Let’s be honest. Your cat did not consent to this move. Nobody asked them. They had a whole territory mapped out, a specific sun patch on the living room floor, and a very important relationship with the gap behind the couch — and you’ve gone ahead and ruined all of it. The good news is that with a bit of planning, you can get through moving day with your cat intact, your sanity mostly preserved, and your furniture only moderately scratched.
Start With the Carrier — Weeks Before Moving Day
If the only time your cat sees their carrier is when something bad is about to happen — the vet, a road trip, moving day — they will treat it like a trap. Because to them, it is. Start leaving the carrier out in the open a few weeks before your move with the door open. Toss treats inside. Put a favourite blanket in there. Let them walk in and out on their own terms. The goal is for the carrier to feel like a normal, non-threatening object rather than a one-way portal to misery. This one step will make moving day dramatically easier.
The Cat Room Strategy
On moving day, put your cat in one quiet room — bedroom, bathroom, anywhere with a door that closes — with their litter box, food, water, and a familiar blanket. Put a sign on the door that says DO NOT OPEN — CAT INSIDE. Make it big. Make it hard to miss. Because someone will open it. Someone always opens it. And a stressed cat bolting through an open front door with a moving truck parked outside is not a fun situation for anyone.
Keep them in that room until everything else is loaded and the truck is ready to leave. They go in the carrier last, and they ride with you — not in the moving truck.
Never Put Your Cat in the Moving Truck
This should go without saying but here we are. Moving trucks are not climate controlled. They’re loud, they’re dark, and they smell like a hundred previous moves. Your cat should always travel in the car with you where it’s temperature controlled, quieter, and you can keep an eye on them. Do not open the carrier in the car. Do not let them roam the vehicle. A panicked cat in a moving car on the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge is a memorable experience for all the wrong reasons.
Update the Microchip and ID Tags
Before moving day, make sure your cat’s microchip information and ID tags have your current contact details — or ideally, your new address if you know it. Moving is one of the highest-risk times for pets to go missing. Open doors, unfamiliar surroundings, stressed animals — it’s a recipe for an accidental escape. If the worst happens and they slip out, up-to-date ID gives them the best chance of coming home.
Give Them One Room at the New Place First
When you arrive at the new home, resist the urge to release your cat into the entire space at once. Set up one room first — their home base — with their litter box, food, water, familiar blankets, and toys. Let them decompress and get their bearings before exploring the rest of the house. A new home smells completely foreign to a cat, and the whole thing is genuinely overwhelming for them. Starting small and expanding gradually makes the adjustment much faster.
Expect Some Drama — Then Expect It to Pass
Your cat may sulk for a few days. They may knock things off shelves. They may stare at you with the energy of someone who has been deeply wronged. This is normal. Most cats settle into a new home within a week or two, especially once their scent is spread around and the place starts to feel like theirs. Stick to their usual routine as closely as possible — same feeding times, same play schedule — and they’ll come around.
And if they don’t for a while? That’s also normal. They’re cats. They’ll get over it eventually.
Ready to move — cat and all? Call us at 604-720-0931 or get a free quote online today.
Brothers Moving has been helping Vancouver families and their pets relocate since 2008. We serve Metro Vancouver including Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond, Surrey, Coquitlam, North Vancouver, West Vancouver, New Westminster, Delta, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows, Langley, Abbotsford, White Rock and Horseshoe Bay. We also serve Vancouver Island including Victoria, Nanaimo, Courtenay, Campbell River and Parksville, and throughout BC including Kelowna, Kamloops, Penticton, Chilliwack and Prince George.