How to Move with Pets: 7 Tips to Make it Easy

• Start packing early
• Find pet-friendly accommodations if needed
• Set up a designated moving day space
• Get the right gear
• Make a travel plan with your current vet
• Update your pet’s microchip
• Schedule a check-up with your new vet

1. Start packing early

Pets aren’t always a fan of change. To ease the transition, it’s important to pack early and gradually. This way, your pet has time to process that something new is happening and adjust accordingly. After all, imagine if you woke up one day and all your belongings were suddenly gone with no explanation. You’d be stressed, too.

2. Find pet-friendly accommodations if needed

Depending on how far you’re moving, you may not need this step. But, if your move involves multiple days of travel or a gap between moving out and moving in, wherever you stay in the interim needs to be equipped for your pet. Beyond simply identifying as a pet-friendly hotel or house, consider all the same factors that went into choosing your new home (outdoor access, windows, etc.) when choosing temporary accommodations. You can afford to be a little less selective here since it’s not for the long term. Still, the more comfortable the move is for your pet, the sooner they’ll settle in and feel at home in the new place.

3. Set up a designated moving day space

For the sake of both your movers and your pets, a designated pet space for moving day is a must. Backyards, friends’ houses, and large crates are all options for your canine kids. Cats can be a little trickier. If they have a favorite hiding spot and it’s in a place that can be closed off from the rest of the home, consider making that their designated area. This can help minimize stress since it’s a place where you know they feel safe. Wherever you set up base, make sure your cat has food, water, and a litter box. And, of course, communicate to your movers which areas are off-limits.

Pro Tip: If you have turtles or other pets that live in their own enclosed environment, keep that enclosure out of the way and clearly marked as NOT an item for your movers to pack up.

4. Get the right gear

Unless you’re moving right across town, you’re going to need more than just a carrier to transport your pet. Your needs will vary according to your pet, but here are some common items to consider:

• Leash with harness that can be hooked to a seatbelt
• Packable food and water bowls
• Disposable litter box
• Collars with current ID tags in case your pet gets out
• Crate with puppy pads

Whatever gear you get, don’t forget to try it out with your pet leading up to the move. The more acclimated they are to their new carrier or harness, the less stressed they’ll be on moving day.

5. Make a travel plan with your current vet

Leading up to the move, consult with your vet to create a travel plan for your animal. Especially if your pet gets carsick or has anxiety, you’ll want to discuss the possibility of sedatives, anti-nausea medicines, or anxiety medicines for the trip.

Does your dog spit out pills without fail? Then a liquid dose might be better. Is your cat hopeless in the car? Then your best bet may be a sedative (in the correct dose) to help them sleep through the drive. These are the details your vet can help you nail down in the safest manner possible.

6. Update your pet’s microchip

We recommend taking care of this as soon as you’re moved out of your old place. That way, if the worst-case scenario happens and your pet gets away from you during the move, any animal shelter that takes them in can find you. This is also just one of those small but important details that tend to get forgotten during the flurry of moving, like updating your billing address or forwarding your mail. The sooner you check it off your list, the sooner you can get back to the bigger issues like unpacking.

Not sure if your pet is microchipped? If you adopted them from a shelter, microchips are typically included along with spaying/neutering. Your vet can also help you check for a microchip. Just keep in mind that microchips can’t track your pet. Their function is to store your contact information so that if your pet ends up at a shelter, the shelter staff can notify you. The average person can’t access information on the microchip, so it’s important to keep your pet’s collar tags up to date, too. If you want to track your pet, there are also plenty of GPS tracking tags available that can be added to their collar. 

7. Schedule a check-up with your new vet

Moving with pets usually entails finding a new vet. Many vet clinics have a weeks-long waitlist for new patients, so don’t put off setting up an appointment until your pet needs one. Schedule a check-up as soon as you can. This is also a good opportunity to address any of your pet’s issues that may have arisen due to the stress of travel, such as gastrointestinal problems, anxiety, or aggression.

Any other tips for how to move with pets?

When it comes to how to move with pets, there’s no single right way to go about it. The best advice we can give you is to adjust to your pet’s unique needs. And don’t forget that their biggest insecurity about moving is likely about you leaving them behind. So, make sure you give your pet some extra head scratches, belly rubs, and treats to let them know you’re not going anywhere. At least, not without them.

The more comfortable you can make your pet during your move, the sooner you can all start to feel at home in your new place.

The post How to Move with Pets: 7 Tips to Make It Easy appeared first on Cardinal Financial.

7 home features to create the ultimate pet-friendly house.

1. Wash station
2. Automated vacuum
3. Hidden litter box
4. Durable floors
5. Fenced-in backyard
6. Enclosed patio
7. Fence and door windows

1. Wash station

Your cats might not appreciate this one, but a wash station is a life (or, at least, furniture) saver for those inevitable occasions when your dog makes the most of their outside time. And hey, no judgment if your toddler gets some mileage out of it, too. Some key features to consider for your wash station include:

• A detachable hose
• Leash hooks
• Non-slip floors
• Product storage nooks
• Adjustable height

2. Automated vacuum

No need to get a hairless cat (unless you want to). With an automated vacuum system, you can schedule it to circulate your home periodically and reduce all that pet hair accumulating faster than you can sweep it up.

3. Hidden litter box

You can’t avoid litter boxes, but you can make them less noticeable. If your home has stairs, consider converting the storage area underneath into an enclosed litter box area for your cat. Provide a small entrance (within a door that you can fit through for cleaning access) for your cat to discreetly get in and out. A flap over the entrance can also help reduce escaping odors.

If you can’t dedicate a whole room to your cat’s litter box, try getting an enclosed cover. A box with steps leading up to the entrance can help minimize the litter that gets tracked through your shared spaces.

4. Durable floors

Accidents happen, so choosing the right flooring in your home will save you a lot of time and frustration. Vinyl is considered the most durable, waterproof, and easy to clean. If you can’t reconcile vinyl with your aesthetic, tile is another great option, if a little less comfortable for your pets.

Green Tip: Linoleum is an excellent eco-friendly alternative to vinyl. Just keep in mind that it tends to be more expensive and harder to find.

5. Fenced-in backyard

Dogs need outdoor access, but when life gets hectic it can be hard for you to make as much time for it as they need. With a fenced-in backyard, you can let them outside and off-leash without having to keep an eye on them or put the rest of your day on pause. To make things even easier, install a doggy door.

6. Enclosed patio

Your cat loves looking at the outside world, if not necessarily participating in it. An enclosed patio lets your feline friend take those sunshine snoozes to the next level, without the risk of getting loose and exploring more than they bargained for. From translucent plastic to chicken wire, there are plenty of ways to create an enclosed space without breaking the bank, depending on the look you’re going for. Explore these ideas for more inspiration.

7. Fence and door windows

Pets of all kinds need a stimulating environment that offers a taste of what’s going on outside their home. For your smaller or older dogs with mobility issues, lower windows on your doors are a smart solution to make sure they don’t miss out on their daily squirrel watching.

Adding a window to your fence is another option, as long as your neighbor doesn’t mind. Who knows, your dog might just become best friends with the canine next door (but don’t worry, they’ll never replace you).

Is there anything I should avoid to have a pet-friendly house?

When it comes to creating a pet-friendly house, it’s as much about the features you don’t have as the ones you do. Your needs will depend on your pet, but avoiding these common hazards are a great place to start:

• Toxic plants: Unfortunately, this includes most houseplants. If you don’t want to give up your greenthumb lifestyle, consider hanging your plants out of reach (easier said than done for cat owners). Refer to this list to double-check which plants are safe and which are toxic.
• White furniture: White furniture is hard to clean and will show the normal wear and tear of pets being pets more clearly than darker tones. Sometimes, ignorance is bliss when it comes to the amount of dirt and fur your four-legged friends track through the house.
• Exposed cords and wires: If you have exposed electrical wires in your home, that’s a bigger problem that needs immediate attention for everyone’s sake. But you’ll also want to be mindful of cords for appliances like lamps, TVs, and device chargers. These are all prime nibbling real estate for your pets.
• Open access to household cleaners and medications: There’s a lot of overlap between child-proofing and pet-proofing. Keep potentially toxic materials out of reach and behind closed doors to make sure your human and animal children can’t get into them.
• Faux plants with small leaves: It’s not just real plants you have to watch out for. Faux plants often have small plastic leaves that are easy for your pets to choke on or swallow. At best, this results in some unpleasant cleanup for you. At worst, it could cause blockage in your pet’s stomach that requires surgery to fix.

Of course, your pet will love you whether you upgrade your home or not—but they aren’t the only ones who can benefit from it. Adding these features could also boost your home equity. This might qualify you for better rates and terms should you refinance your loan down the road. Speaking of refinancing, a cash-out refi* could help you pay for these pet-friendly house upgrades by leveraging your existing equity for cash out. You’re about to earn serious bragging—er, wagging rights.

*Using your home equity to pay off debts or make other purchases does not eliminate the debt or the cost of the purchases, but rather increases the loan amount of your mortgage to be paid according to your new mortgage terms.

Pets make a house a home, and a home with the right pet-friendly features can make all the difference for their quality of life.

The post Pet-Friendly House Tips: Best Home Features for Pets appeared first on Cardinal Financial.