Severe car sickness

Hi all,

My 1 1/2 year old cat gets very car sick. He will throw up and poop after only a half hour in the car. I have tried 12 ml of dramamine, and on another occasion, I tried benadryl with a medicine to calm his stomach (an OTC the vet recommended). I also have tried to travel with him before breakfast so that he has not eaten, but he still gets sick. It is also not due to a fear of his carrying case in general; I use the case to walk him to the vet and he is fine, and as recommended by the vet, I have kept him in the case for a half hour while at home or so and he never got sick.

According to the vet, the next step will be to tranquilize him if necessary but I don't think I will go that far considering it is such a short car ride. Does anyone have any thoughts?

Hum.... Car rides can be extremelly stressful to some cats - it is not unheard of... Are you concerned about your trips to the vet's office? or where are you taking your cat? How often? If it is a matter of taking the kitty to the vet's office, I would not tranquilize my cat for that, I would rather get a vet who does house calls or get a vet who is near by...
If your cat gets that stressful with car rides, do you really need to take him in the car as often for as long as you are taking? My cats get extremelly stressed out in the car, and they will poop/pee in their carriages, scream, get a low fever, etc... So I don't take them anywhere, just to the vet.

I actually live down the street from my vet so I just walk there. I only take him in the car when I am going out of town and he has to stay with friends. So I would take just a couple times a year he goes in the car. I also don't own a car (I live in a city) so its not possible to just bring him in the car for short rides to get him used to it.

Have you tried covering the cat carrier with a blanket so kitty can't see out at all? This is supposed to be very helpful, so it might be worth a try.

I had several articles on this a few years ago, I'll see if I can find any of them again.

Originally Posted by Charlie05

I actually live down the street from my vet so I just walk there. I only take him in the car when I am going out of town and he has to stay with friends. So I would take just a couple times a year he goes in the car. I also don't own a car (I live in a city) so its not possible to just bring him in the car for short rides to get him used to it.

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He probably wouldn't get used to it anyway. It's unfortunate that this happens, but since it is only a couple times a year I recommend just dealing with it. I agree with Carolina and you, NO tranquilizers. You might try some Rescue Remedy and perhaps a squirt of feliway spray in the carrier, for these infrequent trips.

If you are concerned about soiling the car he is in, place his carrier in a shallow tote to contain any overflow. And definitely keep on with the empty stomach before the car ride. A light blanket over the front to block his vision may help, but be careful to make sure it doens't restrict his air flow.

Yes unfortunately I have also tried the blanket on top. I have researched this for a while since I feel terrible for the little thing, so I was just hoping for some miracle advice

Originally Posted by otto

He probably wouldn't get used to it anyway. It's unfortunate that this happens, but since it is only a couple times a year I recommend just dealing with it. I agree with Carolina and you, NO tranquilizers. You might try some Rescue Remedy and perhaps a squirt of feliway spray in the carrier, for these infrequent trips.

If you are concerned about soiling the car he is in, place his carrier in a shallow tote to contain any overflow. And definitely keep on with the empty stomach before the car ride. A light blanket over the front to block his vision may help, but be careful to make sure it doens't restrict his air flow.

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I have a cat who gets carsick too, and as I travel long distances (400 miles between my home and my family) several times a year with the cats, I'm really interested in finding a solution. No veterinarian in this cat's ten years has ever gotten to see her when she wasn't slimy, drooling, and pukey.

I remember reading somewhere, years ago, about some cases of motion sickness being caused by static electricity in the vehicle, and being relieved by attaching some kind of conductive strap to the underside of the vehicle to discharge current to the ground. Does that sound familiar to anyone? Is it far out or is it worth trying? I don't remember anything about what the strap thing is called or where to get it.

Originally Posted by jisincla

I have a cat who gets carsick too, and as I travel long distances (400 miles between my home and my family) several times a year with the cats, I'm really interested in finding a solution. No veterinarian in this cat's ten years has ever gotten to see her when she wasn't slimy, drooling, and pukey.

I remember reading somewhere, years ago, about some cases of motion sickness being caused by static electricity in the vehicle, and being relieved by attaching some kind of conductive strap to the underside of the vehicle to discharge current to the ground. Does that sound familiar to anyone? Is it far out or is it worth trying? I don't remember anything about what the strap thing is called or where to get it.

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A quick search came up with this:

The second option is a pair of rubber grounding strips that you hang off your undercarriage. You can buy these at auto parts stores. They have a metal wire embedded in the rubber, and they hang down and discharge the static as it builds up. And they work pretty well. The only downside is they tend to be real cheap junk, and they wear out every six months or so and need to be replaced.

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source:

http://www.cartalk.com/content/colum...7/June/07.html

Thanks! I will go to the auto parts store down the street and ask for grounding strips.