Relocating: How To Make Your Move Less Stressful For Your Pet

Relocating can be stressful for your pet as well as the family. At Rainbow Vet Hospital, we have comprised some tips to help you in relocating your pet. Pets love routine and familiar objects. Be sure to take their toys, beds, feeding dishes, so they familiar things. Once at the new location show them around and spend as much time as possible with them. Play time in the house or yard, take walks around the neighborhood and even break some of the rules, of where they sleep, if they seem to have anxiety if left alone.

Packing up the house can cause stress particularly for cats. Some can even show bladder problems the vet says, just from stress. Dogs may travel well in the car but do need breaks every two hours. Medications for motion sickness, may help if you know the pet has problems in the car. The animal hospital will have pheromones (calming odors) that can be sprayed in the carriers or even just in the car. Once to the new home it may help them adjust more quickly. In major problem pets the vet may prescribe tranquilizers or even anti anxiety medications.

It may take cats days to a couple of weeks to search the entire new place out and become comfortable. They may even take to marking their new home with urine. Stay calm, it will pass. Our Burbank Veterinarian recommends putting out extra litter boxes and maybe even let them get a little stinky for a few days. Dogs usually do well, if just allowed to look about and maybe have a few walks, so they can orient themselves to the surroundings. The vet recounts that when they moved, the doxie would no longer sleep by herself in her cage at night, so she was allowed to sleep next to the our bed, in her bed, and after two weeks the bed was moved back to her cage at night.

Prepare to move, make travel as calm as possible and after you arrive spend some time helping the pets adjust. Put out the toys, set up the cat tree, make a bedding area, a feeding area and try to make it their home again.

If you have any other tips to make relocating your pet less stressful, please post in the comments below!

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