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Get Meow-T Of Here! Tips For Reducing Your Cat's Stress During A Big Move

24 May 2016

Andy Lopez

For the average house cat, moving to a new home can be a stressful process. From the confusion of riding in the car for long hours to the alien landscape of the new place you end up, everything about a move can be intimidating to your furry friend. Fortunately, you can significantly reduce your cat's stress during moving just by following a few easy tips.

Give Yourself Time To Prepare

Just like when you adjust your cat's diet to a new brand of food, getting your pet ready for a long car trip during your move will require gradual preparation over a period of several days or even weeks. You'll need to gauge your cat's level of anxiety as you move through the steps in order to determine whether he or she is ready to progress to the next level of familiarity with the process of traveling.

First, leave the cat carrier open in one of your cat's favorite spots. Put blankets and treats inside to make it more enticing and comfortable, encouraging your cat to come and go from the carrier as it likes. Once your cat seems perfectly willing to enter the carrier on its own, you can begin closing the carrier door and leaving it closed for a short time, ten to fifteen minutes. Gradually increase the amount of time the door remains closed until your cat can cope with longer periods of being shut away.

The last step is to repeat a similar process with car rides. Once your cat is comfortable in its carrier, begin taking the carrier with you on short, ten minute driving trips. Make the trips longer and longer as your cat grows comfortable, and soon it will be acclimated to the process of traveling for long periods in the car with you.

On moving day, your cat should be so comfortable in its carrier that you can close it up inside at the start of the move and leave it in a quiet room until you're ready to travel. This allows your pet to avoid being unduly stressed by strangers and noise. Make sure to put a sign on the door telling the movers not to open it.

Talk To Your Veterinarian About Safeguarding Your Pet

No one ever plans to lose their pet during a move, but accidents happen even to those with the best of intentions. In order to minimize the chance of your pet going missing, schedule an appointment with your veterinarian to order an accurate cat collar. Ideally, tags should list all of the following information:

• The cat's name
• Your name, address, and a phone number where you can be reached
• The cat's immunization records
• Other important health information, such as medications your cat may require

Including all of these details on your pet's collar for moving day will increase your chances of being contacted if the cat escapes and is found by a stranger. It'll also stop animal control from sending your cat to the shelter if they catch it wandering around. Finally, including medical information will help anyone who finds your cat keep it in good health until you can be reunited.

Make sure your moving company has a list of these details as well. Ideally you and your pet will be together for the duration of the move, but just in case you get separated for any reason, it's important that the employees know how to take care of your pet until they can return it to you.

If you have plenty of time before you need to make your move, consider having your cat microchipped. This small surgery implants a readable chip under your pet's skin, which will alert vet clinics and shelters of where to find you, even if your pet loses its collar.

Help Your Cat Get Acclimated

Moving stress is common in house cats, but fortunately there are a myriad of ways you can help allay your pet's fears once you get settled in. The first is to put out as many familiar objects as you reasonably can: use the same toys, cat tree, food dish, catnip plant, and other accessories you used in your old home. This may lure your cat out if it has resorted to hiding around the house.

If you plan in advance what you'd like to put in your cat's primary room, you can unpack these things first and close the cat up inside while you finish the rest of the moving. This reduces stress by allowing your pet out of its carrier early on and gives the cat extra time to get used to its new surroundings. Just be sure to attach a sign on the door to the cat's room so that your movers know not to open it while bringing in boxes.

Another way to bring normalcy to your cat's life is to maintain as steady a routine as possible for the first few weeks after arriving in your new location. Make sure the cat is fed and played with at the same times every day, and give it extra positive attention whenever it dares to come out and explore the new home.

You may not be able to make your move entirely stress free for your cat, but taking a few of these steps will significantly improve your pet's experience and help it get acclimated to the new location more quickly. It may also be good to talk with a moving company, such as Bekins Van Lines Inc, about your pet concerns and needs. And with enough attention and care after the move is complete, your cat will be feeling purrfectly fine in no time!

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