Living with pets is a joy. Pets tend to make our lives better in every way. They make us exercise, they make our living environment healthier and they are an absolute pleasure to have around. But, while living with pets has its own set of obstacles to overcome, moving with pets can be even harder. Whether you are moving to Inwood or to California, moving can be quite stressful. And we have the mechanism to think about those stresses and deal with them. Animals do not. Therefore, it is up to you to make moving easier on your pets and help them stay the cute bundles of joy that they are. Luckily, you are not alone in this task. Here we will outline how to approach helping your pet deal with moving.
Prepare in order to make moving easier on your pets
There is a golden rule that is in place for every single type of moving. That rule is that the better you prepare the easier your move will be. And when we say that it applies to every type of moving, we truly mean every type of moving. From moving to Japan to relocating to Manhattan. The golden rule stays the same. Therefore, your best bet is to apply it when moving with pets. The better you prepare your pet for the move ahead of the better it is going to deal with it.
Figure out your pet
The most important thing you need to do is to keep your pet safe and healthy. But, that is not such a straightforward task as it is with houseplants. The first reason is that there are many different types of pets. Keeping a dog safe and healthy is much different from keeping a fish safe and healthy. Therefore you need to know your pet. Some, like fish, are fairly easy to relocate. You only need to make sure that their water doesn’t change much and you are done. But some, like dogs, are a bit trickier. In order to be most helpful, we will cover mostly dogs and cats since they are the most common and, unfortunately, most difficult to relocate with.
Get them checked out
The last thing you need happening to you during your relocation or after your relocate is your pet getting sick. There will be a bunch of stuff to do both during the moving day and after moving. And the last thing you need is a sick pet to take care of. Therefore, what you need to do is to get your pet checked out. Take them to your local vet and see if they are ok. You can use this opportunity to get any advice from your vet regarding relocation. This advice will be most useful since every animal different and some special treatment can be of great benefit to your pet.
Introduce them to moving procedure
In order for your pet to not get stressed out by moving, you should do what you can to gradually introduce them to it. Start off by having your moving boxes laying around so that they are comfortable with their presence. Then, you can force your pet to sleep in an uncommon place from time to time. This will allow them to more easily change their sleeping place, as they will have to do so once you relocate. It may be hard at the beginning, but you need to be persistent if you are going to make moving easier on your pets.
Get the necessary items
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that you need to have some items in order to move with your pet. Mind you, you won’t need much and you probably already have most of these things if you have traveled with your pet anywhere. You will need to have:
- Pet ID and medical history
- Proof of veterinary inspection (a reason more to get your pet checked out)
- A current copy of your pets medical record
- Any medication or food necessary for your pet
- Crate, toys and other items that your pet uses every day
Take them out to your new neighborhood
This is mostly useful for dogs as they tend to be the only pet that is taken outside, but you can do so for any other pet that you take out for walks. A good idea is to walk your pet in your new neighborhood a couple of times before relocating. This will get them introduced to their future environment gradually and will help reduce their stress. Dogs are the best example of this as they tend to be quite territorial and enjoy spending time in familiar environments.
During the moving day
If you prepared properly for your relocation you have dealt with 90% of helping your pets with relocation. But, moving day is going to be stressful, no matter how much you prepare. There is simply no way around this. Therefore, you should know a couple of tricks to make moving easier on your pets during this crazy day.
Save a quiet space
The best gift you can give your pets that will help them deal with moving is a quiet, secluded place. If it is at all possible try to find a place in your current home that will be away from all the chaos of the moving day. All the long distance movers NYC that will be walking around are bound to agitate your pet. And since they will be loading your items for at least an hour, they will stress out your pet quite a bit. A quiet place will help both your pet and your movers, so do everyone a favor.
Let someone else take care of them
If this is at all possible, you should strongly consider it. If you have a friend or a family member that is willing to take care of your pet for a day or two, now is the time to do so. By doing so you will essentially place your pet in the aforementioned quiet place without even the possibility of movers bothering them. Nothing beats that when it comes to keeping your pets away from stress.
