A good handover gives the new owner four things: your cat's vaccination and vet records, her microchip paperwork with the registry updated to their details, her medication and feeding information, and honest notes about her habits and quirks. Gather it all before moving day, walk the new owner through it in person if you can, and both your cat's care and her identity stay continuous through the change.
Why the Paperwork Matters So Much
To you, your cat is a known quantity. To her new owner, she arrives as a puzzle: Is she up to date on vaccinations? Why does she take that pill? Which food upset her stomach last year? Gaps in records often mean duplicated vaccinations, missed medication, or a vet starting from scratch — all stressful and some genuinely risky. The microchip is the sharpest example: if the registry still holds your old phone number, a finder who scans her chip calls you, not the person she now lives with. A complete handover is one of the kindest things you can do in a difficult decision.
What to Gather Before the Handover
- Vaccination record and vet details: Practice name, address, and phone number, plus dates of boosters and flea and worming treatments.
- Microchip number and registry: The chip number, which registry holds it, and the login or paperwork needed to transfer it.
- Medical history: Ongoing conditions, past operations or illnesses, allergies, and current medications with clear instructions on timing and how you give them.
- Food and routine: Brand and amount of food, feeding times, litter type, and the routine she is used to — including the small things, like where she likes to sleep.
- Behavior notes: How she is with children, dogs, strangers, carriers, and vets; what frightens her; what settles her. Honesty here protects everyone, including her.
Send her with a few days of her current food and something that smells of her old home, so the transition is gentler while the new owner stocks up.
Transferring the Microchip and ID
Contact the chip registry and follow its transfer process — some registries charge a small fee or need both parties to confirm. Do not assume handing over the paperwork completes the transfer; check that the new owner's name and number are live on the record. Do the same for any collar tag or QR ID: either update the details to the new owner or make sure they replace the tag promptly, so there is never a window where her ID points to nobody.
Making the Transition Easier on Your Cat
If circumstances allow, a short visit to the new home before the move, or moving her familiar bedding, scratcher, and toys with her, softens the change. Agree with the new owner on how you will stay in touch — many people exchange updates for the first few weeks, which reassures you and gives the new owner a lifeline for questions about her habits and health.
How KinsLe Transferrable Profiles Help
KinsLe's Transferrable Profiles are built for exactly this moment: your cat's profile and records move to the new owner, rather than starting again from an empty page. Her history, documents, and details travel with her, so the new owner inherits the full picture and her unique profile stays intact through the change of home. It is a cleaner, kinder handover than a folder of loose papers and a half-remembered chip number. On moving day, hand her new owner the whole history at once through the Transferrable Profiles handover on KinsLe, so her vaccine record, chip details, and medication notes arrive with her instead of trailing behind in loose paperwork.