Has anyone traveled long distances with their cats!?

In appx 1 week, DH, me, our two dogs and two cats will be moving down to NC. Has anyone moved somewhere with cats that required a long car ride?

My questions are -

1) Where did you keep your cats on the trip? I am trying to brainstorm a way to keep my cats confined in a kennel but also connect another kennel with some litter.....

2) How did you handle the litter situation?

3) Did you use a mild sedative? I am going to ask my vet about this on Wednesday. I really hate the thought of sedating them at all, but they HATE the car. Anabelle starts panicking and panting, and they both cry pretty much continuously.

Any advise would be very much appreciated!

Re: Has anyone traveled long distances with their cats!?

Yes! Travelled from NY to St. Louis with my cat and fish. Then, 4 years later, travelled back to NY from STL with 2 dogs and cat! (my other cat flew first class with DH )

Figaro was not a car lover either. He would do the same thing as your cat. He panted, cried and....drooled! It was lovely. And that was a 5 minute car ride to the vet! So, when we moved to St. Louis, I went to the vet, he had a full check up and I got some tranquilizers for him. Best thing for all involved.

Because it was just him (and the fish) on the way to St. Louis, I let him roam around my car. He was in the back seat with my Mom and he sat on the back seat and didn't really move much. I had his litter on the floor of the back seat but he didn't use it at all. I didn't give him any dinner the night before. Only water. It was an 18 hour car ride and we drove straight through (except for pit stops). He didn't use the litter pan once. He checked it out so he knew it was there but never used it.

On the second trip, he was older and I was nervous about sedating him so I didn't. I also kept him in his carrier because we had the dogs with us and I didn't want them to trample him. He was fine though. When we stopped to walk the dogs, I would open his carrier in case he had to use the litter pan but again, he never did. I would also offer him water at each rest stop.

So, there are two different scenarios for you. How old are your cats? Would they try to run away if you let them out of the kennel (still inside the car) during rest stops? Figaro wouldn't so that wasn't a concern for me.

Good luck! If you have any questions, just ask.

Re: Has anyone traveled long distances with their cats!?

I drove my mom, my dog, her two cats and tons of boxes from Queens to South Carolina and my mother doesn't drive so we made a lot of stops to give me a rest then we got lost/off track at a detour that added two hours ot the 13 hours trip.

The cats were in soft carriers (the ones like duffle bags) and I'd say were pretty much just stunned the entire time ??
Once in a while they meowed or made other noises. I can't remember if/how we fed them/gave them water.

Re: Has anyone traveled long distances with their cats!?

I drove with my cat from LI to NC. She HATED the car and would pant and drool and cry on any trip.

We ended up giving her a half of some sedative that my cousin had had for her cat. It calmed her down and she just slept most of the way or just kind of whined a little when she wasn't sleeping. I felt a little bad sedating her, but I think it was much easier for her then if she had been awake the whole time. She'd have been really miserable.

We kept her in the carrier though - when I was little before we had a carrier for her she would immediately run under the drivers feet.
I would recommend you go to your vet to get pills though.

good luck on your move!

ETA - I don;t remember litter - I think maybe we just had a small box on the floor of the car but honestly, she had no interest. We had water too (and probably food) but I think she was too nervous to be interested. It was probably about a 9-11 hour trip.

Message edited 6/12/2009 3:23:41 PM.

Re: Has anyone traveled long distances with their cats!?

My mom drove 3 cats that we had raised up to LI from Charlotte, NC.

The cats did great in the car, according to her. They were crying for the first 1/2 hour or so, but after that they were just fine. She chose to split the trip up into two days, and she found a pet-friendly hotel along the way so she could give them a bit of a break.

Where in NC are you moving to?

Re: Has anyone traveled long distances with their cats!?

Thanks all! I am thinking I will do a large carrier or use our dog's crate with a bunch of towels/blankets, since I don't trust them not to dart under my feet.

Re: Has anyone traveled long distances with their cats!?

we always take one of our cats with us when we go upstate. We always let him loose and he normally just sits on the back of the car. He crys from time to time but he is use to being in a car. I wouldn't sedate him.

Re: Has anyone traveled long distances with their cats!?

Re: Has anyone traveled long distances with their cats!?

I've done it. The cats did not need a sedative.

They were kenneled for the whole trip and at rest stops, they were taken out on leashes and allowed to use the litter. Any kennel big enough for the cat plus litter probably isn't safe enough for a long road trip. You can get disposable litter boxes at pet supply stores and sometimes even at the supermarket. Get 2 or 3 (however many times you plan to stop and let them out). Put them in a harness with a leash (the ones specifically made for cats) inside the car and give them access to water and then to the litter box for a few minutes.

I've had a couple of cats that start off crying / nervous, but they always settled. Others were fine the whole way. Some won't even want to use the litter box, but it's a good idea to give them access to it just in case. I don't ever let them out of the car, but I use the leashes as a precaution anyway, just to be safe.

Re: Has anyone traveled long distances with their cats!?

Posted by Wendy

Posted by TheLorax

Thanks all! I am thinking I will do a large carrier or use our dog's crate with a bunch of towels/blankets, since I don't trust them not to dart under my feet.

Posted by MrsRivera

Where in NC are you moving to?

New Bern. It is about an 11 hour drive according to mapquest, so I am definitely not looking forward to that! The cats HATE the car and my puppy gets insanely car sick. I am hoping my vet will have some recommendation for him too, because he was miserable when we took him upstate NY to visit some relatives.

How'd it all go??