Moving with pets cross country

There’s a lot of work to be done with preparing for a move.  It can seem even more daunting when you’re facing the prospect of gathering up your furry friends and moving cross country.  Here are the steps to ensure your pets arrive at your new destination safe and sound. 

Click on the image below to print your own PDF of a checklist for moving with your pets.

Read further to learn about the steps you should take in preparation for your move. This article provides tips on how to move your pets in a stress-free manner and the best ways to acclimate them to your new digs. 

Preparation for moving your pets: what to do (ideally 1 month in advance)

Once you know you’re planning to move, schedule your pets for a trip to their veterinarian.  This ensures you can have any upcoming vaccines updated.  If you’re planning to fly with your pets you should have a domestic health certificate to present to the airlines. 

Try to plan the vet visit no later than 10 days from your anticipated travel date. Most health certificates for flight should be dated within 10 days of your departure date. 

Before your veterinary visit you can request that your medical records be ready for you to take home.  Alternatively, many pet hospitals can email your medical records for your pets . 

While you’re at your veterinary office you may want to discuss the upcoming travel plans and ways to mitigate stress for each of your pets.  Some animals are more tightly wound (you know those types, right?! ). You may already know you would like an anti-anxiety medication to ease the stress of travel. 

If your pets are going to be traveling in the car, and you know they are sensitive to motion sickness, you can discuss the best medicine to alleviate this. There are over the counter medications you can give your dog (bonine and dramamine) and also prescription strength medication that your vet can prescribe. 

Before you leave your veterinary hospital locate your microchip information for any pets that are chipped. Ask your vet to provide you with their identification numbers and the company to update your new address and any new phone numbers. 

Finally, it’s a very good idea to request a slightly longer refill for any regular prescription medications or foods your pets need.  It may take a while longer than you anticipate to find and schedule a new appointment for your pet.  This can be a life saver!  

If you regularly order from an online pharmacy, you can also ask for copies of written prescriptions.  Ask for daily medications your pet may be taking (for thyroid conditions, blood pressure management etc) and also for prescriptions for any special diets they may eat and any regular monthly preventatives for flea/tick or heartworm. 

It is a good idea to create an emergency kit for your pets for while your are travling.  I have created a comprehensive pet emergency kit that you can download and modify as needed to create your own. 

Finally, I highly recommend you consider purchasing a GPS tracker for your pets.  You will want to order this in advance if you don’t already have one . It will give you a tremendous peace of mind to know that you can locate your furry love if they get lost or escape at any point in your move.  I personally use the Whistle for my 10 pound cat, Hershey. 

Even though it is marketed for dogs, it fits her comfortably. It has not fallen off despite her many escapades around our neighborhood.  Hershey climbs fences and scoots under fences and it’s never fallen off! It  does comes back a little dirty.  The whistle app tells us when she’s within a few hundred feet of our house and alerts us when she’s arrived home.  The Whistle has a battery life of a little longer than a week.  

Finally, if you don’t have a GPS or don’t care to invest in this product, you may want to have a recent photo of all your pets handy. As a worst case scenario- you will be able to provide others an image to help locate your furry friend. 

What to do for your pets the day of your move!

On the day of your move (and the days leading up) your house is going to be a little chaotic.  If you have an anxious dog, you may want to drop them off at a friend’s house or to a doggie day care provider.  Alternatively you can keep them comfortable in a room to themselves. Be sure to set up a bed, food, water and litter boxes for any cats.   If your pet is frightened by noises, you can set up music or television to create comforting background noise.  You can place an adaptil collar on your dog and/or plug in a feliway diffuser.  It is best to provide only a small snack or even withhold food the morning of your travel to reduce the chance of illness during travel. 

You should pack a bag with pet essentials

This should include a travel bed, some favorite toys, snacks, food and food bowls.  For your cats, be sure to bring a few smaller litter boxes, a scoop, baggies to collect poop and Feliway spray.  Be sure to charge up your GPS collar and also pack several slip leashes.  A great travel water bowl is this Waterboy travel bowl.  It can be placed in the car and is relatively splash proof.  It only fills a small amount of water so that not too much can slosh about. 

You may want to place a calming Adaptil collar on your dogs if they are anxious during the chaos of travel.  A good canine calming supplement is Anxitane and can be provided like a treat.  It is available over the counter. For cats, you can bring a plug in  calming feliway diffuser.  A spray can be used to spray the bedding of their carrier. 

Be sure to continue any regularly spaced walks and bathroom breaks for your canine companions.  

When it’s time to physically move your pets, consider the timing for when you provide any pre-medication for travel.  If you have an anxious cat, it’s best to give them their anti-anxiety medication 60-90 minutes in advance. For any dogs that get motion sickness, it’s best to give them their medicine 60 minutes in advance.  

Be sure to pack your pet’s veterinary health certificates with your carry-on bags if you plan to fly. 

Travel to the new destination in the car: tips for dogs and cats

Before you set off to travel it’s best if you can tire your dog out with a nice long walk, run, or ball catching session. ( It will do you some good as well). 

To prepare the inside of the car, it’s always safest to house your pet inside a crate or fit them with a harness that you can  attach to a seatbelt.  

A seat back protector is also a great purchase for traveling with dogs in the backseat. Seatbelts can still be used.

You can use a harness like this to clip to a cat carrier and plug into a seatbelt

 

If there is anything sharp inside your car, you can purchase pipe insulation and fit it around to pad these areas. 

When traveling with your pet inside a crate, make sure they can stand up and turn around easily inside.  It’s a good idea to line the carrier with absorbant pads. For cats, you can spray the bedding of their crate with feliway. 

During your car trip, you should try to pull over every 4-6 hours for a potty break and to take your dog for a quick walk. 

Motion sickness medication doses for dogs: 

*** always ask your veterinarian if over the counter medications are safe for your pet based on their health history ***

Remember to carry extra leashes in the car (nylon slip leashes are easy to stash) and carry your emergency kit.  If you’ve packed your kit with the items I’ve listed in my printable, you will have these leashes. 

Prepare for any overnight stops by arranging overnight accommodations with pet friendly hotels. 

https://www.petswelcome.com/  can help you plan your trip.  You simply plug in the destination and they will list the available pet friendly hotels and their pet policy. 

Airplane travel with your pets

A pet traveling in the cabin must be carried in an approved hard-sided or soft-sided kennel. The kennel must fit completely under the seat in front of you and remain there at all times. 

The maximum dimensions for hard-sided kennels are:

 17.5 inches long x 12 inches wide x 7.5 inches high (44 cm x 30 cm x 19 cm).  

The maximum dimensions for soft-sided kennels are: 

18 inches long x 11 inches wide x 11 inches high (46 cm x 28 cm x 28 cm)

Purrpy premium pet travel bag for cats/small dogs works well for under the seat on a plane.

Sky kennels work well for pets too big to travel in the cabin of the plane.

The cost to have a pet travel inside the plane’s cabin varies but is typically an additional $95-$200 per pet.  

Besides needing the correct dimension kennel/carrier, your pet must be at least 8 weeks old to travel domestically. 

Your seat must accommodate the carrier so bulkhead seating may not be allowed , nor for example, United’s Premium Plus seat, because their bulky foot rest limits space under the seat. 

The total weight limit is generally 20 lbs between your pet and the carrier they are inside

Don’t forget your documentation (health certificate) as needed per the airlines

Acclimatization letters for pet travel

Dogs or large cats that must travel underneath the plane may need an acclimatization letter from your veterinarian. While the cargo hold is temperature controlled, sometimes cargo must spend time waiting to load onto the plane.  If temperatures on the tarmac fall below 45°F (7°C) or higher than 85°F (29°C) anywhere on your route, the airline may not allow your pet to travel. An acclimatization is an attestation by your veterinarian that your pet should be healthy enough to withstand these temperatures.  

Another consideration since the COVID pandemic is to check with your airlines to make sure they allow pets to travel in cargo.  Some airlines have stopped allowing pets to travel in cargo during COVID. 

Introducing your pets to a new house

When you arrive at your new destination, if you have a more fearful or timid cat, you should keep them in your master bedroom at first.  Cats feel most at home in the room their owners choose to spend the most time inside.  By providing a more limited environment to explore, you can gradually get them acclimated to their surroundings.  After a few days if they seem less fearful ,you can gradually open up the rest of the house for their exploration.  Always keep the master bedroom available for a quick getaway so that they can hide or retreat as needed. 

Be sure to provide options for vertical resting spots.  Cats feel most comfortable when they can scan their surroundings from above.  A cat tree or access to tall furniture is what cats enjoy. 

To introduce your dog to a new home, take them on a leash and explore the new home together.  Make sure you have evaluated the backyard if you plan to let your dog outside unattended to make sure the fencing is secure. 

Pet proof your new home

Conclusion for moving with pets

According to the ASPCA it takes about 3 weeks for your pet to feel at home in their “new” home.  Remember to be patient with your pets as they adjust to a new space and place!