Selling Your Home With Pets?
Felines, canines, and all of our other furry friends… they truly make a house a home. However, when it comes to selling a home, this isn’t the case. We know how much people love their pets, and it’s always difficult to tell this to a seller, but while potential buyers are looking at your home, make sure that your pets are out of the home. Although you love your pets, some buyers may not. Some buyers are allergic to pets and some are fearful of certain animals, large or small! It’s important to have your pets contained, or preferably out of the house, so that any buyers viewing your home can concentrate on your homes selling features, and not on your playful pet!
Pets bring joy, happiness, and love into our lives… however, some also bring odours with them! It’s important to deoderize your home as much as possible while it’s being marketed. A well presented home is all about stimulating all of the senses in a desireable way… an overfull litter box will not score any points for any buyers looking at your home!
Making The Move Easier
Moving can be hard on everyone involved… adults, children, and yes… pets! While your pet may not understand what exactly is going on, they can sense the stress (good or bad) that the whole family is experiencing. Animals are creatures of habit and do not like changes to their usual routines, so you can understand why they become confused. They also become quite anxious when, all of a sudden, they see their human family busily throwing everything into boxes. Naturally, we always want to keep our pets happy and healthy, but we also want to lessen their chances of “acting-out.” Animals are just like people, and they can behave rather badly under stress. We need to do all that we can to help them feel secure throughout the moving process. When faced with an upcoming moving, here are some tips to help reduce the amount of stress that your pets will experience and to help avoid as much disruption in their daily routine!
During The Packing Process
- Try to keep your pet’s daily routine as close to normal as possible! Adhere to the usual feeding schedule, exercise, bedtime schedule, etc.
- When packing, leave your pet’s belongings till last. If possible, allow your pet continued access to the
same food dishes, litter box, bed, and toys right up until the moving day. 
Lessen the chances of there being any “mistakes” by keeping your cat’s litter box in it’s usual spot, right up until you load the cat into the car. Or, you can consider containing your cat to a “transition room” while you make your move.- Leave a few empty packing boxes open on the floor for your pets to explore. This will allow your pets to familiarize themselves with these strange objects and will prevent them from being afraid of them.
On Moving Day…
- It is best to remove your pets from the house before you start moving your possessions! Allowing your pets to roam free through the house, while the front door is open and people are rushing in and out, is a recipe for disaster. If it is not possible to remove your pets beforehand, then you should select an empty room with a door where your pets can be safely housed for the day. Make sure you place their food, water dishes, toys, bedding and a litter box in the room to keep them comfortable.
- Many pets find the background noise of a radio comforting, and it helps to muffle some of the loud and unsettling noises that come from moving heavy furniture and boxes.
- Be sure to put collars with identification tags on your pets, as many pets do escape during the confusion of moving day. To avoid possible injury to your cat, always use a breakaway collar. Although many pets are micro chipped, having your pet wear a collar is a good idea, as only pet care workers have access to the tool that reads the chip, while anyone can read your name and phone number on a tag.
- For transportation to the new home, cats should be placed in a cat carrier that is placed on the floor of the back seat, and dogs should be property restrained. Dogs should either ride in the back of the vehicle, separated from the passengers and in a dog crate, or should sit in the back seat, strapped into a dog seat belt. This protects both the dog and the passengers as a quick stop can send your dog hurtling forward, putting both dog and passengers at risk of injury.
- NEVER LEAVE YOUR PET UNATTENDED IN A VEHICLE! While the temperature in the car may seem just a little warm to you, animals overheat very quickly. Sadly, every year there are thousands of pets who succumb to heatstroke as a direct result of being left in a hot car.
- Bring your pet’s dishes, food, leash, toys, bedding, litter box and any medications in the car. Providing consistency for your pet is important, so when you arrive at your new home, you’re ready to set up your pet’s things where you intend on keeping them.
Moving With Small Pets
Birds, lizards, rabbits, and other small animals are much easier to move as they are accustomed to being caged. To make the journey to the new home safely, they should be kept in their cage or placed in carriers that are appropriately sized before being loaded into the car.
Placing a light weight cloth over your small pet’s cage will help to keep them quiet and calm during the car ride (be sure to allow adequate air flow). Provide fresh water and food for you pet while travelling and remember to bring their medicine and toys!
Small animals overheat even faster than large animals, so again, never leave your pets unattended in a vehicle.
Introducing Your Pet To Your New Home
In the new home, select a “transition room” for your pet while the “move–in” is completed. After things have calmed down and the movers have left, let your pet out to explore the new home. You may want to let your pet use the “transition room” for a couple of days before moving their belongings to their permanent location.
Before releasing your pet into the new backyard, do a safety check. Is the fence in good shape – no spaces for your pet to wiggle through or under? Can your pet reach the neighbour’s pet through the fence, and if so, is the neighbour’s pet friendly? Are there any sharp objects that could pose a hazard? What about plants – are there any that could be harmful if eaten or cause injury if contacted? Is there any garbage that your pet can get into? Is there shade available? After running through all of these checks, be sure to leave a large, cool bowl of water and spend some time in the backyard with your pet.
That’s it! Hope your pet enjoys his or her new home!