The tale of the carrying of the kitties.
 

We are snowbirds and we bring the allowed TWO cats here each time we come. The names of our TWO cats; Mikey, Harry and Hershey. The first trip they were in three separate kitty carriers. They were NOT pleased. They yowled and shrieked with intermittent napping the WHOLE FIFTEEN HOURS that we drove straight through from Ohio.

The next time we put halters and leashes on them and put them in the same l(larger) container. They yelled for the first fifty miles and then we let them out to walk around the van. They immediately sought out a lap and settled down. We have three laps, our daughter lives with us, but the driver isn't allowed to hold a kitty. When we stopped, we shoved them back in the carrier and zipped them up. We put halters and leashes on them, (fairly tight halters, so they couldn't slip out) so we could grab the leash when it was time to get out. If it is hot, we get drive through food or one of us stays in the car while the air is running for potty stops. Almost every time a kitty gets car sick. So we travel with rags and paper towels and know that they shed a lot when they are stressed, so we bring delinters so not to shock people with our hairy clothes.

We have a litter box in the back of the van and we bring dishes of water and food that they rarely eat.

This is easier for us because our daughter is in the back seat where the carrier is and I lean back and assist the kitties into the carrier. Now...when we stop they usually go in by themselves.

Love those kitties.

Every year, many pets are lost while travelling. Just a reminder .... when travelling with pets, please remember to have every pet collar equipped with current IDs.

Because we are seasonal residents in TV, our pets have three ID tags each, one with winter Florida information, one with our summer Canadian information, and one with our cell phone and Vet's number. Plus our dogs are microchipped.

We do a "Mega" trip with our pets at least twice a year. Our trip to/from The Villages takes 26 hours of actual driving plus we stop twice overnight. We have two dogs and a 17 year-old cat. One dog weighs over 60 lbs.

We store most of our stuff in a bubble on top of our SUV. The back of our vehicle is pet paradise with comfy beds and water always available. We don't allow pets on front laps in case air bags deploy.

We used to drug our cat and keep her in a cat container. She was miserable, either zonked out and drooling, or meowing loudly. Then we bought a halter and leash for her. Now, when the car is moving, she can roam around the back seat and she loves the freedom. She can eat or drink or use her litter box. She usually snuggles up with the dogs and sleeps.

We stop and walk the dogs every few hours. When we exit the vehicle, we tie the cat's leash to a ceiling support. That way she can't hide or jump out when we open the door.

When we choose a motel, we get a ground-floor room with direct access from the car to the room. We keep a list of pet-friendly motels and usually have no problems finding a nice room.

May all your travels be happy and safe!

I brought my 3 cats from NY to Arizona in the car. I had a bubble on top of the car so that the trunk could be used for water and dry food. The cats were nervous the first day, but by the second they all chose a corner and slept through most of the ride. At night, they adjusted very well to the motel rooms where they ate and used the litter box.

We have the same thing to look forward to!
 

Just got a closing date on our home in IL so we will be heading to TV July2 with our dear Maggie cat. We have tranquilizers from the vet which we hope will help keep her from pooping her brains out and making herself hoarse from crying. We're thinking about taking those tranquilizers ourselves.

It's good to hear that others have made the trip with kitty without too much stress.