Moving with pets in Dubai is mostly a problem of noise and heat. A front door propped open for five hours, strangers in every room and a lift lobby stacked with cartons: a dog reads all of that as something going badly wrong, and a cat simply vanishes behind the water heater.
We load for families with animals most weeks, and the pattern repeats. Households that have decided where the pet will be before the crew arrives have an ordinary day. The ones that have not spend the afternoon coaxing a cat out from under a wardrobe that is already half wrapped.
Get the Carrier Out a Fortnight Early
Most cats here meet their carrier twice a year, both times on the way to the clinic, so by moving day the thing means one event only. Two weeks is enough to change that. Leave it open in the room the cat already favours, put a blanket inside that smells of home, and feed them beside it, then in it.
Dogs need the box less and the routine more. Hold the walks at their usual times right through packing week, even when the flat is full of cartons and you are behind on everything else. If your dog travels badly, two short practice runs in the car to somewhere dull and back beat one long drive on the day.
- Leave the carrier open at home for two weeks, not two hours
- Feed beside it, then inside it, then shut the door for a minute
- Keep walk and feeding times unchanged while packing goes on
- Book the vet for a check and a copy of the vaccination record
Check the Pet Rules at the New Address Before You Sign
Pet rules in Dubai are set by the building or the community rather than centrally, and they differ more than people expect. Some towers cap how many animals a flat may keep, some want a registration form and vaccination records on file, and many require pets to use the service lift instead of the residents' one.
Ask the management office before the tenancy is signed, and get the answer in writing if you can. Registration for cats and dogs goes through Dubai Municipality, so keep the licence and the vaccination card in the bag that travels with you. The office that approves your move in permit often holds the pet form too, so ask about both at once. Our guide to move in and move out permits in Dubai covers the rest of that paperwork.
One Closed Room, or a Day Somewhere Else
For the loading hours, the honest answer is somewhere else. A flat with the door wedged open, a hallway of boxes and a lift held on the floor is no place for an animal that wants out. If a friend will take the dog, or a boarding kennel or a day sitter can have them from eight until two, take it.
If they have to stay, pick one room, shut the door and tape a note on it. Water, the litter tray, a familiar blanket and the carrier go in there, and that room gets packed last and loaded last. Point the door out at the morning walk round and the crew will work around it, then clear it in ten minutes once the rest is on the truck.
In October the Heat Still Sets Your Timings
Even now, in the second half of October, a loading bay at two in the afternoon is no place for a dog, and a car bonnet will still burn a paw. Walk dogs early and late on moving day and keep them off the tarmac in between. Stairwells and basement car parks hold heat long after the outside air has cooled.
Never leave an animal in a parked car, not for the five minutes it takes to sign for a lift deposit. Run the air conditioning before the carrier goes in, set it on the floor behind a front seat rather than in the boot, and keep water and a bowl in the car. Our guide to moving in Dubai in summer goes further into the heat side of a move.
- Walk the dog before seven and after sunset on moving day
- Cool the car down before the carrier goes in
- Carry water and a bowl in the car, not in a packed box
- Keep pets out of stairwells, loading bays and basement car parks
Pets Travel With You, Never on the Truck
We do not carry animals on our vehicles, and no mover should offer to. A loaded truck is dark, warm and full of things that shift, and nobody can watch a carrier from the cab. Pets go in the family car, with one person responsible for them and nothing else.
Say so at the survey rather than on the day. When we plan a home or villa move for a household with animals, the supervisor allows for the room that stays shut, an early lift slot, and the fact that one adult will be driving the cat over while the other waits at the new door. A pet flying out of the country is a job for a licensed relocation company, not for us.
Set One Room up Before the Pet Walks In
Do not open the carrier in an empty flat with the crew still carrying in. Pick the quietest room, usually a bedroom away from the lift, and get it ready first: litter tray in the corner, water, food bowls, bedding that came from the old home unwashed, and the carrier left open as somewhere to hide. Then let the cat out in there and leave them alone.
Walk the room first. Windows latched, balcony door shut, no gap behind a fitted wardrobe. High floors and open balconies are the real risk in a Dubai apartment, and a cat in its first hour is not thinking about the drop. Dogs do better with a tour on the lead instead.
- Unpack the pet room before the kitchen
- Check every window, balcony door and gap behind the units
- Put down bedding from the old home without washing it
- Keep the door shut while furniture is still coming in
The First Fortnight at the New Address
Keep a cat fully indoors for about two weeks, then give them the rest of the flat one room at a time. Walk a dog on the lead in the new community for the first week even if they were reliable off it before, because the smells, the gates and the route home are all unfamiliar. Expect a few bad nights of pacing. It usually settles by the second week.
Update the paperwork while you remember it. The microchip registration, the collar tag, the vet file and the community pet form all carry your old address, and a pet that gets out in week one is far easier to return if they do not.
If your dates are set, request a free quote and tell the surveyor what animals you have and how they travel. It changes the order we pack the rooms in and the lift slot we ask the building for. You can also call us on 058 135 7375.
