Travel with an unpleasant cat

[nomoretslt]

Need some advice! We will be relocating in a few months. It will be an 11 hour drive with a not very accommodating kitty. Long story short we adopted this Turkish Persian after her Poppy died unexpectedly and nobody in the family could take her in. They were together 8 years. It has taken 7 months for her to finally feel somewhat comfy. Our plan was to drive our two cars fully loaded with what would not fit in the PODS. We will be staying with our daughter after we close on our house for a couple of months before heading south. I’m thinking we should go down in one car with the kitty, check into our short term rental, I could then fly back for around $60, go back to daughters for a night then drive the other car down myself. Does this sound worse than Dave NV’s adventure? Does anyone know if there is a good kitty sedative I could get from the vet? What do I do if she needs the litter box? Can’t take her out if the carrier, I would be sliced to ribbons. The thought of driving two cars on I95 one with a crazy cat just gives me huge anxiety. I hate having to watch someone following me.

 

[VacationForever]

Need some advice! We will be relocating in a few months. It will be an 11 hour drive with a not very accommodating kitty. Long story short we adopted this Turkish Persian after her Poppy died unexpectedly and nobody in the family could take her in. They were together 8 years. It has taken 7 months for her to finally feel somewhat comfy. Our plan was to drive our two cars fully loaded with what would not fit in the PODS. We will be staying with our daughter after we close on our house for a couple of months before heading south. I’m thinking we should go down in one car with the kitty, check into our short term rental, I could then fly back for around $60, go back to daughters for a night then drive the other car down myself. Does this sound worse than Dave NV’s adventure? Does anyone know if there is a good kitty sedative I could get from the vet? What do I do if she needs the litter box? Can’t take her out if the carrier, I would be sliced to ribbons. The thought of driving two cars on I95 one with a crazy cat just gives me huge anxiety. I hate having to watch someone following me.

Yes, you can get a sedative from the vet. The vet did warn us when we got the sedative for our 2 cats to get through a 10-hour drive, that the cats would continue to feel the fear and be stressed. The sedative reduced their vocalization and physical co-ordination - more limp, so that human would not be as stressed. Their eyes would also show the 3rd eyelids which most owners never realize that their kitties have them. Good luck.

 

[DrQ]

If she still has her claws, have the vet clip them for the trip. Put green cat litter in the carrier in case she has to relieve herself. If she does #2, you can stop an clean the carrier. Fit her with a harness so that if you have to get her out of the carrier during the trip, you will have a control point which you can use garden gloves if she is a biter.

I would see if you could make an appointment with a groomer at your destination on your arrival date, since she is a long haired cat.

 

[geist1223]

Can you fit a dog crate in your vehicle. Put cat, small litter container (9×9 pan], food, and water in the crate.

 

[Talent312]

There are crates designed to hold small litter baskets.
You could do some test drives so the cat gets used to the idea.
You could cover the crate so the cat doesn't see the car moving.
Stop every 2 hours or so to check on the cat + add water to a bowl.

 

[presley]

For sure get something from the vet. You could also do some other things that might help like CBD, feliway for cats, and a thundershirt. I do think moving the cat less often, such as going to the short term rental and then flying to your daughter's place is a better choice than bringing the cat to your daugther's and then going on to the rental. Most cats really hate change and it sounds like your cat will have an even more difficult time with it. Aside from your concern about getting scratched up, cats like to hide when they are put in a new location and you don't need your kitty running and hiding on a stop somewhere. I know it won't be a pleasant experience, so arm yourself with whatever you need as well like a really good night's sleep, hydration, etc.

 

[b2bailey]

Need some advice! We will be relocating in a few months. It will be an 11 hour drive with a not very accommodating kitty. Long story short we adopted this Turkish Persian after her Poppy died unexpectedly and nobody in the family could take her in. They were together 8 years. It has taken 7 months for her to finally feel somewhat comfy. Our plan was to drive our two cars fully loaded with what would not fit in the PODS. We will be staying with our daughter after we close on our house for a couple of months before heading south. I’m thinking we should go down in one car with the kitty, check into our short term rental, I could then fly back for around $60, go back to daughters for a night then drive the other car down myself. Does this sound worse than Dave NV’s adventure? Does anyone know if there is a good kitty sedative I could get from the vet? What do I do if she needs the litter box? Can’t take her out if the carrier, I would be sliced to ribbons. The thought of driving two cars on I95 one with a crazy cat just gives me huge anxiety. I hate having to watch someone following me.

I don't envy you this trip. Since I don't have any cat knowledge I want to comment about "having to watch someone following" . Nothing says you have to do that. Just set a next stopping point and meet there.

 

[Luanne]

When I was in college I had a cat. I decided to take it home to my parents (with my mom's permission). It was something like a 10 to 12 hour drive. No litter box, no kitty crate and we drugged the cat with something like Benedryl. I wouldn't recommend this method of travel, but the cat did make it okay.

 

[DaveNV]

We got a sedative from the Vet, but the cat threw it up immediately. So we made the drive without any meds for the cat. He did fine. The kennel we used was large enough for him to have his favorite blanket, a small litter box, and food/water dishes attached to the cage wire. We did not take him out of the kennel during the trip - we moved the kennel into the motel rooms we stayed in, then back in the car next morning. It wasn't convenient, but made things work more easily.

You may want to explore having the cat shipped to you after you arrive, if there is an easy way to do that. I drove the route twice, once with the truck/minivan thing, and then a second time with my own car. If the minivan hadn't been an option (with three animals to move, we didn't have much choice), I'm not sure how we would have done things. Neither car was large enough to handle the kennels we used. Was we did worked fine, but it was a lot of extra expense to get the job done.

Good luck!
Dave

 

[Brett]

Need some advice! We will be relocating in a few months. It will be an 11 hour drive with a not very accommodating kitty. Long story short we adopted this Turkish Persian after her Poppy died unexpectedly and nobody in the family could take her in. They were together 8 years. It has taken 7 months for her to finally feel somewhat comfy. Our plan was to drive our two cars fully loaded with what would not fit in the PODS. We will be staying with our daughter after we close on our house for a couple of months before heading south. I’m thinking we should go down in one car with the kitty, check into our short term rental, I could then fly back for around $60, go back to daughters for a night then drive the other car down myself. Does this sound worse than Dave NV’s adventure? Does anyone know if there is a good kitty sedative I could get from the vet? What do I do if she needs the litter box? Can’t take her out if the carrier, I would be sliced to ribbons. The thought of driving two cars on I95 one with a crazy cat just gives me huge anxiety. I hate having to watch someone following me.

no advice here
but I once traveled with three beagles - that was an adventure !

 

[CalGalTraveler]

There are also cat melatonin chews which might help if you don't want to use a full sedative.

You may also want to lay a pee pad in the cage and carry wipes in case the cat throws up. Ours does this just driving 10 miles to the vet.

 

[nomoretslt]

Wow thanks everyone for all the helpful hints and stories. I think the best plan is to drive down in one car first with the kitty....already looked into a large cage/carrier that would accommodate a small litter box, water and food. I think having two people in the car with kitty is a better idea....she is very attached to my DH, and the original plan was for him to take her in his vehicle, but if she starts getting crazy that would be too distracting for one driver. Will definitely be visiting the vet for meds too. What we do for our fur babies! @DaveNV i read your saga. Almost changed my mind about moving, anyway cheap airfare to go back for the other car and possessions is a great incentive. I will probably enjoy an uneventful 11 hour drive alone!

 

[DaveNV]

Wow thanks everyone for all the helpful hints and stories. I think the best plan is to drive down in one car first with the kitty....already looked into a large cage/carrier that would accommodate a small litter box, water and food. I think having two people in the car with kitty is a better idea....she is very attached to my DH, and the original plan was for him to take her in his vehicle, but if she starts getting crazy that would be too distracting for one driver. Will definitely be visiting the vet for meds too. What we do for our fur babies! @DaveNV i read your saga. Almost changed my mind about moving, anyway cheap airfare to go back for the other car and possessions is a great incentive. I will probably enjoy an uneventful 11 hour drive alone!

Sounds like a plan! I admit, I did rather enjoy my second drive by myself. I could listen to the music I wanted to hear, and nobody sang along as well as I did. LOL!

Dave

 

[JudyH]

We used to have a cat that loved traveling in our motor home. Not my current two brothers. In 2015 we took them on a cross country driving trip. They were together in a large dog crate. They never used the litter box so I took it out. And they wouldn’t eat until we got to our night stop. After two weeks Mango decided he would get car sick every time we drove. I got the only package of Benedryl in Souther Utah. It helped with the puking but not the yowling. 6000 miles of yowling cat. Now they stay with the cat sitter. They love her. She now has a boat called thank you Mango.

 

[nomoretslt]

Sounds like a plan! I admit, I did rather enjoy my second drive by myself. I could listen to the music I wanted to hear, and nobody sang along as well as I did. LOL!

Dave

Lol...I like podcasts, and I like to talk back at them. Dirty John was a good one, I was constantly like “you idiot”!! I’m weird, I like being alone while driving. Take my time, nobody telling me how I should drive. Although since our cars are older it’s nice to have a copilot checking my blind spot before changing lanes.