Moving 15+ hours away with FOUR cats

Hi all,

This summer we will be moving from Florida to St. Louis.  It's a 15 hour trip without stops (ugh).  Moving will be difficult enough with 4 young kids and a large dog, but we also have 4 cats.  They are all strictly indoor cats and very rarely go to the vet so they are not use to the car.  Right now the carriers I have are just big enough to transport them to the vet.  They can't turn around in them, so obviously I'd have to get bigger ones.  Here's my main concerns:

1.  Litter box?  Should I put a small box in each carrier?

2.  Stop or drive straight through?  I want the trip to be as trauma-free as possible.  I also don't want to take them out of their carriers unless we are in a hotel room.  Even with harnesses & leashes, I've had two friends lose their beloved cats when the cats wiggled out of them and ran.  Do you think it's more traumatic for them to be in a strange hotel room and endure 2 days of being in the car, or should I drive straight through?

3.  Regular carriers/"pet taxi", or wire cage?  Would they be better each in their own pet taxi, or in a large wire cage with each other (or at least 2 together)?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!  TIA!

I would say separate, one per carrier. They won't be able to fight to release tension. 

Will you have room for 4 wire cages?  Because I'm thinking they will be in the carriers / cages much longer than 15 hours; most likely, all the time you are loading furniture into a moving van, and then all the time you are unloading.  I'll give you details on my recent move, as there are so many times a cat can espae and / or hide.

On May 6th  I moved 93 miles (hour and half drive) and my  cats were in their carriers about 11 hours.  For 4 weeks before the move, I got them used to morning treat time in one room -- a room with no double bed in it, one where I could easily 'catch' them.  This is how I got them the morning of moving day, and put each  in a carrier.    I called treats, they all came, and I quickly closed the door so they were in that room.  At this point, 2 started howling, they knew something was up.  I got each one into a carrier, set the carriers up against a wall, door facing the wall.  I just do not trust the doors and the cats not to open them.

Then they stayed in one room with the door closed while the movers loaded all the furniture.  Towards the end, I moved the carriers to another room -- and closed the door! --so the room the cats were in could be loaded; this meant it would be the first room unloaded.

Once the men and movers were gone, I loaded the carriers into my car.  Off we went - me, 4 dogs and 5 cats in carriers.  Once we arrived at the new house, I told the movers to remain in the truck, shut it off, and just wait.  I unloaded the carriers and put them in one room, doors against the wall, and closed the door. 

Now I got out of the driveway so the moving van could get in, and we unloaded just that one room; I sent the movers back to sit in the van, and I moved the 7 cats into 'their' room, doors against the wall, and closed that door.  They stayed there until the move was complete, I was calm and settled, and ready to deal with them.  I had to give the dogs a quick walk, feed the dogs, and get them sorted out.  I put them in my bedroom (they sleep with me) and put up the gate, so they were now in the one room.

Next I made sure I had litter boxes set where I wanted them, water bowls and food dishes set up and filled.  Then I went in where the cats were and closed the door.  I calmly softly talked to the cats, and opened the doors to the carriers.  The cats were slow to poke their heads out.  Then I opened the door to that room, and went to bed myself.  It was 10 PM at this point, I was up at 6:30 AM to go "cat catching," it was a very long day.

The cats did not eat at all the first 24 hours in the new place.  I made sure food was available, but I'd read up and expected this, so I did not have full food amounts out as I was fairly sure I'd have to toss any canned food.  I purposely put only canned as I wanted to be sure they got some fluid in them after so much tension; kibble waited till the second full day in the new place.  By this time, they were slowly peaking out from under furniture, eating a little.  Once I started seeing the litter boxes in use, I set out the kibble as well, and got back to normal food amounts.

Just me, you have another adult perhaps, but then you also have 4 children, don't know the ages.  You need to imagine this day over and over in your head, visualize each step looking for what can go 'wrong' -- not only for the cats, but for the dogs and children, as well.

One thing I did not consider:  our moving day was HOT.  I went through the new place opening windows; did not realize the screen was UP in one window, so 2 cats excaped that first night.  I had to locate the local SPCA and get a loaner trap; got Tommy back in the 3rd morning of trap use; still trying to get Bobby.

Hope this helps!

The only tip I can give is making sure that the cats carriers are covered with a thin blanket. Not thick enough to block oxygen, but enough to limit what they can see. Cats and dogs don't understand that they are moving in a car if they can't see the world moving away from them. I know it Sounds silly, but it really helped with my recent move.
Also talking to them the whole time is very comforting for them

I think you hould drive straight through as booking/unbooking in hotels will be extremely stressful and possibly a cat could get loose in hotel if cleaning crew comes through. I've moved 18hours one way and my cats were loaded 3 cats, seperate plastic cat carriers and lined the carriers with potty pads. I did feed canned food the night before and a little the day of the move. Depending on how they handle carriers, you may need to cover them as @turtbat   suggested. I also agree with @Freedom   That was great planing on their part. Will you have someone to help you with the move considering, children and pets, will be a stressful day. Please don't load the cats in the moving van. Please take them along with you. Also keep a bag with spare potty pads, paper towels, wet wipes, pet wipes and collar and tag all pets with a cell phone or other valid number, just in case. With the cats, please be sure they are breakaway collars. I don't think you should put little boxes in the carriers with them, they might make a nasty mess.