When you make a move from one home to another and bring your pet, it’s a lot like taking a human member of the family, particularly a toddler. Your pet depends on you for the basics like food and water, as well as protection from danger and, of course, love and care.
Much like you’d prepare a diaper bag for a baby, you should make up a bag of pet supplies filled with items to cover the first couple days of being in the new place when there are bags and boxes everywhere and you need easy access to the most important things.
For instance, your bag of pet supplies would include dog food or kitty litter or grooming brushes. It should also include any medications your pet is currently taking.
Your pet should ideally travel with you in your vehicle to the new home. Make sure they don’t escape between the vehicle and the new place by keeping them in a locked/secure cage and/or on a proper leash.
Once you arrive at the new place, try your best to keep your pet away from too much noise and hoopla. Put them into a quiet room away from “the action.” Check in with them regularly and do your best to stick to the routine you have feeding them/walking them/etc.
Introduce your pet to the new house after things have been unpacked, the furniture is in place, and it starts to “feel like home,” so it’s familiar to your pet.
Moving can be stressful for people and their pets, but after a couple days of adjusting to the new surroundings, life will soon be back to normal.