Worried About Cat's Health During a Long Car Trip...Advice Please

My cat Semper is just turning 7. He is a BIG cat, 18.7 lbs. The vet said he does not have extra fat, he's just big. I do want to work on getting his weight down a bit though.

Anyway, he HATES being in the car. A few years ago we moved and the trip was about 15 hours. He didn't want to eat, drink, pee or poop during the trip. He acclimated soon when we got to the house. The trip really stressed him. It was a tough drive.

Now we are moving cross country and he is not young anymore. I have read about traveling with cats but I am still concerned that he might not want to eat or drink.

From those of you who have traveled a long distance, do you recommend an enclosed carrier, where pretty much the door is the only way to see out, or a kennel/cage where he can see everything? Will it make a difference?

Our dog will be in the car as well. They get along great, so he won't be alone.

Thanks

I would say the kennel that allows Kitty to see, but with a large towel that can cover the entire thing in case he's happier not seeing anything or just seeing out the front. That will allow you the melt flexibility to meet his needs.

I'd also recommend the chapter on travel in Pam Johnson-Bennett's book "Think Like a Cat." That has some good strategies for preparing a cat for car travel and then actually traveling with the cat.

I also like to take my guys it for the very occasional short drive to a) make them comfortable traveling in a car and b) teach them that not every car ride results in a shot from the vet. So once in awhile, I'll throw someone in their kennel (not literally) and take them when I pick up my boyfriend from work, a 15 minute round trip drive. I'll feed them when we're stopped if they're up to it, and reward them with a play session and/or something especially delicious when we get home. Plus, something good happened on the drive- we got Daddy back! You might want to do something similar, and gradually increase the amount of time on these short practice drives.

Also, in general, cats travel very differently- and less well- than dogs. Dogs are happy to be in the car with their family. Cats may love their family, but probably not so much that it makes being in this strange, new, non-territory that is moving okay.

I thought about that, but I kind of felt like it is prolonging the agony.

As soon as he is in the cage he starts meowing REALLY loud!

My concern is that he will not drink for the whole time that we drive, which will be at least 4 days, maybe 5 1/2.

That makes it that much more important. Start out just taking him in his carrier and sitting in the car, then going back inside after 5 minutes. See if during that time he would be interested in food- something extra delicious. Talk to m and stay calm- if you get stressed, you'll be confirming to him that the car really is a bad place that is worth all of the fuss. Try to take him back inside during a break in the meowling, so he doesn't think the meowling got him out of the car. (That may not be possible, and that's okay.) Add another minute each day. Eventually, take him on a ride around the block. Then, when you get home but are still in the car, try to feed him something extra delicious. If he refuses, that's okay. See if he'll take it when you release him in the house. If he refuses, thats okay. Do that everyday. See if you can get it to two blocks. Etc. Keep it positive on your end and give lots of pets, food, play, whatever you can before and after these sessions. Maybe you can play with him before driving practice so he'll be more tired out.

You'll be doing him a huge favor, even if he's still not as calm as you'd like. He's trained you to avoid having to put him in the car, which has possibly fueled his anxiety about it further. Be patient and consistent. Even if he's not where we'd like him to be by the time you move, it'll probably be better for him.

Hopefully, others can comment on how to ensure he's hydrated if he refuses to drink water during the trip. I'd say bring some very small cans of wet food, but there is the chance he won't eat.

Also, I wonder if he hates the car and the cage equally. If so, the first step is to get him acclimated to the cage. Leave it out for him to lie in during the day. My cats are certainly no fans of being locked up, but they hang out in their doorless cages all the time. I just put doors on when i need them to stay in there, like for car rides. ^^) Give him delicious noms when he's in there. Two or three times a day, get him in there, close the door, and feed him something yummy. During that time, talk to him calmly and praise him. After a minute, let him out. (Again, between the meowls if you can.) Then something positive, like some pets, food, or a play session. Increase to two minutes. Etc. Get it to ten, then work on the car thing.

Also, maybe have all scheduled feedings in the open crate. Then see if you can progress to closed crate scheduled feedings. Than maybe even in the car, not-moving scheduled feedings without driving. Than maybe one scheduled feeding can be done after a short drive.

The point is to make the cage a reasonably pleasant experience for him, which takes time and letting him throw some kitty tantrums.

You're not doing him any favors by teaching him that he is right, and the cage is too horrible to be put in unless something really bad is happening- like a vet trip or a major move- or that you can't really bear to keep him there for a few minutes, because he's right, it is so horrible.

Are you not going to be stopping at night for sleeping, or are you going to share the driving and drive non-stop for those 4 - 5 days?  When we moved, we did stop during the night and let the cats out of their large dog crate (had 3 cats in one crate all together), and that's when we fed and watered them...once we were in our hotel room for the night.  They would settle down once out of the crate and after checking our the room, etc.  We just threw some of our dirty clothes down for them to lay on, etc. to make it smell more like home.  That seemed to work out well and everyone survived the trip. 

I would definitely keep him in his carrier or crate for the entire time in the moving car, because you never know what might happen...you could get in an accident, you might roll down the windows for some reason, anything, and you want him secure.  Also, cats calm down with harp music (don't know why, they just do), so you could get a CD of harp music, or just google "music for calming cats" and play that for him. If you don't like the music, then use earphones to play something else for yourself

Here are a couple of articles you might find interesting: 

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/traveling-with-cats

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/road-tripping-with-cats

http://www.felinexpress.com/cat-care/cat-carrier.asp

Some great ideas, thanks, but Semper if a weird cat! He will not eat treats, or wet food or even 'human' food (chicken, tuna, etc). He doesn't play either. He is outside all day, wanders in and out, and then comes in after dinner for the night.

It's tough because he has nothing that he thinks is 'special'!!!

We are leaving in 2 1/2 weeks (just found out) so I don't have a lot of time. To make matters worse, once the movers empty MY bedroom he will be closed in there and I know he will sense that something is going on. I am not going to let him outside again in case he freaks and doesn't come back.

It's odd, not much interests him!