Driving 300 miles with my cat!?

Question

I'm moving on Friday of next week and I am driving about 300 miles to my new house. I have to take a pretty curve mountain road because the only other way to get there is a higher mountain road with snow. So it going to take about 6 or 7 hours total. My cat likes car rides, but obviously has never gone on a trip like this and she's a yowler. I'm going to talk to my vet Monday about it, but would like to avoid drugging her if possible. Any suggestions for keeping both of us sane? I would also like to just drive down there all at once instead of breaking it up becuase I think it would be better for us both. Thanks!

Answer 1

I would certainly plan on keeping your cat in a carrier throughout the trip. Put something that smells like you for her to lie on in the carrier. This will hopefully help make her feel more secure. Another thought is to keep the carrier covered so she can't see the landscape flying by. Consider taking her food up by midnight the night before so that she doesn't feel nauseous while traveling. If you can make her feel comfortable and secure she is less likely to yowl. Enjoy your new home.

Answer 2

This year I moved with my cat, but our drive was only about 5.5 hours. She really doesn't like riding in the car, and she REALLY didn't like that long of a drive. She meowed pitifully non-stop for all but the last hour of the drive. I think by that time she'd just worn herself out.

I don't think vets normally prescribe drugs for this sort of thing, because it can be easy to overdose them. Your vet may have some tips to make the trip easier on her though. I recommend being prepared for insanity, and like others have mentioned, keep her in a carrier and make sure she's buckled in securely. Take frequent breaks from the driving and meowing, if only for yourself (just make sure you don't leave kitty alone in the hot or cold too long!). My cat was not at all interested in food or water or using the litterbox for the duration of the drive, and not even for a few hours after we unpacked. I was afraid I'd scarred her for life, but she was back to normal in a day or two. She still hates car rides, though. >^.^<

Hope this helps.

Answer 3

remove food and water several hours before the trip and keep your kitty in a crate.. NOT loose in the car.. it would be a disaster if she got out at a gas/lunch stop... or got under your peddles while driving...

I have done a farther trip and broke it down into 2 days.. stopping over night at a hotel (about 400 miles)

keep the radio on.. that might help.. but after a while you get immune to the meows.. (ha ha not really..)

anyhow yes avoid drugging if there is a reaction to the sedative and you are on the highway there will be NO help.. I did not sedate my cats...

they will be fine without food water, litter that long...

good luck..

Answer 4

Only get tranquilisers of you are going by road, if you are going by plane, it's a bad idea to tranquilise any cat since the tranquiliser masks any symptoms a vet may need to check for to make sure the cat is OK, that's why no airline will normally allow a tranquilised cat to be onboard, a liability thing.

Answer 5

Get as big a carrier as possible
Put a blanket/towel in it. Have an extra clean blanket or towel on hand in case of accidents.
Take food/water up 8-12 hours before you leave so they don't have to "go"
Keep stops to a minimum.. Don't bother trying to get her to use the litterbox or eat on the trip - she will be stressed and won't. Just get there as fast as you can (driving safely of course).
When you get to your new house, shut her in a room with familiar surroundings - furniture, her toys/bed, etc, food, water and litter, and let her get comfortable in that room before introducing her to the rest of the house.
Good luck - she'll be fine!

Answer 6

Well, you could do what my family did for long trips with the cat, we brought his taxi and left it open in the back seat or behind the driver seat, and allowed him to roam in the back of the car. We also left his litter box available in the seat behind the passenger seat. His food dish sat at the back of his taxi. He would meow for a while, but after he became used to the motion of the car and found the block of perpetual sunshine in the back dash to lay in he slept most of the trip.

Answer 7

I agree with everything Catiator offered. You might think about putting the carrier on the front passenger seat and arranging the cover so the side facing you allows her to see you. Don't forget to fasten the carrier with the seat belt.

Answer 8

I drove 900 miles with 3 cats in crates, they screamed the whole while and I was insane by the time we arrived. If I had to do it over I would get them drugged, I bought audiobooks to keep me from sreaming myself

Answer 9

Well, I agree with Ella's Best Friend zoey, that's what I did with my cat when I moved from Mexico to U.S.A. up by S.C.

Answer 10

rent and suv with a big back, put the seats in the back down, put the litter box in the back and food idk about water might be kinda bumpy? a little bed and she should be fine.