Long trip with 5 cats! Help!

My husband will be home from deployment soon, and with the end of deployment comes Block leave (a month off from all duties) and all the obligatory traveling to see family he hasn't seen in a year.

Problem: We have 5 cats that will need to make the trip(s) with us. I cannot leave them here for a month, obviously, but we also have a small 2 door sports-type car as our only transportation, and I cannot see how this is going to work.

Here are the suggestions I have gotten so far:

1. Get a large wire kennel and put them all in it
Problem: even with the seats folded down, I'm not sure it will fit in the back of the car. Also, Prissy must be held while in a car. It's the only way she does not hurt herself.

2. Sedate them all
Problem. Prissy cannot be sedated. Even at double doses, she still fights it and gets very upset and disoriented, often hurting herself. Also, it's a bit expensive and I am afraid of losing a kitty when a door is opened.

3. Board them
Problem: There are few places here to board them for that amount of time. The few places that will board them will cost over a thousand dollars for all 5 of them for the month we will be gone.

4. Pet sitter
Problem: We'll be gone for a month. That is a long time to trust my cats to another person's care, especially one I do not know well, and one that will not be there all the time, monitoring their health.

5. Leave them with other family.
Problem: Our closest family is 5 hours away, and are not very good with pets. My parents have a farm, and my cats would just be tossed outside as barn cats. His parents breed German and American shepherds. They currently have 4 adults and 4 pups. I don't want my cats to be eaten.

So, if anyone has any happens to have any suggestions, I'm open to them. I think I'm leaning toward the kennel option, with 4 cats and the litter box in it, and then Prissy in her harness on my lap.

Anyone ever have to travel 5 or more hours with multiple cats? Looking for tips, warnings, suggestions, etc to prepare me for this trip.

No, I have NO friends in this area. I've lived here near post for a little over a year, but I have not made any friends that I would trust to watch over my pets and my place. I have a few people that I know, but not well enough to call them friends.

And Hubby is really worked up over taking trips. He's been stuck on a FOB less than a mile square for the last year, getting shot at and taking Mortar fire, so he wants to get out and drive and see new people and things. Some of the family we are going to see can't come see us, for various reasons. Some are too ill for travel, and some don't have the funds.

I am thinking about getting a mesh barrier to put up behind the front seats, that way I can let down the back seats and they'll have the trunk and the back seat area to themselves. I just have to find something to fit my car...

Wanted to update everyone! But please overlook spelling mistakes. my right index finger is broken and in a splint.

I took a preliminary a trip. I took a two week trip to stay with some friends, ad the distance was quite similar to the distance my hubby and I will be traveling. I bought a large wire kennel, and though it is labeled as "medium", it is actually quite large. It's listed for beagles and similar size dogs but I've never seen a beagle that large. Lol. At any rate, the kennel fits very snuggly in the back seat, and has room for 4 kitties and a blanket, toys and water. (i don't feed because Loudmouth gets carsick). Prissy of course sat in my lap for te whole drive, And all the other kitties other than Loudmouth slept the whole way. Loudmouth has some cage anxiety. I think that just a little bit of sedation will make the next trip much more acceptable.

The friends I went to stay with have a huge basement that lets out into a fenced backyard. It's designed as a game room, with a pool table, etc, but it never gets used, so they let me put the kitties there, and I slept in the bedroom downstairs near them. It worked out wonderfully. My friends loved the kitties, and often snuck downstairs to play with them and spoil them when i was out. Sincethese friends only live 15 minutes from my husband's family, they have agreed to board the kitties while my husband and I visit. I think that everything is going to work out fine, even tho my husband is not as patient as i am.

Thanks ALL very much for your suggestions. you gave me some great ideas on how to cope with this trip!

Oh, sorry, yet again I wasn't clear. I was mainly saying that it opened up into the yard so that I could say that it wasn't an enclosed, airless basement. It's really nice, actually. Besides, my friends have 2 dogs who roam the yard, so my kitties rarely even get close to the door.

To answer another question, yes, I will be able to visit them often. I plan on spending about a third of our nights there, so that I can get a break from my in-laws!

But now I've got to figure out how to fit ANOTHER carrier into the car. Just found a 7 week old kitten this morning at 4 am. (see "she calls me Habibe" in SOS section)

It never ends.

I used to do a LOT of traveling, so I'm actually pretty familiar with how HUGE Texas is and how far apart everything there usually is. I'm glad you don't have mush of an issue with your pets! I think that they are getting more used to the trip the more they go on it. We just got back from my husband's leave. Loudmouth (mamakitty) MUST be sedated, otherwise she reaches through the kennel and claws the backs of our heads and necks, But otherwise, everyone else takes it fine.

Thanks all for the comments and suggestions.