Moving out of state with a cat?

Due to work circumstances, there is a possibility I may have to move out of state, from FL to Wisconsin. It's about a 3 to 4 day drive from my area. I would have to take my cat and ferret, of course, and while the ferret is comfortable in the car and accustomed to travelling around with me, my cat Skinner is only a year old and has never been on a "serious" car ride before, (except for down the street to the vet and he does not really like that!)

Does anyone have tips or advice for such a long move with a cat? And any advice for introducing him to new living quarters once I get there? Skinner is a very "routine oriented"  cat and I am worried that this trip might stress him more than it should. Hopefully some more experienced cat owners can share some ideas here. Many thanks in advance!

 

I've moved with cats many times, and have a few suggestions that may help.  First, start getting Skinner used to car travel by taking him on short trips that are NOT to the vet.  If you put catnip in his carrier before you put him in, that should help.  I did that with all my cats when traveling.  If you are taking 3-4 days for that trip, I guess you will be staying in motels along the way.  If the cat and ferret have been sleeping all day, they will probably want to play all night, so just be aware of that.  You may have to confine them during the hours you yourself want to sleep. 

Second, it is upsetting to cats to see their furniture leave and their home being disrupted.  A good plan is to set up ONE ROOM for them and not change anything in it at all until you actually pack them up to leave.  Don't let them roam around and see changes in the house.  If the room is your bedroom and there is a bathroom attached, move them to the bathroom before moving your bed out.  Cover the cat carrier before you carry it out to the car through the empty house also.  That way, it's just another car ride to the cat.  (I can't give any ferret advice as I've never had one.)

In the motels, be sure to make sure there are no escape routes for the cat -- check air vents, windows, holes in the wall, etc.  Keep the door locked and put out a DO NOT DISTURB sign.  Do not open the door for any reason unless the cat is locked in his carrier.

Finally, when you get to the new home, set up another room for the cat that is as much like the last room you had set up for him in the old house and confine him there until you get the rest of the house set up.  Again, you can start him in a bathroom, then expand to include your bedroom, and later, when the home looks like a home, open the door and let him explore the rest of the place.  The bedroom will remain his safety zone and he'll return there whenever anything startles him (doorbell, visitors, noises outside etc.) until he feels safe in the rest of the house.

My last move involved moving multiple cats, as I was already in rescue.  I did it exactly this way and it worked very well.  I couldn't take them all at once and had to move them in groups over two days, but they were calm as soon as they hit the new room which was set up like the old room, and they lived there nearly a week before I let them explore the rest of the house (because I'm not all that fast at organizing and everything was piled in the middle of the rooms for awhile).  I hope I never have to move again! 

I'm sure Skittles will be just fine if you follow this advice.  And good luck with the new home.

Thanks so much for the info, there's a lot of great ideas here. As of now my moving plans are not firm, but I know it'll happen in the future (if not this month, then possibly next month or October) but I will definitely be getting Skinner acclimated to the car until then by taking him on short "non-vet" rides like you said.

Also, In my situation, I would not be moving any large furniture though since I am currently just living in a smaller space of my parents home and using their existing furniture, none of which would come with me. I should have specified that earlier,  although its definitely another one of my concerns that an all new place with different furniture might freak him out a bit. Keeping him in the bathroom until things are settled down is a really good idea though, since bathrooms generally do tend to be more "neutral" looking. 

I do also plan on bringing his small cat tree/scratching post which he always sleeps on top of, and a few other items that are very familiar to him, and these I would put in the bedroom since he is used to sleeping right near my bed. And I would of course try and keep everything arranged as similar as possible to the room I'm staying in now. Hopefully all of this will go smoothly; this poor cat is what I'm most worried about!