Traveling with cats

Hi all,

Do any of you travel with cats? I will be packing up my apartment and moving to GA in about a month and would appreciate any tips on how to make the trip more pleasant for all concerned. (800 miles/2 days/around 16 hours on the road) I have 2 cats and have 2 carriers. My kitty girls do NOT like to ride in the car, so I doubt they'll like a U-haul any better.

(and no, I don't want any recipes)

Thanks,
Alice

My cats also HATE riding in the car. I suggest you contact your vet for some kitty valium or other tranqs. for them. Also, covering their carriers may help - keeps the sense of motion down.

good luck!

Second vote for kitty valium. Also, do NOT put your cats in their carriers in the back of a U-Haul, make sure they're up front with you. They'll get too hot and die in the back, especially in August.

A while back, we took our kitty on an 8 hour trip to Canada and gave her some sort of tranquilizer beforehand. She sat in her cat carrier facing the front of the car and meowed the entire time, except for when we went through Customs. On the way home, we decided to forgo the tranquilizer and we put her in the back space area (we had a Honda Accord back then that had a hatchback) and faced the cat carrier toward the back of the car so she couldn't see out a window. She was so quiet, we stopped the car after Customs to see if she was dead, but she just looked at us so we kept on driving.

My advice would be to try the tranquilizer first to see if your cats have an adverse reaction. Maybe take them for some local car rides before your trip, gradually lengthening the time they're in the car. Try draping a light cloth over their carriers (make sure they have enough ventilation) and I've also read that cats should not be fed before going on a car trip.

I recommend doing a Google search and getting as much information as possible and talk to your Vet, too. Here are a couple of sites I found after a brief search:

http://www.thepetcenter.com/gen/travcat.html

http://www.thecatsite.com/Care/13/Traveling-with-Cats.html

http://www.cfainc.org/ezine/archives/travel.html

All the best to you and your girls, Alice!

When we moved from Houston to Kansas, the Company's relocation package paid to fly our 3 cats here - that was the way to go. I couldn'e imagine having to have hauled them in the car.

When we moved from NJ to Fl about 20 yrs ago we had 2 cats, we got them used to riding by taking short trips and got them used to wearing the harness's. They made the trip w/o a fuss, usually stretched out in the back window of the car or on the dash of the uhaul, depending on which vehicle "their" girl was in. They drew a lot of comments and chuckles at rest stops as they walked around on leashes... after the trip they would always be up for a ride, we had to be quick getting in the car or they would stow away and end up going to work with us

I'd go w/ the drugs.

I moved from Louisville, KY to St. Pete, FL., and a year later, I moved from St. Pete to Cincinnati. I took my cat both ways. I went with the tranquilizers and never regretted it. He didn't like travelling in cars and meowed plaintively for the first half hour. After that he was quiet and dozing.

I don't know if you're stopping midway at a motel but, if you do, get that litter box set up before you let him out of his carrier. I was slow on the draw and he pooped in the tub. I was grateful that he chose a cleanable surface in an unfamiliar environment but it held up the long awaited shower I'd been dreaming of during the long hot trip south.

Good luck and have a safe trip!

Sandy

invest in a few disposable cat boxes.
it will make your trip much easier.

3,000 miles, 10 days, 4 cats, a Macaw parrot, 3 humans, 2 vehicles, 3 carries for the cats, 1 lg one for the bird and we all lived. The story of our trip cross country from Calif. to WV.

We first tried drugging the cats but found that all they did was meow pitifully. On the 3rd day we stopped the drugs and just put a towel over the carriers. The bird seemed to enjoy the trip he was left to look out.

No water or food while driving. Every 4 hours or so we made a rest stop and they had a small bit of water. At night they had full dishes until about 6AM. They also got a room to them selfs. Lucky Toes spent the next 4 months mostly in hiding, this was at the Holiday Inn. We then moved into our house and she went back to hiding. Poor cat.

Some day I'll tell you about the trip in 2001 from Calif to WV with 4 people, 1 of them 6 weeks old..., 2 cars and an african grey parrot...

MikeS.

I read (believe it or not, I think it was a James Herriot novel) that a lot of animals don't respond well to sedatives -- it makes them even more nervous because they're fighting the unknown feeling.

Probably doesn't help much. I think dreamzpainter has had the best idea. Do you have time to do it, though?

Let us know how it goes. Good luck!

Yeah, I've heard some cats get wackier with the drugs than without- I'd base my decision on how they behave on a local car trip- if they're totally crazy and would lick all their fur off during the trip, then yeah, probably go with the drugs. If they're a little upset, but more or less ok and they won't make you nuts while you're driving, then you might be okay without them.

I also know there are natural "relaxants" you can give to cats, but test them out before hand- I used one on my dog (the one I had could be given to both cats and dogs) and it made him more frantic.

Try looking here:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/NavResults.cfm?N=2002+113757

My cat has survived road trips from Michigan to Boston, to Pittsburgh and numerous plane trips, the longest one from Boston to Anchorage, Alaska. She just turned 19 and doesn't seem any worse for the wear. My vet strongly encouraged me to NOT give the cat any drugs. I pack her into the "airline" crate and off we go. She doesn't like it much but it hasn't killed her yet!

It's funny walking through an airport with a cat in an "airline" crate (fits under the seat in front of you) to hear all the "OOOOOHs and AAAAAAAHs, look at the KITTY" comments.

Thanks for the constructive tips folks. I am uncertain about using drugs, too. I read that using something like benadryl made them less disoriented than actual tranquilizers, so I'm going to check with my vet about it. Of course they'll be in the air conditioning with me not the back of the truck! I'm hoping that they'll just chill out and sleep most of the way if I cover the carriers with a blanket. And I will set up the kitty box before I open the carriers. (already got some puppy pads for "just in case")

saps, you don't have to like cats! I just changed my cat's name from Fifi to FANG today cause the little 19-year-old witch BIT me today! The past three days I spent kissing the heads of one golden lab/golden retreiver, 2 black labs and one mutt who growles at the other dogs when I pet her........GGGRRRRRRR......she came here to pet ME and to visit ME......y'all BACK OFF! I think the bottom line is this: if you're going to have a pet, take care of it and have fun. More or less, they'll love you unconditionally (I provoked the biting episode by kissing kitty when she was NOT in the mood). I love cats and dogs equally.....given my chef's job, the cat turned out to be an easier pet.

adjudicator, I am rather not impressed with the presence of cats, dogs, horses and other uselesss animals. . . although, my 7 cats keep the place pretty well swept of rodents and other vermin and the 4 dogs keep the deer out of the hay fields and the garden. Those who entertain such as "pets" are rather not understood by me therefore I will forgo any argument with such.
And yes Cappy, my nights are spent in tormented sleep.
WVHb

We've only taken ours on shorter trips of 3-4 hours. We have found that road noise upsets him (i.e. keep the windows closed and the A.C. on). Also, the radio helps keep him quiet (he prefers talk radio or jazz, no C&W).

Didn't mean to start any fights here good people. Most dogs in my life LOVE riding in the car, so the trip wouldn't be much of a problem as long as we took regular exercise and bathroom breaks for their comfort. My cats start frothing at the mouth by the end of the 3 mile ride to their vet's office, so 800 is very daunting. The websites I've found didn't give me much info, so I decided to turn to my fellow Roadfood members to get real world experience. Guess I shouldn't have made the recipe reference, so I am sorry for that.

Alice

do what most people do with cats.................... before leaving drop them off at some city park and pick up two new ones at your next location.
You may also want to take them for a farewell dinner at a Cambodian restaurant and tell the waiter what city park you intend to leave them off at.....................

Cats are truly one of the world's underappreciated species. Their ability to remain indifferent to any stimuli is only rivaled by other things that don't respond to stimuli.

I love them. And I didn't edit this post a bit, despite the notation below that this was edited.

When we travel, the cats usually go to jail and are held without charges (aka our vet's pet sitting service). They hate it. They hate the pet carrier. They resent us for putting them through it. Last time they stayed home and the future son in law stopped in once a day to check them. It worked better.

If I had to travel with them, I would not let them out of the cage for the entire trip, because they would be sure to escape. They are smarter than I am. I have heard of people letting the cat out only in the motel bathroom with the door closed in order to clean the cage. Even then, it is tough to catch even a friendly, loving cat to get it back in the cage.

Since I'm moving, I definitely want to take them with me. I've been putting their harnesses on them a few minutes each day to get them used to that, and so far they're tolerating that pretty well. They don't mind their carriers, just being in the car. I have 3 weeks until moving day, so it's coming down to the wire for us.

I have a joke about traveling with cats and cars, but I don't think I could write it here, the Roadfood Cops would be on me in a minute.

Once again, I am put in a personal conflict of sorts. On one hand I have a somewhat demented sense of humor that allows for what some folks feel are 'sick jokes'.

On the other hand at my age and due to the continued involvment on this site, I AM the voice of reason and courtesy when I STRONGLY ENCOURAGE both sides of the issue to desist in the posting of flaming messages dealing with this particular issue.

I have deleted the posts involved to (hopefully) put an end to this sort of issue on the boards.

Please respect my judgement here.

The Mayor

Good luck, diva. Please be sure to let us know how it goes.

My cat and I travel together a lot. I think in order for them to take it well, you have to start them off doing it when they are kittens, which I did. Now we go to and from Arizona every year (about 14 hours on the road, 900 miles) and we've gone to Florida together from Arizona (2000 miles, about 2 1/2 days). Even though everyone says you should keep the cat in a carrier in the car, I don't. I have one ready to put her in if we get in heavy traffic or city driving, but out on the open highway I let her out of it and usually she climbs into my lap and goes to sleep. It's not extremely safe, but we are both accustomed to it. Usually, I find a way to set up a litter box, food and water for her either in the back seat well or, if I have an SUV or minivan (I usually drive rental cars), somewhere in the back. That's necessary because I drive from sunup until bedtime--14 hours or more--when I'm going long distance. I hate sitting around in a motel room. It seems like wasting time to me. Also, having the cat pretty much rules out great Roadfood experiences because I hate leaving her in the car alone. When it's hot, I think that's cruel. So I usually pack food ahead of time to take with us or eat take-out in the car. Oh, and NO DRUGS--for me or the cat!

My travelling companion:
[img]http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b6d926b3127cce8ae74d2fd63300000016100Acsmblw0ZsmLA[/img]

quote:

Originally posted by Al-The Mayor-Bowen


Once again, I am put in a personal conflict of sorts. On one hand I have a somewhat demented sense of humor that allows for what some folks feel are 'sick jokes'.

On the other hand at my age and due to the continued involvment on this site, I AM the voice of reason and courtesy when I STRONGLY ENCOURAGE both sides of the issue to desist in the posting of flaming messages dealing with this particular issue.

I have deleted the posts involved to (hopefully) put an end to this sort of issue on the boards.

Please respect my judgement here.

The Mayor

I not only respect your judgement, I thank you for it. One of the truly annoying things about this site is when people who ask sincere, reasonable questions honestly seeking help get snide, disrespectful and distinctly unhelpful responses in return. It isn't right and I, for one, appreciate strong action by the moderators. So, thank you!

I agree, BT; I'm fairly new here, so sometimes I'm not sure who's kidding around, who's harmless, who's a little nuts....yeah, we get it, not everyone likes cats (I personally love them, and would probably become a crazy cat lady if my boyfriend weren't allergic) but graphically describing tortuous acts to a living creature is disturbing, disrespectful and unnecessary, and says a lot about the poster.

Oh, BT, your travelling companion is georgous! Lucky for you she likes to travel and seems to do it well. What a beautiful cat!!

Thanks, Al. I really was asking for help. I don't mind the occasional cat joke, got to laugh at myself, don't you know. But I hate it when they get cruel.

Thanks for the picture, BT. My cats are both black, so when I take pictures, their faces come out little black blobs most of the time. I'm with you on driving as long as possible, so I'm hoping to make it from MI to the KY border or Northern TN the first day and make it to Warner Robins the 2nd. If it were just me, I'd keep going until I was sleepy, but I prefer to make a reservation at a pet friendly hotel this time.

Usually when they are in the car and out of the carrier, Chica and Roxy are under my feet, not too safe when the vehicle is in motion. (especially in a manual transmission vehicle like mine) I'm hoping to have one of them in my lap at a time when my friend is driving, but I won't bother them if they are sleeping. Roxy especially is a lap cat, so I hope she'll enjoy snuggling while she's on the road. If not, she'll have a nice soft bed in her carrier.

I'm bringing their Cat Dancer along so they can run around and exercise in the hotel when we stop if they feel like it.

Thanks again for all your help folks! I'm getting more nervous and excited every day.

Alice