Moving house is one of the most stressful events in anyone’s life. Whether it is the whole business of finding a place to move to, the paperwork and bureaucracy involved with estate agents or letting agents, or simply the physical and logistical effort of emptying a whole house and moving it to a new one, it is a challenging thing to do.

These tests are both practical and emotional. Getting everything organised and in boxes is hard enough, although it can help greatly if you choose your packaging well.

This means not just finding boxes that are robust and the right size, but adding the kind of packaging that can accommodate items of unusual shape and, most importantly, very fragile things.  

However, if you have pets that is a different challenge altogether. If you think you are feeling stressed at moving, as well as potentially daunted, excited, plus very sad (or extremely happy) to be saying goodbye to the great/awful neighbours, just imagine how it can be for your pets. They won’t understand what is going on, or why their environment is changing.

This can affect different creatures in varied ways. Your dog may adjust well as they are pack animals and will go where their owners go, while rabbits may be delighted to discover a new and tasty patch of grass (in the wild, male rabbits are very comfortable with migrating, a fact emphasised in the novel Watership Down).

Why Moving Cats Is Harder

Cats, however, might find the whole thing much harder. As territorial animals, they will have carefully cultivated their surroundings and moving to a new place will throw all of that into disarray. Moreover, they have often been known to run away and somehow find their way back to their previous stamping ground, going missing for a long time - or for good.

It helps that it is now the law in England that cats have to be microchipped, which means a lost one can be reunited with its owners more easily, but the problem of runaway cats is a real one.

Indeed, one of the best things you can do is keep the cat inside the new home for three weeks while they get used to it, before then letting it explore outside. If you believe the old wives’ tale, you might put butter on its paws and it will return, partly because this leaves a trail it can follow back. But there is no scientific evidence for this.

Practical Steps For Moving The Cat

All these factors can be related to the actual business of moving the cat from one house to another. You will need to do this after everything else, when the cat can roam happily around the familiar outdoor surroundings before the move, staying out of the way while all the big boxes are loaded into the van.

A cardboard cat carrier can be ideal for what comes next. Unlike a lot of cat boxes, which have an open grill at the front through which the cat can see, it will enclose your pet inside, which stops them from seeing where they are going and therefore makes it less likely they will try to find their way back to their old stamping ground.

Needless to say, the box also needs to be very robust to keep the pet secure. The last thing they or you need is for it to break. At the same time, it has to be well-ventilated for obvious reasons. It is far better to get a custom-designed carrier for this than to improvise.

Future Uses For The Cat Carrier

The great thing about such a carrier is that you can then store it at your new home to use again, either in future house moves (more likely if you are renting) or for more regular events like visiting the vet or taking your pet to the cattery when on holiday - the last of these being something you may need to do if the new neighbours aren’t willing or able to feed it.

Of course, once you have moved your cat in and the creature is settled, it will soon be taking ‘ownership’, scent-marking every door, wall and piece of furniture. You may see signs of stress such as missing its litter tray, but hopefully not for long. Spending lots of time with your cat and making sure the new home has lots of items with their scent on will also help.

Having a happy pet when you move home is one less thing for you to be stressed about. But with the right boxes and packaging for the task, you can take the most effective practical step to ensure getting your belongings safely from A to B in safety.