Moving with animals can be tricky. We’re so busy prepping and dealing with the little details…one big detail we might forget is, “How is Fido feeling?”
Making a move can be stressful, not just for us humans. Our loving pets feel the anxiety and need our help to understand all the new changes. Even if you are a moving expert, hopping city to city every few years…your animal friend might not be so comfortable with his or her new surroundings.
Here are some quick tips to help you make sure your fur baby is not stressed out!!
At Home In The New Home
Dogs and cats encounter many of the same problems people have in moving to a new place. They must become used to a new house and neighborhood, unfamiliar sounds, strange postal carriers and other service people, water that does not agree with them, and a colder or warmer climate. Once accustomed to the changes, the pet will settle down and be content.
It’s a good idea to keep the pet confined to a smaller area, at least until it realizes that this is the new home and that the family is going to stay! We don’t want our friends to wander off and try to return to the old home. This is especially true of cats, and they should be confined for several weeks.
New house, new toys? They might not like that just yet…
To assist in speeding up that “at home” feeling, use their familiar food and water dishes, bed, blanket, toys…one big change is enough! Try to put them in a similar location as they were in the old home. Example: water dish by the back door, food dish in a particular spot in the kitchen, and so forth.
Don’t have a dog or a cat?
It’s best to keep our feathered friends where they will be undisturbed until it becomes used to its new surroundings. Other small pets usually have few, if any adjustment problems other than becoming used to a change in the water supply. This is also true of tropical fish. To avoid harming them, test the water for similarity to that in your old home and adjust it to the requirements of the fish. Your local pet store should be able to help you and suggest ways to ease the transition.
A little extra care for our family pets will help them settle into the new home and quickly be back to normal. Should you experience bad behaviors after a move or even a lack of appetite, you should contact your local vet for help. That’s their way of saying that they need some help to feel safe and adjust to all the new changes.