Planning a move
Moving house with pets adds one more moving part to an already busy day, and it is the part that can genuinely get hurt or lost. This guide covers dogs, cats and the small caged crew: what to sort before the day, where the animals should be while the van is loading, and how to settle them in.
The best place for your pet on moving day is somewhere else. Doors stand open for hours, strangers carry furniture through every room, and the garden gate gets propped at exactly the wrong moment. A friend, a sitter or a day in boarding removes the risk entirely.
When that is not possible, the fallback is a closed quiet room: pet, bed, water, litter or puppy pads, a radio on low, and a sign on the door so nobody opens it. The PDSA's guidance for the day itself matches what we see on jobs: "Ideally, you should not move your pet until all the boxes, furniture, and removal people have gone and the house is quiet." Travel is the last leg, in your car, in a secure carrier or harness, never loose in the removal van.
Dogs mostly worry about one thing: where their people are. At the new house, walk the garden fence line before the dog does, because gaps you would never notice are exactly dog-sized. First explorations happen on a lead, room by room and then the garden, with the dog setting the pace. Get the usual walk route established within a day or two; familiar exercise is the fastest signal that life continues as normal.
Plenty of our customers' dogs have supervised the crew instead of leaving for the day, which works when someone owns that job. The two below ran the full spectrum, from nervous to chief inspector.
June 2025
Bearwood Road, Smethwick, B66Lightwoods Road, Bearwood, B67
3A short-distance three-bedroom move that still needed proper planning because of tight parking and a lot of stairs. The family had a rescue dog called Nellie who was nervous at first, then decided the team were her new best mates. Mrs Robinson kept the tea coming, which helped a lot.
"They were so kind with Nellie and made the whole move feel easy."
January 2025
Hagley Road, Edgbaston, B16Moor Green Lane, Moseley, B13
3A tidy family move from a second-floor flat near Edgbaston into a three-bedroom house in Moseley. The biggest job was getting a heavy oak wardrobe safely down the stairs without upsetting the freshly painted hallway. Their spaniel, Pickle, appointed himself site supervisor and followed the team from room to room. Mrs Harris kept everyone supplied with proper tea and chocolate digestives.
"They made a stressful moving day feel strangely calm. Even Pickle approved."
Cats attach to territory as much as to people, which makes moving the single most disorienting thing you can do to one. The RSPCA's advice on relocating is specific, and worth taking literally: "keep cats indoors for two to three weeks after moving." That fortnight-plus lets the new house become home base before the outside world gets added to the map. When you do open the door, do it before breakfast, so an empty stomach argues for coming back.
During the move itself, cats are escape artists with a talent for hiding in the exact box you were about to load. Shut them in their quiet room early, before the carrying starts, and tell the crew which door stays closed.
January 2025
Wake Green Road, Moseley, B13Church Road, Yardley, B25
2A compact two-bedroom move with several fragile mirrors, framed prints, and a much-loved piano stool that had been in the family for years. Their cat, Beans, hid in an empty wardrobe and gave everyone a mild heart attack before being found completely unbothered. The customers had bacon rolls ready when the team arrived. Legendary behaviour, frankly.
"Everything arrived safely, and they were lovely with our nervous cat."
April 2026
Willenhall Road, Wolverhampton, WV1Finchfield Road, Wolverhampton, WV3
2A two-bedroom move into a smaller property, with careful sorting between furniture going to the new house and items going into storage. Their cat, Socks, hid behind the washing machine until the final check. The team found him, which avoided a very awkward return journey.
"They were patient, kind, and really helped us keep things organised."
Tell us about pets when you book and the day gets planned around them: which room stays shut, which gate must never be propped, and whether a dog will be supervising the load (we have been personally vetted by several). Vans stay closed when unattended, the walkthrough confirms the pet plan before the first box moves, and nobody leaves until the cat that was definitely behind the washing machine has been confirmed found. It sounds small; on the day, it is the difference between a story and a search party.
If the move includes a gap between houses, factor the animals into the storage plan too; our guide to storage when moving house covers the two-leg move, and pets cope with it better when the second leg lands in a house that already smells of their bedding. For the day itself, the hour-by-hour rhythm is in what to expect on moving day.
Moving planner
Moving with animals adds jobs that need doing days ahead, not on the morning. Tell the moving planner you have pets and those tasks land in the right week alongside everything else, ticked off as you go and saved in your browser to print or email.
Just mention it when you get in touch and the discount comes straight off your written quote, on any move from a single item to a full house.
Ideally with a sitter, a friend or in day boarding, away from open doors and carry routes. If that is not possible, a closed quiet room with bed, water and a sign on the door works, with the dog travelling last in your own car.
Two to three weeks, which is the RSPCA's published advice. It gives the cat time to claim the new house as territory before meeting the neighbourhood. First trips out work best before a meal, so hunger brings them home.
No. The load area is not safe or legal for animals, and the cab is a working space with doors opening constantly. Pets travel with you, in a secure carrier or harness, with the heating or cooling that your car can control and a van cannot.
Yes, and before the move rather than after. The chip database is how an escaped or wandering pet finds its way back, and on moving week the address it holds matters more than at any other time. Update tags on collars too.
Fish travel in bags or buckets of their own tank water, filter media stays wet, and the tank moves empty because water weight breaks seals. Large established tanks deserve a specialist aquarium mover, and we recommend one rather than improvising.
Unpack their world first: bed, bowls and toys in a quiet corner before the furniture argument starts. Keep feeding and walking times identical to the old house, let them explore at their own pace, and save the carpet shampoo for later so the place smells reassuringly of them.
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