(image: Katie Tegtmeyer under CC BY 2.0)
So you’ve priced up international removals, you have the big date picked out and everything looks on-plan for your emigration. But have you thought about the finer details, the soft and cute details? You may know how you are getting to your new home, but what about your furry little friend – your pet?
Here are a few top tips to help you out when it comes to moving home internationally with animals:
With Weeks to go…
Make a Vet’s Appointment – Tell your vet that you are moving and ask if there are any injections or treatments your pet should have before you go. If your pet is on prescribed medication then make sure to get enough medicine for the move and get a copy of the animal’s medical conditions and history.
You may also want to consider a sedative if you are traveling a long distance. This can calm the animal, or even send it to sleep, making the journey less distressing. A vet will be able to provide this for you. Make sure to provide your pet with plenty of water for the trip if you do, as sedatives can make them thirsty.
You may also need to get a health certificate from the vet. This is usually required if you are traveling by plane, and will need to be issued within 30 days of moving.
Find a New Vet – If you have done your research, locating and registering with a new vet on arrival should be easy.
Update ID Tags and Chips – If you have a cat or dog who wears a collar, then it is important to get them a new one so that the address and contact number engraved are correct. This is also the case if your pet is micro-chipped. It’s easy to do, simply ring up the database they’re registered with and inform them.
With Days to go…
Is Your New Home Pet-Friendly? –If your pet is an important part of your life then you probably made sure that your new home will be suitable for them too. But if you need to pick up any extra fencing or supplies you could order these in advance to your new home, so they arrive just after you do. This is much easier than trying to transport them.
Get Travel Ready – Think about the way you will be traveling abroad; are you flying, sailing or driving? Requirements for your pet will vary considerably depending on how you travel, so make sure to be prepared and to purchase anything you will need in advance.
You may want to pack your pet their very own suitcase, so their essential items do not get mixed up amongst everything else. Fill it with their toys, food, blankets and anything they use on a day-to-day basis.
When You’re Moving…
Surround Them With Familiarity –Travelling and a new home can be unknown and scary for a pet, so give them some sense of familiarity by surrounding them with their favorite toys. Take their bed or kennel with you too, so although the area is different their home remains the same.
Spoil Your Pet – Although moving home can be a busy time, especially when you are emigrating, make sure to show your pet plenty of attention. This will help them to settle quicker and will distract them from all the goings on. A neglected pet is more likely to be disruptive and misbehave, so a little effort could go a long way.
(image: Mortgage Ticket)
Those are great tips. I have never moved with pets, but this is a great help and I will use this if I ever had to move with our dog.
Great tips. I’ve always found the idea to be daunting and scary for the animal, especially if it’s overseas. My friend moved back to Trinidad about two years ago and her cat was in quarantine for weeks before she was released. Thank you for sharing these tips…anything that can be done to help make things easier on my furbabies is always appreciated. 🙂
We no longer have pets but when we moved our dog was super confused but once we got here… she loved it and went wild… SN- we moved from an apt to 3 acres!
These are great tips! We haven’t moved with pets so I hadn’t thought of these things. Now that we have pets, we would definitely want to make it easy on them.
Moving is so stressful. It helps to have a game plan for animals too.
Finding a new vet is so hard. I would definitely ask for recommendations of who to choose and who NOT to choose and why.
My daughter just went through this with her cat. I know it was super stressful, and the poor little thing cried for hours when they got to the new place.
What great tips! I never thought about how hard it would be to move with pets. Because of my illness I am only allowed fish so I have never had this experience. I bet it would be very stressful.
Moving can be so hard, I’ve found our dog takes a while to get settled in, luckily we have stayed in an area where we could stay at the same vets, just using a different practice. x
Excellent ideas! Thank you so much for the great post and info 😀
These are some good posts! Always important to think about our furry family members, too!
Thanks for the tips. I did move with my dog, and it took her awhile to adjust.
Great tips! They get so scared geting into a vehicle let alone moving to a new place.
you are right we can’t forget the pets! international moving has to be even crazier for the family pets
spoil them, I like that
Moves are heard on everybody, but most people don’t think about their pets. Thank you so much for posting this!
*hard (not heard)
This is an awesome post! I think moving can be one of the biggest stressors on pets …. they have no idea what is going on. I remember moving with my cat several times when he was alive and he was not a fan of moving probably more so than me! lol
It’s always hard to move when you’ve got pets, I remember when my sister did it and the cat was scared the entire time.
What a great post. I always wondered how a pet would handle a move.
Such an important post! People sometimes forget that their animals may be the most stressed members of the family when it comes to moving!
Great post! We’ve moved twice with our pets and I could see how stressed they got!
We’ll be doing this soon, but it won’t be a far move. Still a little stressful though so we may board them during the actual move and bring them home after everything has been unloaded and let them explore while we start unpacking.
Lots of tips for making the move smoothly. I can see how stressed our dog would get in the chaos.
It is stressful enough moving but with kids and pets, boy! Been there and done that. I love these tips and would make sure I took my pet in for a complete check up before we moved because finding a vet once you are there is usually the last thing on your list.
We moved a few states and always moved with our pets. Our last move from NY to CO included getting all the above done. Since we had a cat at the time she was able to be on the plane with us instead of in the cargo hold or wherever they keep bigger pets.
I still need to find a new vet! IT is certainly a chore.
Great tips! I think we sometimes overlook how hard moving will be on our pets too!
So many people overlook that moving is just as stressful on our pets as it is us. These are great tips to share and to make people aware. Thank you for sharing:)
Great tips! Moving is stressful in itself. A pet definitely amplifies that.
My sister and her husband are house hunting. I just asked her last night how she plans to move her cats since she only has one cat carrier. She said one at a time. I told her NO WAY could she do that! The first kitty will be terrified all alone in a new big place!
These are great tips for moving with pets. I just moved into a new home with my dog and 2 cats. They are still trying to get used to the new surroundings. Thanks for sharing.
Surrond with familiarity! That’s such a great idea and would work on little kiddos too!
Moving is always a bit scary in my opinion so I can imagine pets feeling the same. These are some really good tips for pet owners that plan on moving soon!
There is so much to consider when moving to a new place – including for pets.