Moving to Indiana

Hey everyone! My husband and I (along with my entire family) are moving to Indiana (from California) in two weeks. Forget that my house isn't packed yet. Forget that neither of us has been to the state. Never mind that his mother has called every hour on the hour starting at four o'clock this morning to ask me to "please not take her baby boy away".

I'm thinking about my cat. Any suggestions on how to make the drive easier for her? Never taken a cat cross-country before.

Aah, it already feels like Monday

I guess it all depends on the health of your kitty and whether he is good in the car. I had my kitty in the car for 5 hours only and he needed to be sedated...not saying that is the right option for you. I would talk to your vet for options.

Don't do it! It's going to be cold here

If you think kitty will be super stressed you might speak with your vet about something to calm her nerves .

Bummer, I moved from Indiana to California a few years ago! Just Kidding, my family is still in Indiana and I occassionally enjoy visiting them. When I drove from northern Indiana to San Diego, I think it took about 34 hours, that's a very long drive for a kitty. (This was before I had my cat of course!) If you plan on stopping in the evenings, which I recommend, it could be very difficult to find pet friendly hotels. I recently had a classmate move from California to New York and she sent her belongings across country with the movers and then flew with the cat, to reduce the duration of stress on her cat.

Good luck with your move, and enjoy the snow!

Originally Posted by captiva

Don't do it! It's going to be cold here

If you think kitty will be super stressed you might speak with your fet about something to calm her nerves .

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I would suggest either getting a carrier that is large enough for a small litter box and maybe a bed, they do have Sturdi pop-up soft sided cages that you can even hang a hammock in. Do you have a large enough vehicle that the cat can get out and lay on your lap?
As far as hotels, to be honest it is very easy to sneek a cat it. The best are the motels, that you can park in front of your door, just make sure to keep the cat out of the window!
I live in Michigan, but lived in Kokomo, IN. for a few years. I never seen so many corn fields in my life!!

Welcome! What corner of the state are you moving to?

How your cat behaves on trips to the vet can be an indicator of how well it will travel. I like LoveMySphynx idea of a larger cage with the necessities. It will also allow you to interact more with the cat and that may relax it.

As for the cold - we make up for it in the summer.
And the cornfields? - enjoy them while you can. They keep disappearing under expensive houses!

Nope, I have never done it. But I wish you well with the move and especially with your cat.

Originally Posted by Luvmysphynx

I would suggest either getting a carrier that is large enough for a small litter box and maybe a bed, they do have Sturdi pop-up soft sided cages that you can even hang a hammock in. Do you have a large enough vehicle that the cat can get out and lay on your lap?
As far as hotels, to be honest it is very easy to sneek a cat it. The best are the motels, that you can park in front of your door, just make sure to keep the cat out of the window!

I live in Michigan, but lived in Kokomo, IN. for a few years. I never seen so many corn fields in my life!!

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I lived in Kokomo for a few years, too. I loved Indiana, but I would guess that moving from California to Indiana will be major culture shock. You will find the friendliest, most honest people you have ever known. Everyone is polite, and old fashioned. The men still hold doors open for the women, and neighbors say hello when they see you. The parents restrict what the kids can see on TV.

I'm sure California has good people, too, but in Indiana they are so prevalent. However, I'm sure people may seem backwards to you. My brother-in-law who grew up in New York City had difficulty adjusting to the slow pace.

I've never traveled with a cat. Maybe you can try to get her used to the carrier/cage before the drive? And take her for small drives the week before, so she learns car trips are fun? And the idea of meds is a great one!

Welcome to Indiana. Many of the peoples ideas on here were great but I do think the best option might be to fly your kitty in. See if you could stay behind and fly with the kitty or have a close friend take them to the airport if you can not stay behind. This will cuase less stress on the kitty. If this is not an option the best bet would be to have the large crate that kitty can sleep in. Make sure a week before moving you get them used to the idea that they need to sleep there or what ever. this will ease the kitty into getting more used to the crate.

Now as for Indiana it is a very beautiful place to live. Yes we are a bit old fashioned but that is what makes us different. In the Northern part of the state you have much flatlands and corn as far as the eye can see. Down south where me and GemLady live it is beautiful hills (watch out for the occasional cowpie and deer). In fact there are many differences between the Northern and Southern ends of Indiana. I have heard from many people that have never been to southern Indiana that we have a slight Texan drawl.

You ever wonder what a Hoosier is? Let me give you a good definition of one and who we are.
Whoâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s a Hoosier?
\tWhen driving through the state of Indiana, you hear a most “uncommonly common†word floating around the streets, bars, and even in the homes. Even Indiana University has joined in the use of this word. That word is “Hoosierâ€. Everyone thinks that a Hoosier is a person from Indiana, but is there more meaning to the word? What does it stand for? In actuality, what is a Hoosier?
\tHoosier is a word that can be defined as indefinable. Even though there is no set standard to the word, there are many diverse concepts of how it originated. A number of people think that the word originated from the combination of joint words that had included: whose ear, whoâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s your…, whoâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s here? But these are not the only explanations that have hit the nail on the head with the origin of the word Hoosier. Some of the terminology that could explain a little about the background of Hoosiers was hoosa, hoozer, and houssier. My first reaction to these expressions was, “What the…?â€
\tRumors also say Hoosier came from a man named Sam Hoosier or Howsier who hired people from Indiana to work on a canal. Thus, the men became identified as Hoosierâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s men or Howsierâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s men. This still gave me no evidence on what Hoosier meant. It was time to go back to the words: hoosa, hoozer, and houssiere. I went exploring to find out what history told me about these words and what they mean. How would they be able to help us appreciate what a Hoosier really is?
\tThe Linguistic Atlas reveals “Hoosier†as being a derogatory nickname meaning uncouth and synonymous with hick, hayseed, and hillbilly. Although Websterâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s Word Histories never came up with a fully explainable explanation, I explored some of the words that could have some symbolic meaning in trying to define Hoosier. Letâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s start with a simple history of Indiana to help us learn how we became known as Hoosiers.
\tSince Indiana was a state known for the Indian tribes that had settled here, it is only fitting to start with their explanation first. Hoosa, supposedly an Indian word for corn, was the first word that I found in my exploration. Corn is the major crop grown in Indiana. It was the major source of food for the Indians and can be used for various things. Could this have been the explanation as to why we are known as Hoosiers?
\tAs I continued my exploration, I found many other colonists that had settled in Indiana. Among those that had settled here were the French, who used the word houssiere meaning bushy place. This could have described much of the southern Indiana terrain when they first settled here. The Dutch, on the other hand, used the word hoozer to mean whirlwind or tornado. However, other sources conclude that the word hoozer is a southern dialect meaning something especially large. This could explain either some of the weather conditions or the terrain in Indiana when settlers first arrived.
\tIn conclusion, what I discovered about Hoosier really surprised me. Even though many of the different words that could have been the origin of the word Hoosier were strange, they all seemed to fit. If you placed them together they could mean: rough neck hillbillies living in the bush, growing corn and watching for extremely large whirlwinds. Yea, that seems like a good definition of a Hoosier.

Hope that helps a bit to explain Indiana to you. I wrote that for a college class and it was taken by my instructor to Indiana University.

That is great, Angela! I hope you got an A on your paper!