as part of your moving process.