Moving Tips: How to Help Your Pet Adjust to His New Home

Moving is hard on people, and it isn’t any less stressful for our animal companions. Fortunately, there are some things we can do to make the transition as easy as possible for our furry family members. From hiring a pet sitter on moving day to bringing our animal companion’s favorite toys, bedding, and treats with us when we move into our new home, the following tips can help our beloved pets to settle into their new homes much more easily.

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Keep Your Pet Safe on Moving Day

To keep your pet out of harm’s way and to minimize stress on you and your animal companion, one of the best things you can do when moving into a new home is to hire a pet sitter to look after your furry friend. Moving day activities can be quite stressful on companion animals, and it’s best to remove them from the situation if at all possible. While you can search for the help you need online, it’s important to take the following criteria into account when hiring a pet sitter.

• Offered services, such as daycare or overnight pet sitting
• Accepted animals, as some sitters only care for cats and dogs
• The cost of care and whether you’ll need to pay by the hour, day, or night

In the event of a medical emergency on or after moving day, it’s also important to have a local veterinarian’s contact information on hand. You can find a vet online, through referrals from your friends, or by asking your current veterinarian if he or she has a list of recommended vets in your new city of residence.

Keep in mind that if you’re moving to another state and haven’t yet found living space, you may need to stay with friends or family for a few weeks. Be sure to inform everyone of your pet’s needs and examine the home for potential hazards before your stay.

After moving into your new home, be sure to have all your pet’s medical records sent over to your new veterinary clinic. If you contact your current vet for a list of recommended clinics in your new neighborhood, you can transfer your pet’s records at this time.

Help Your Animal Companion to Settle In

Once you’ve moved your belongings into your new home, it’s important to unpack your essential items first — including your pet’s food, dishes, toys, bedding, and any prescription medications that he or she takes. You may be tempted to replace your pet’s toys and bedding with new items, but your animal companion will settle in much more easily if he’s surrounded by familiar scents. To help your pet adjust to his new home, you’ll also want to keep with his regular schedule as best as possible. Additionally, it’s important to remain consistent with your animal companion’s feedings, naps, walks, and bedtime.

Address Any Odors or Pests

If the previous owner had pets, lingering smells could be off-putting to your dog or cat. To make it easier for your pet to adjust, and to avoid any house training issues, have your carpets cleaned by a pro who uses industrial equipment to ensure all odors are eliminated. Hopefully, there will be no sign of fleas either, though outside may be a different story. To be extra cautious, go ahead and snap on a flea collar to help protect your dog or cat until you’ve all adjusted to your new living space.

Evaluate Your Pet’s Nutritional Needs

After your animal companion settles into his or her new home, you may decide to switch up his food, toys, and treats a bit. If you’d like to change your pet’s food because of an allergy or gastrointestinal issue, for instance, look for nutritious options that fit your companion’s age, breed, size, and any health issues he or she may have. If you have a puppy, a nutritious diet with plenty of lean proteins and high-quality ingredients will be vital to your pup’s vision, muscle development, and brain health. However, you’ll want to avoid foods containing grains, corn, or soy. And as for treats, you could experiment with a few DIY recipes at home.

Moving with a pet can be anxiety-inducing for a number of reasons, but these tips will help to keep your animal companion safe and healthy during the move — and ease the transition as he settles into his new home. It may take some time for your pet to get acclimated to his new home, but he’ll get there with a bit of love and patience from you and the rest of your household.