long car trip with cat

homebrew

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Jun 8, 2004
Messages
10
Purraise
0
maybe someone can give me some advice. i am moving soon to arizona. my 10 y/o jimi has never been on such a long car trip. he will have alot to deal with besides the car ride. along the way we will stop at my mom's house for a few days. he will be in a strange environment where there will be another cat. i'm not so worried about jj and jimi because i plan to keep them separated. we will also be spending one night in a hotel before we get to AZ, another strange environment. and finally, we will have to live at the residence inn until my apt. is ready. i am just worried that so many environment changes are going to cause him ALOT of stress. i've heard alot about a product called feliaway. has anyone ever used it? i would appreciate any advice anyone has!

thanks,
rebecca
 

purrfectcatlove

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jul 6, 2003
Messages
6,816
Purraise
2
Location
Georgia USA
I have used and use the feliway plug-in and it works wonder .
I would spray the carrier befor you place him in for the trip and if you have a plug-in you can use it in each place you will be staying .

I was traveling with my persian from Massachusetts to Georgia and did not had feliway
. But that was a long time ago . My cat did well , a little stressed out but was ok with all .
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #3

homebrew

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Jun 8, 2004
Messages
10
Purraise
0
well i am definitely going to try it then!
 

hissy

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Feb 19, 2001
Messages
34,872
Purraise
76
I would opt for rescue remedy to calm the cat down as well as spraying the carrier with feliway spray. You want to spray it a few days in advance to make sure the cat is affected by it, some of them are not.
 

dima

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
May 25, 2004
Messages
288
Purraise
1
Location
Southern California
I don't know if you have the money to do it or not, but it's definitely a good investment and if I were driving my kitties a long way I'd consider it a moving neccessity just to keep them comfy and as stress-free as possible...

I have a car cat carrier that I use here at home when we get new kitties in. I have a cage as well, but this car cat carrier is fabulous:
http://www.sturdiproducts.com/showpr.../carkennel.asp

Or the nicer one that I have that also has seatbelt straps:
http://www.sturdiproducts.com/showpr...howshelter.asp


You can use the center flap to seperate the two cats, you can buy a travel cat box, you can buy little hammocks so they're above the floor w/ the cat pan, they are secured with seatbelts so your kitty is safe...they're just all around fabulous. AND - they fold up to nothing, are lightweight, and have a strap to carry them with. with one of these, your kitty can be safe in it in the hotel, in your mom's house, wherever. They are also washable. There are collapsible water and food dishes, too. I know it's expensive, but they're safe and comfy for your babies.
 

prissykitty

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Jun 13, 2004
Messages
411
Purraise
1
Location
Newnan, GA
Hi there, I've got no experience with feliway, but I sure do have experience with long car trips and airplane trips with the furballs! I first moved one kitty by car from Los Angeles, CA to Dallas TX with one night in a hotel. Then moved 7 kittys from Texas to Georgia with a one night stop as well. I also brought my beloved Wellington on the airplane from texas to georgia once so she could stay with us during the holidays. We were told by a vet to use kid's benadryl the morning before each leg of the trip to help calm them down. Well at the grocery store the only kind they had was bubble gum flavored liquid. So I loaded up the syringe and managed to give it to two cats before I gave up. This pink bubblegum gunk got spit up everywhere, and all over themselves and it is very sticky, nasty stuff. We had another vet give us a bottle with some Ace pills in it, but I'm not into drugging my animals *that* heavily. However that night at the hotel, all 7 cats were roaming around, and Carmel would *not* be quiet. We were worried we were going to get kicked out of the hotel so we broke down and gave her an Ace which settled her right down.

As for stopping at your moms...My Wellie came with me back to my parents house (where I had raised her and her sister from kittens) for a few weeks after I left my ex husband and before I moved to Texas. I kept her confined to one room. Here's the funny thing. I had been married for 7 years and she lived with me for that time...she snuck out of the room one day and I swear in an instant she was home again. 7 years had passed and she remembered the layout of my parents house exactly, and went right to the same spot in the courtyard to roll as she did when she first lived there. Weird huh? Anyway, I think it's a good idea to confine the kitty to a single room when away from home, that way they are less likely to get out and get lost trying to go back "home". It also keeps the new surroundings to a minimum and will be quieter with no strange people/animal traffic.

Sorry to ramble on, I get carried away sometimes!
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #7

homebrew

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Jun 8, 2004
Messages
10
Purraise
0
thanks to everyone for all the great suggestions. i heard that benadryl could be used, too. i'm just so worried abt him. i need to get that feliway soon so i can test it out on him.

thanks again!
 
Top