Moving house? No pet shall be left behind.
Moving with pets across the country is yet another serious challenge that you will need to overcome when moving from one home to another over a long distance.
And to make things even more complicated, that major challenge will have sub-challenges that can range from no-brainers to super difficult depending on what type of pets you’re moving with you: cats, dogs, birds, fish, rodents, etc.
Are you ready to learn the best way to move across country with pets?
Most pets won’t really like it when they are taken out of their comfort zones and forced to move far, far away to a strange new place. And as it turns out, you’re the only one who can help them ease that sudden transition for them.
Follow these tips for moving with pets across country.
Do whatever it takes to calm your pet
Most pets will be very sensitive to changes in their surroundings and will be able to pick up even the slightest disturbances in the world around them – that’s especially true for cats, dogs, and birds. And needless to say, the start of the house moving preparations will not go unnoticed by your pet animals.
Of course, the sudden and incomprehensible changes in your pet’s environment will start to worry them as they won’t be able to fully comprehend what’s really happening. The tones of agitation in their masters’ voices and the sight of those piles of cardboard boxes may not only stress them out, but also scare them unnecessarily.
You’ll soon be moving across country with pets and there’s nothing you can do about it now to change that. But what you can do is keep your animal friends calm and stress-free. But how?
- KEEP your pet’s routine as unchanged as possible. Don’t change their feeding times unless there’s a good reason to do that. Do your best to offer the same level of attention to your dogs, cats, birds, or other types of pet animals you may have. Whenever possible, continue to walk your dog at the usual hour or play with your cat to show you’re not ignoring their needs.
- MAKE an effort to remain calm, whenever possible. Your dog, cat, or bird will most likely detect the stress in your voice and the anxiety in your actions, which can make them even more scared of the inevitable changes that are coming soon into their worlds.
- KEEP your pet away from any strangers coming over to your home to inspect the items you’re moving, quote you a price for the moving service, or help you pack up your things. In most cases, moving company representatives can really stress out house pets with their loud voices so it’s best to have your animal friends in a quiet room, away from any move-related actions that can be both distressing and dangerous for them.
Moving Checklist: Interactive & Printable Moving Checklist
Book an appointment with the vet
Moving pets across country should not be an overly complicated task. The thing is that as long as you keep following the right steps, things will turn out to be okay for everyone. So, what’s the next logical step when moving with pets?
Book an appointment with a licensed veterinarian in your town or city and take your pet for a complete medical checkup before you move away. In fact, your visit to the vet office is a must-do task for several reasons:
-
Make sure your pet is healthy before the house moving trip.
You just have to know that your pet friend is in good health with the approaching of Moving day. A standard medical checkup by the vet will confirm that things are fine and your dog, cat, bird or another pet animal will be cleared for the relocation trip.
- If you know your pet all too well and you suspect that they will get extremely anxious or stressed out or scared during the physical move between the two homes, then discuss with the animal doctor the need for anti-anxiety medication.
- Moving interstate with pets will mean that you’ll no longer be able to use the veterinary services of your current pet doctor. As a result, you’ll have to find another vet upon arriving in the new town or city. So, ask the vet if they can recommend any good animal doctors in your destination.
- Have the vet prepare the necessary documents required for post-move registration with another veterinary. In most cases, the most important piece of paperwork will be the pet’s immunization record.
Consider your pet transportation options
When moving with pets across country, it’s important to know your transportation options and pick the one that will be most agreeable with your pet as well. Household moving companies will not normally agree to transport pets because the law forbids them from doing so.
Leaving your lovely pet behind is NOT an option and that is exactly why you’ll need to consider well your pet transportation options well before Moving day so that you can prepare for the trip in the best possible way.
Option #1: Moving your pet in your own car
If you’ll be driving your own vehicle to the destination town or city, then the logical choice will be to transport your dear pet with you in the car. Needless to say, that’s the least stressful method of moving pets across the country simply because they will be with their masters all the time and should feel relatively calm and protected as a result of that.
If the car trip is scheduled to last for a few days, then make sure you book pet-friendly hotels or motels along the intended route because your animal friend should never be left to spend the night inside the vehicle, all by themselves.
Option #2: Moving your pet by air
As we just mentioned, the best way to move across country with pets is take them with your own car on a cross-country trip. However, that may not always be possible due to a number of reasons, including the great distance between Point A and Point B – especially when it comes to coast to coast moving.
In such cases, your best bet to move your pet across the country is to ship them by air. Needless to say, air travel is the quickest way to move with pets across the country.
Find airline companies that accept pets, then check the requirements to make sure you’re ok with them. Some airline companies permit small dogs or cats to be flown in the cabin with you – the best-case scenario for flying with pets to another part of the country. Other airlines will let pets travel as cargo.
Refer to PetTravel to check the pet carrying policy of each airline company.
Option #3: Hiring specialized pet movers
Professional pet movers can be a good choice when you’re moving across the country with pets.
If neither of the above two options is good enough for you, then maybe the answer you’re looking for will come in the form of professional pet movers – moving companies that specialize in pet transport across the country.
Pet transportation companies have the experience, skills, and equipment to transport pets safely and quickly between various locations in the United States.
When it comes to hiring professional pet carriers, experience in a huge factor – some pet movers may have very little experience in transporting birds, so if your pet happens to be a bird, then it’s best to look for another more experienced pet transportation company.
20 Tips for Moving Long Distance: Moving Checklist
Keep your pet safe on Move day
Knowing how to move across country with pets is all about keeping your animal companions safe and happy throughout the house move. Remember that their safety and wellbeing should be a top priority for you as their caring owner.
- HAVE somebody to look after your pet on the day of the move when movers will be going in and out of the house all the time and when heavy furniture pieces will be carried around. Moving day is a dangerous place for any type of pet animals. Alternatively, you may choose to leave the pet with a good and trustworthy neighbor until the moving day madness is over.
- KEEP your pet in a room where they will be perfectly safe while the furniture movers are doing what you’re paying them to do. Provide fresh water and favorite food to your dear per and keep an eye on them periodically to make sure they are doing ok. Keep the door shut or even locked, if necessary, to avoid headaches.
- TRANSPORT your cat in an approved transportation carrier when moving them inside your own vehicle. Moving across country with cats should not be underestimated – for your pet’s safety and the safety of all car passengers, do NOT let your cat loose in the car. Always move a cat inside a shipping container even though the pet animal will already be inside the car with people he or she trusts and knows.
- TRANSPORT your dog inside the vehicle while keeping all car windows closed. Bring favorite toys or blankets with you to keep them calm and do make frequent stops for some fresh air and short leashed walks. When driving long distance with a dog, playing relaxing music may help put the pet more at ease and make the car trip more enjoyable for everyone.
- TRANSPORT your pet bird in a cage that is safely locked. Cover the bird cage with a lightweight blanket or cloth to make your pet more comfortable and more secure. Keep the in-car temperature pleasantly moderate and feed your pet with fruit and vegetables to keep them properly hydrated.
10 Tips for Moving with Cats Across Country
Help your pet adjust to the new home
Now that you’re familiar with the basic concept of how to move across country with pets, it’s time to say a few words about what you should and should not do once you reach the new house with your pet animal.
Whether you just moved with a cat, a dog, a bird, or another pet, the fact remains that your animal friend won’t be familiar with the new surroundings. The new place will be strange to them (and to you as well!), filled with unfamiliar smells, sounds, and sights. The chances are that your pet will already be rather stressed out and scared by the long-distance trip, so now the last thing you would want is to just let them loose in the new place and tell them to deal with it.
-
It’ll take time for your pet to feel right again after moving to another house.
TAKE your pet to a room as soon as you arrive in the new home and keep them there for the first few days until they start to make sense of it all. Provide enough water, food, bed, and even some favorite toys to keep them fairly calm. Make sure that the room is clean and is free of any scents of previous pets. If you just moved house with a cat, then you can also leave the transportation carrier inside the room too as a hiding place from all the menacing unfamiliarity around.
- ENSURE that your pet can’t escape the room – check all windows, the door or any other available escape routes. Confining your poor pet to a single room is not ideal but it’s a precautionary measure meant to protect your pet against any fear-driven irrational actions.
- LET your pet out of the room when you feel they have fought off the initial shock and the curiosity to explore that new place has taken over. Make sure all windows and doors that lead to the outside are safely closed when you’re introducing the new home to your pet. If you’re lucky enough to have moved to a house with a secure indoor garden, then you can take your dog outside for a bit of fresh air but keep them leashed at all times.
- PROVIDE proper identification for your pet, if applicable, in case they do manage to escape the new place. A collar with your phone number should be enough in most cases.
- GET back your pet’s old routine to accelerate the post-move adaptation period. Do your best to pay attention to your lovely pet even when you have your hands full with a score of post-relocation tasks.
- MONITOR your pet’s post-move behavior for any troubling signs of depression due to moving. Give your pet enough time to acclimate to the new surroundings but be ready to consult a licensed vet if they keep acting abnormally for more than a couple of weeks.
Moving pets across country sounds like a lot of work, and it often is just that. And should you ever feel like you’re not giving the necessary attention to your lovely pet just because you can’t spare the time, do consider hiring professional movers to help you out so that you can spend more time with your animal friend.
