I am about to move again, and I have a nervous elderly cat...Suggestions for helping with the move?

Question

I have two elderly, indoor cats (12 and 13 yo). During our last move across country, one of them totally flipped out. Besides freaking in the hotel rooms along the way, she developed a "medical condition"- ruptured anal gland, and required some treatment. About 1 week after we moved into our new digs, we then had to board them for an additional 3 days while we evacuated from Hurricane Rita. Since then, things have settled down for her, but she now RARELY leaves our bdrm. She also has started excessively grooming herself (we ruled out fleas/food issues), and is bald across belly, legs and tail. She was very nervous to begin with, and seems like this last move 1 1/2 years ago really affected her for the worse. Well, we are getting ready for another move (this time local) and I would LOVE advice on helping both my kitties keep their wits. Fire away!

Both answers listed (re: ACE and Feliway) are really appreciated. I thank both of you for your advice, and I am using the feliway initially (to see if it works on my cats, and how well) and buying the ACE as a precaution, in cause my girls totally flip. Thanks again, and if I could choose you both as best answer, I would!

Answer 1

Hi there...you could ring your veterinarian and ask for a prescription of acepromazine (aka ACE) which is a mild sedative that helps take the edge off. However, depending on your cats overall health condition a vet may be apprehensive to prescribe Ace so you will need to discuss this with them.

More about Acepromazine: http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_acepromazine.html

Answer 2

I work with feral cats and take them to the vet for spay and neutering. I travel 3 hours each way and to help keep them calm I use Feliway. It is a great product and helps relieve the stress they can go through. They stay calm and even sleep. Just get the spray and spray the carrier and it will last for 2-3 hours.
Also it will be useful for the new place and them getting used to it without getting too stressed. Keep them in one room at first and spray the Feliway often. Soon they will be ready to explore the rest of the house stress free.