Moving-- too stressful? and some other ?s

I have a few moving questions - I searched and found some answers, but not all the ones I'm looking for.

My husband and I are moving from PA to FL in November, moving in with my Mom so we can save up some money.
We're renting a UHaul (or at least some self-moving truck), and towing one of our cars. My Dad, who's VERY allergic to cats will be driving our other car down for us (meaning, having him take the cats with him is completely out of the quesiton).

We've decided to fly the cats down since our only other options are to have them in the car we're towing all by themselves, or keep them in the cab of the Uhaul (there's hardly enough room for 2 people, let alone 2 people and 2 critters!).


We're going to have to take them to the airport on our way out, and it's a 2 day driving trip for us. We're going to have my Mom pick them up from the airport, and bring them back to the house, where they will be 2 days ahead of us.
Would this be too stressful for them? I've ruled out sedatives - I just don't think they're a good idea.

Also, do the companies that offer pet travel differ a lot from the treatment they will recieve if we do cargo on a major airline?
Any good and relatively cheap recommendations welcome.

Thanks in advance for all the help!

I haven't had much experience with moving cats (across town is the farthest).

I'm thinking maybe you can wear something that you can then put into the carriers with them. Usually, it helps to be nice and stinky.

Also, spraying the carriers with Feliway spray before you put them in is supposed to help calm them.

Definitely don't sedate if the cats are going in the cargo hold.

Putting an old T-shirt of yours in the bottom of the carrier is a nice idea (though I did this once with my cat and he just pushed it aside). My vet recommends shredding up a lot of newspapers and filling the bottom of the carrier with them... most cats will burrow down into them and go to sleep, after the initial excitement of takeoff. He also recommends not feeding the cats for 12 hours before (but do provide ample water).

Pennsylvania to Florida is a pretty short flight... only two hours or so, right? They should be fine.