Moving with pets
Researched and written by Ashley Davis · Reviewed by Emily Johnson · Last reviewed August 2026
A pet move is not a lifting problem at all. An animal experiences moving day as its territory disappearing, one box at a time, with strangers carrying it out of the door, and almost every problem on the day comes from that rather than from the journey. The single most useful step is one closed room the animal stays in while the house empties.
What is the one thing to do on moving day?
Shut the animal in one room with its water, bed and litter, put a sign on the door and tell the crew before they start. That room is loaded last. The alternative is an open front door, a crew carrying furniture through it for six hours, and an animal that has already decided the situation is not safe. Most moving-day escapes happen in the first hour.
When should the carrier come out?
Weeks before, not on the morning. A carrier that appears only for vet trips is a signal the animal already reads, so leave it open in a normal room with a blanket and food in it until it is furniture. Feeding two or three meals in the open carrier in the fortnight before the move does more for the day than anything done on the day itself.
How does the animal travel?
With a person, in the car, never in the moving truck, which has no climate control and no way to check on anything. Secure the carrier so it cannot slide, and on a long drive plan stops for water rather than for exercise, since a stressed animal on an unfamiliar verge is an animal that pulls out of a collar. Keep a lead on before any door opens.
What travels with you rather than in the truck?
Vaccination and vet records, any prescription medication with enough supply to cover the move and the first week, microchip details, and a recent photograph. Update the microchip registration and the ID tag with the new address as soon as the date is fixed, because the animal most likely to go missing is the one that has just arrived somewhere it does not recognise.
What happens at the new house?
Reverse the moving-day room. Set one room up first with the animal's own unwashed bedding, food bowls and litter tray, and let it stay there while the rest is unpacked, then open the house one room at a time. Cats in particular should stay indoors for a period after a move; ask a vet how long for your animal rather than following a general rule.