What catches most pet owners out on a move isn’t the day itself. It’s the days either side. The cat that finds the cardboard boxes interesting at first and then disappears for 36 hours when the noise starts. The dog that copes with the journey fine but refuses to settle for a fortnight afterwards. The hamster that someone forgets is in the spare bedroom. Pets aren’t the moving day’s biggest project but they’re often the bit that runs longest, because animals process change on their own timeline and the family has to work around it.
This guide walks through the practical side of moving house with pets: the prep before the move, the day itself, the settling-in window after, and the extra paperwork involved if the move is international.
Cats: the disappearing act
Cats are the pets most likely to go missing on a move and the ones least likely to come back if they do. The behaviour pattern is consistent. The boxes appear, the cat investigates them with interest, the actual packing begins, and the cat retreats to a corner of the house. On moving morning, with strangers in the home and furniture leaving, the cat looks for a way out.
The single most useful step is the secure room. Pick one room (a spare bedroom or a bathroom), close the door, put the cat and its bed, food, water, and litter tray in there, and tape a sign to the door telling the crew not to open it. The cat stays there from the morning of packing day until the moment the van leaves. On arrival at the new house, repeat the same arrangement in a chosen room before the unloading begins.
The microchip is worth checking before the move. A microchip with an old address on the registry isn’t much use if the cat goes missing post-move. Update the chip’s record with the new address as soon as the move date is confirmed. The database update can take a few days to propagate, so don’t leave it to moving day.
Outdoor cats need a confined period at the new house, ideally two weeks. The advice from most veterinary practices is the same: keep the cat indoors for two weeks so it accepts the new home as base, supervise the first few outdoor trips, and feed at consistent times so the cat associates the house with food. The way it usually goes is the cat tests the territory cautiously and settles within a fortnight. Some take longer. A few don’t quite settle and need extra patience.
Dogs: easier on the day, harder on the routine
Dogs handle the moving day better than cats. They notice the change, they’re around the activity, but they cope with it because they’re with their people.
The settling-in phase is where dogs surface their stress. Disrupted routine (different walks, different sounds, different smells) shows up as anxiety, sleeplessness, or behaviour the family isn’t used to. The fix is to re-establish routine quickly. Walks at the same times, meals at the same times, bedtime in the same spot, all from day one at the new house.
Worth thinking about who’s with the dog on moving day. A garden-fenced new property means the dog can be out the back during unloading. A flat or a house without a garden means a friend, family member, or dog walker takes the dog for the day. Crews moving boxes through open doors and a stressed dog isn’t a combination that ends well.
Microchip update applies to dogs too, and the legal obligation is sharper than for cats. UK law requires a microchip for any dog over 8 weeks old, and the registered address must be current. Update the chip’s record when the move is booked.
Smaller pets, fish, and the easily-forgotten
Rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, and other small mammals usually travel in their cage in the family car. The cage gets secured (seatbelt or footwell), kept calm and shaded, and arrives ahead of the removals lorry so the pet is set up before the noise starts.
Fish are the awkward case. Tropical and marine setups don’t travel well. The temperature shock, the water changes, and the time without filtration stress the fish significantly. For shorter moves (a few hours within Leicestershire or to Rutland or north Northamptonshire), bagging fish in water from their own tank, draining the tank, packing the equipment, and reassembling at the new house within the same day usually works. For longer moves, a specialist aquarium service is worth considering.
Birds in cages travel in the family car too, covered to reduce stress, kept warm.
Reptiles need heat sources and substrate consistency. Ask a vet or specialist before moving day if the species is unfamiliar.
International pet moves post-Brexit
The rules changed in 2021 and are different now from what most owners remember from the EU Pet Passport era.
For UK pets travelling to the EU, the route is now the Animal Health Certificate (AHC). The AHC is issued by an Official Veterinarian (OV) at a registered UK vet practice, within 10 days of travel, and it documents the pet’s identity, microchip, rabies vaccination, and (for dogs entering certain countries) tapeworm treatment.
The microchip has to meet ISO 11784/11785 standards. Most UK pet microchips do, but it’s worth checking with the vet before the AHC appointment. A non-compliant chip means a new one, and a new chip means the rabies vaccination has to be re-done after the new chip is implanted, with the 21-day waiting period for the vaccination to take effect.
Rabies vaccination: the pet has to have been vaccinated at least 21 days before travel, with the vaccine valid on the date of travel. A booster doesn’t reset the 21-day rule if the previous vaccination was current. A lapsed vaccination does.
Tapeworm treatment for dogs is required for entry to the UK, Norway, Malta, Finland, and Republic of Ireland. The treatment must be administered by a vet between 24 and 120 hours before arrival. Cats and other species don’t need it.
The AHC costs roughly £150 to £250 from a UK vet practice. It’s valid for a single trip. Repeated trips need repeated AHCs.
For air travel, the airline’s pet acceptance rules are the gating factor. Some carriers (British Airways, Virgin Atlantic) carry pets in cargo on most routes. Others don’t. Pet relocation specialists like Petair UK and Airpets handle the booking, the IATA-compliant carrier crate, and the airport-side handling, and are worth the cost for any international move involving a pet.
Quarantine is mostly historical for European destinations but still applies to Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and a few others. Australian quarantine is the strictest: roughly 10 days minimum even for vaccinated, microchipped pets from approved countries, with strict pre-import bloodwork. Plan around it.
The day-of-move routine
A pet-friendly moving day usually runs something like this. Pet secured in a designated room with food, water, and the door taped shut. Crew briefed at the start of the day on which doors stay closed. Pet kept calm and undisturbed through the load. Family member or trusted helper takes the pet ahead in the car (if convenient) or with the family. Pet set up in the new house in a designated room before unloading begins. Pet stays in that room until the house is quiet and settled. Family checks in regularly through the day and offers food and water at the usual times.
Our local house removals crews work to a moving-day plan that’s been agreed with the family at the survey, including pet arrangements. The brief is always the same: doors closed where pets are, ID the room clearly, take a moment with the pet’s owner before the work starts so everyone knows the plan.