Moving with pets raises human stress levels and your cats and dogs are no different. While many dogs enjoy adventure and visiting unknown places (and smells!), cats bond closely with their home territory. Any change can put their tail in a twist when moving disrupts routine. An unfamiliar location, smells, and sounds raise levels of fear, anxiety, or stress (FAS).
With proper care, though, you can reduce or even eliminate the angst. Here are tips for moving with cats and dogs and helping them quickly acclimate to their new home.
10 TIPS FOR MOVING WITH PETS
Before You Move
Pack Out Of Sight. Cats and dogs can become upset seeing furniture, clothes, and other familiar objects packed away. We know pets (especially cats) love boxes, so having them around your cat could risk your pet hiding away and getting lost. Confine your pets to a safe room away from all the disruption until you complete and move all the packing boxes out of the home. Put a sign on the door “PETS INSIDE, KEEP CLOSED!” Confining to a room with their property also prepares them for their first few days in their new home, where they’ll also be temporarily confined.
Prepare For Travel. Plan so your pet accepts car or airplane travel. For smaller pets, acclimating them to a safe carrier or crate helps enormously. The crate becomes the one constant and familiar-smelling safe spot for your pet both during travel and once you arrive at your new home. If you’re traveling by plane, check with the carrier to be sure your crate meets their size criteria. Here are some tips for traveling in cars with your pets.
Crate Train Pets. Start at least two weeks before the move and leave the crate out all the time so pets can come and go at will. Turn it into a favorite sleep spot with a comfy bed or blanket. Hide fun toys or treats in the crate (perhaps catnip for kitties) to associate positive things with the location. Adding a tee-shirt that you’ve worn but not washed adds your comforting scent and can help reduce stress. Feed favorite meals here can help enormously. Also, adding a favorite treat your pet ONLY gets when inside the crate also can accelerate acceptance. Try a natural milk-based treat of Zylkene (alpha-casozepine) that helps calm pets of any age. You can offer Zylkene during travel, and also once you arrive, to reduce moving stress. For the first several weeks, you may want to crate your dog whenever you leave the new home, so he feels more secure–and won’t indulge in destructive separation behaviors.
Get a safe fence to keep pets safe.
At The New Place
Confine Your Pets. At your new home, set up one room specifically for your dog or cat with all his toys, bowls, bed, with litter box and scratch object for your cat. You’ll be unpacking boxes, opening and shutting doors, and don’t need a door-dashing pet adding to your headache. Be sure to shut windows, too. Better yet, think about leash training your cat.
Keep Familiar Gear. Resist the temptation to buy new cat trees, dog beds, and toys until after your pet becomes settled in the new place. Stocking the room with familiar objects that smell like your pet can help keep him calm. Having a room of his own also helps the pet become familiar with the new place, one small space at a time.
Pet Proof Your New Home. Think about all the “whoops” areas that might accidentally hurt your pet. You’re still learning about the new place, too, so think about electrical wires, window blinds, or hidy-holds. Be sure to check the fenced yard for toxic plants or yard supplies, too.
Use Pet Gates. Gradually expand your cat’s territory in the new house. Cats won’t be interested in doing anything else until they’ve explored the new place top to bottom to find hiding spots, perching places, and lookouts. Opening the door could mean your cat disappears somewhere you can’t find him. But you can use moveable pet gates to segregate the upstairs, for example, or expand the cat’s territory down a hallway. Once cats feel comfortable with the expanded area, you can move or remove the pet gate and supervise as he explores his new space.
Continue Routine. As much as possible, maintain your pets’ regular schedule. Feed at the same time, continue scheduled walks or play sessions, and any other favorite activities. It can take two or more weeks for cats to adjust to and accept a new routine and home, so be patient. Dogs may adjust over a few days but some also take weeks or months.
Offer Doggy Leash Walks. For dogs, a walk around the new neighborhood familiarizes him with his new sniffing area. Show him all the cool spots, encourage him to have fun. You’ll want to keep the dog leashed for at least the first couple of weeks until/unless you know his training keeps him under your control. A secure fenced yard offers peace of mind for you and extra benefits for your dog, but you’ll still want to supervise outings. Ensure your dog can’t dig under, or leap over, the fence.
Update Identification. Be sure to update your new address on your pet’s microchip or other identification in case he manages to go astray in the new place. See about locating a new Fear Free Certified veterinarian and transferring your pets’ records.
Prepare Neighbors or Roommates. If you’re moving into a block of apartments or deciding to house share, make sure to prepare. This could be letting neighbors know you have a dog or filling your roommate in on your cat’s temperament. If you’re looking for roommates who would be happy with a pet, SpareRoom is a great place to find them.
Different cats and dogs adjust to new places at different rates. With these tips, you’ll increase the odds your pets adjust well, as quickly as possible, to their new home-sweet-home. Click on one of the ComPETability books and order the title for additional help.
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Stay up to date with the latest book giveaways and appearances related to my September Day pet-centric THRILLERS WITH BITE! Amy Shojai, CABC is a certified cat & dog behavior consultant, a consultant to the pet industry, and the award-winning author of 35+ pet-centric books and Thrillers with Bite! Oh, and she loves bling!
It’s NATIONAL ADOPT A DOG MONTH! How will you spend your celebration? Wait, your dog didn’t tell you? Well, for Shadow, it’s “dog week” every week of the year, but the “official” celebration takes place the 4th week of September every year — and has been celebrated since the first event in 1928. But October celebrates dog adoptions all month long. Check out my most popular dog-centric blogs in this post.
Have you thought about dog bite Halloween safety? and I’m not talking about vampires, either. Many dogs enjoy the howl-idays. But dogs biting kids happens more often at this time of year than any other.
This is a timely subject so I try to revisit the information every year. I write about this every year because it’s so darned important. With Halloween in the offing, this is the perfect time to brush up on dog safety issues and protect your kids, too.
To give equal time, there are many kitty-centric Halloween myth-teries you’ll find fascinating, especially about black cats.
While nonstop doorbell rings and visitors showering attention may be doggy bliss for your pet, even friendly laid back pooches get their tails in a twist over the disruption to routine. That can be dangerous for the pet—and for the human. Learn more about dog bites and kid safety here…
August 17 is Black Cat Appreciation Day to counter the Halloween black cat negative myths. Of course, those folks who share their lives (and pillows!) with a special black cat know better. Sadly, too many black cats remain in shelters rather than being adopted.
In fact, some evidence supports the notion that black cats (one of the first “mutations” of wild coat color), enhanced what I call the feline friendly factor. Black cats often seem to be much more agreeable and love spending time with their chosen human. Maybe that’s why so many of the so-called witches were associated with black kitties.
People have more difficulty picking cats because they assume all felines are the same. And because usually, cats pick us.
Halloween pet safety is needed every year. Halloween at its best is a night of mystery, fun, and thrills for human children and many adults. It’s important to keep your human kiddoes safe with these tips, but no less important for the pets. I write about Halloween pets safety every year because it can be a nightmare for your furry kids.
Do you enjoy dressing up the house—and yourself—for the holidays? If you want to include Halloween pet costumes, start now to get them used to the notion. Most of the costumes don’t fit Bravo-Dawg, and I’ve not yet tried Shadow-Pup. I’ll share pictures if/when that happens.
Meanwhile, be sure to keep pets safe over Halloween, though. Dogs and cats aren’t always fans of wearing Halloween costumes, but with these tips, you can help pets accept the notion.
Halloween Pet Costumes
Some pets enjoy dressing up, particularly the small dogs already used to wearing coats and sweaters in cool weather. There are many pet costumes available from pet products stores, from fancy to plain. If your outgoing, confident pet is willing, you can have great fun with costumes. But if your pets don’t care for dress up, don’t press it. Many pets may bite over Halloween out of fear of change.
Even reluctant pets may be persuaded to wear a fancy collar or bandana or painted toenails.
Every year, I write about our old cat needs. While Karma-Kat has just reached middle age, cats age at different rates. When do you consider your cat old? Is your old cat a senior kitty by age 8, or 13, or…when? For cats, what is old? Here’s how the experts define ‘old age’ in cats…
Can we take a minute to talk about something almost every pet parent deals with?
Although pet hair and odors are a small price to pay to have our furry ones at home with us, the fuzz and funky smells can sometimes seem overwhelming!
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