Home relocations are a very stressful and hectic endeavour for all families, especially the ones with young kids or pets. Moving with cats can particularly be challenging, as they are often anxious and do not like change or new environments. The team of Safe Ship Moving Services mentions that pet parents should take appropriate measures to make a move smooth and comfortable for their feline friends. It is imperative to take steps to prepare a cat for a move.
Safe Ship Moving Services offers a brief overview of how to prepare move with a cat
Moving with a pet is all about minimizing stress whenever possible. How a cat reacts to the move would largely depend on their individual temperament. It is the responsibility of the pet parent to mitigate the anxiety of the situation to the best of their ability. Preparing a cat for a move begins way before the moving day. Starting early would help acclimate the cat to many aspects of the move, so that they are in a better position to handle the chaos of the moving day.
First of all, pet parents must get their cats comfortable in their carriers. The cat would be spending a lot of time in their carrier on the moving day, so it is prudent to see to it that they get used to the carrier beforehand. Pet parents should leave the carrier out with its door open in a room frequented by the cat, so that they get a chance to explore it at their own pace. A favourite toy of the cat could be placed inside the carrier to encourage them to go inside. Pet parents may keep the food dish of the cat inside the carrier so that they need to step in it to eat. Eventually, this will help make sure that the cat is comfortable going in and out of the carrier on their own and would not get too anxious when left inside the carrier for long hours on the moving day.
The team of Safe Ship Moving Services mentions that the majority of cats tend to love cardboard boxes, which can be quite advantageous when it is time to start packing. Pet parents should take a few moving boxes out early and let the cat explore them at their leisure. If the cat seems skittish around the boxes, pet parents may play around the boxes with them or even hide a few treats inside the boxes. If the cat seems stressed near the boxes it might be due to their unfamiliar smell. To deal with this issue, pet parents may spritz some organic catnip spray on a spare moving box to make the cat more comfortable with them.
Pet parents should try their best to maintain the cat’s routine during a move. This means making sure that they have their meals, playtime and cuddles at the usual time. Moves can be stressful for cats due to the change in environment and routine. While pet parents can’t do anything about the former, they can take active steps to maintain the latter.
