My dog has not eaten since we arrived: should I worry?

Skipping one or two meals after a long trip is common and almost always passes on its own. Stress, the time change and the fast before departure temporarily switch off the appetite. Keep water available, offer the usual food in small portions and do not force it. If the refusal to eat goes beyond twenty four hours, comes with vomiting or apathy, or involves an older animal or one with a condition, contact a vet without waiting any longer.

How long does it take a cat to settle into a new place?

It depends a lot on temperament, but for a cat it usually takes longer than for a dog. Many spend the first day hidden and start exploring only when the place stops feeling like a threat. It helps to limit the initial space to one safe room with a litter tray, water and something carrying the smell of home, then widen it gradually. If after several days the cat stays frozen, will not eat and does not use the tray, it is time to speak to a vet.

How do I handle a move to a much hotter climate?

In the first days the animal has not yet adjusted its ability to shed heat, so treat it as more sensitive than usual. Move walks to the cool hours of morning and evening, keep water always available, cut back on effort and seek shade in the middle of the day. Test the tarmac with the back of your hand before walking on it: if it burns you, it burns the pads. Signs of heatstroke, such as laboured breathing that will not slow, mean stopping and cooling the animal at once.

Can I use a sedative to help it adjust?

Not on your own initiative. Some aids, such as pheromone diffusers or calming supplements, can help but should be chosen with the vet, and actual medicines always need a prescription. Many products meant for people are toxic to dogs and cats. For most healthy animals, though, the combination of a safe zone, a rebuilt routine and patience is enough to get through acclimatisation without any substances.

Travelling with pets30 minLevel: IntermediateUpdated on August 20, 2026

Helping your pet adjust to a new climate and time zone after a long trip

After a flight or a long move, dogs and cats need time to settle into a new climate, time zone and home: what to do in the first hours and the first days.

Audience: Pet owners
Species: Dog, Cat
Scope: Valid everywhere, Italy, European Union

What you need before you start

Sapere a che ora locale sei arrivato e da quante ore l'animale è sveglio o in movimento
L'acqua e una piccola scorta del cibo abituale, per non cambiare dieta proprio all'arrivo
Un oggetto con l'odore di casa, come una coperta o la cuccia non lavata di recente
L'indicazione del clima della destinazione: temperatura, umidità e ore di luce rispetto a casa

The journey does not end when you open the door of the new home or the room where you will spend the holiday. For the animal it ends days later, once the body has shed the tiredness, readjusted to the hours and understood that this unfamiliar place is safe. A dog that arrives in the evening after an intercontinental flight is not being lazy if it turns down the bowl next morning, and a cat that hides for a whole day is not protesting: both are coming to terms with a different time zone, a different climate and a thousand new smells all at once. This guide explains what happens on arrival, what to do in the first hours so you do not make things worse, and how to guide the animal back to its routine without forcing it.

Why a long trip throws an animal off balance

A long move stacks up several stressors at once: hours in a carrier, noise, the fast before departure and, on arrival, an environment that matches nothing familiar. On top of that come two factors people often underrate, the change of time zone and the change of climate, which act on the body even when the animal seems calm.

The sleep and wake rhythm is set by light: cross a time zone and the internal clock for hunger, sleep and activity stays on home time for several days.
Moving to a hotter or more humid climate lowers tolerance for effort and changes how much water is needed.
A colder or drier climate can irritate the airways and dry out the paw pads in the first days.
The gut reacts to stress and fasting: nausea, loose stools and low appetite for a day or two are common and usually pass on their own.

The first hours after arrival

The first hours set the tone for the days that follow. The goal is not to restart normal life at once, but to lower stress and give the animal a fixed point to explore from. Fewer stimuli and more predictability: that is what shortens acclimatisation.

Offer fresh water, not a full meal
After a long trip an animal is often dehydrated before it is hungry. Leave water available and offer at most a small, light meal, holding the full ration until it has drunk and settled.
Set up a safe zone straight away
In a quiet corner place the bed, a blanket carrying the smell of home and, for a cat, the litter tray. One recognisable anchor is worth more than a whole house full of novelty.
Allow a short, guided look around
Let the animal explore one room at a time, on the lead if needed, without throwing every door open. Too much space at once raises anxiety rather than easing it.
Respect the need to hide
A cat that slips under the bed and a dog that seeks a corner should not be dragged out. Put water and the litter tray near the hiding place and wait: they come out once the place stops feeling like a threat.
Dim lights and noise on the first evening
Lower the lights around the time the animal would go to sleep back home, even if it is still daylight outside. It is the first cue to bring its internal clock back into phase.

Adjusting to the heat or cold of a new climate

The change of climate is the most concrete factor and also the easiest to manage, provided you take it seriously in the first days. An animal that handled a midday walk at home without trouble can struggle at the same hour in a hotter, more humid destination, simply because it has not yet had time to acclimatise.

Precautions for the first days by climate of arrival. These are general pointers, to be adapted to the species, breed and health of the animal.
Climate on arrival	Main risk	What to do the first days
Hotter and more humid	Trouble shedding body heat	Walks in the cool hours, water always available, reduced effort
Colder and drier	Irritated airways and paw pads	Shorter walks, warm shelter, check paws on returning
High altitude	Less oxygen and quick tiredness	Gradual activity, frequent breaks, watch the breathing
Very sunny	Burns on pale skin and scorching surfaces	Shade in the middle hours, test the tarmac with your hand

Restoring the routine and the day and night rhythm

Acclimatisation speeds up when the animal recovers fixed points. Routine reassures more than quiet does: knowing the bowl follows waking and that a walk comes at a certain hour is worth more than a silent house where nothing predictable happens. The rhythm has to be rebuilt on local time, gradually.

Shift meals towards local times by twenty or thirty minutes a day, rather than imposing the new schedule all at once.
Use light as an ally: expose the animal to local morning light and cut evening stimuli to bring the internal clock back into phase.
Reintroduce the small rituals of home, from the evening game to the sleeping spot, so the new place inherits familiar habits.
Resume exercise progressively, starting with short walks and lengthening them as appetite and sleep return to normal.
For two or three days note water intake, meals, stools and sleep: seeing the trend tells you whether the adjustment is on track.

When the signs are more than travel tiredness

The great majority of post travel signals resolve on their own within a day or two. The owner's job is to tell normal adjustment apart from a problem that warrants a call to the vet, without panicking at the first skipped meal but without ignoring a worsening either.

Within normal: low appetite for one or two meals, a day of loose stools, sleeping a lot, a cat that hides.
Worth attention: refusing water entirely beyond twelve hours, repeated vomiting, loose stools lasting more than two days.
Needs the vet without delay: laboured breathing that will not slow, marked lethargy, tremors, pale gums or signs of pain.
Should be assessed at once in an older or chronically ill animal, which tolerates travel stress and climate change less well.

Frequently asked questions

My dog has not eaten since we arrived: should I worry?: Skipping one or two meals after a long trip is common and almost always passes on its own. Stress, the time change and the fast before departure temporarily switch off the appetite. Keep water available, offer the usual food in small portions and do not force it. If the refusal to eat goes beyond twenty four hours, comes with vomiting or apathy, or involves an older animal or one with a condition, contact a vet without waiting any longer.
How long does it take a cat to settle into a new place?: It depends a lot on temperament, but for a cat it usually takes longer than for a dog. Many spend the first day hidden and start exploring only when the place stops feeling like a threat. It helps to limit the initial space to one safe room with a litter tray, water and something carrying the smell of home, then widen it gradually. If after several days the cat stays frozen, will not eat and does not use the tray, it is time to speak to a vet.
How do I handle a move to a much hotter climate?: In the first days the animal has not yet adjusted its ability to shed heat, so treat it as more sensitive than usual. Move walks to the cool hours of morning and evening, keep water always available, cut back on effort and seek shade in the middle of the day. Test the tarmac with the back of your hand before walking on it: if it burns you, it burns the pads. Signs of heatstroke, such as laboured breathing that will not slow, mean stopping and cooling the animal at once.
Can I use a sedative to help it adjust?: Not on your own initiative. Some aids, such as pheromone diffusers or calming supplements, can help but should be chosen with the vet, and actual medicines always need a prescription. Many products meant for people are toxic to dogs and cats. For most healthy animals, though, the combination of a safe zone, a rebuilt routine and patience is enough to get through acclimatisation without any substances.

What to do next

Treat arrival as the start of acclimatisation, not the end of the trip: in the first hours offer water, build a safe zone and lower the stimuli. Over the following days shift the schedule towards local time in small steps, adapt walks to the new climate and rebuild the home routine. Keep the usual food, note water, meals and sleep for two or three days, and find a local vet right away for any signal that goes beyond ordinary tiredness.