Moving cat from MA to FL

[ddumas10]

We are moving to The Villages in June and need to transport our 10 year old declawed cat. Help! We were thinking of getting a large pet crate and putting in small litter box. Would love to hear from others that have traveled to the villages with their cats. Appreciate your replies!

[Villager Joyce]

As a cat person I have to send a WELCOME. I'm afraid I have no words of wisdom on traveling. We discussed with our vet who gave us wipes to rub inside her carrier before the trip. The only time we moved any distance, we flew with the cat as carry on luggage. Her ticket was $50. It has been awhile. We decided it was easier to have the moving company bring both cars and the three of us fly. I know you know this, but please be careful when you get here. I can't tell you how many posts have involved new arrivals whose cat escaped.

[jpvillager]

Give your cat a motion sickness pill about an hour before leaving. Talk to the vet on what brand and how much. We gave it to ours too close to leaving and she got sick. Check lani and birdcage screens near the floor to make sure they secure. Ours were 12 years old and she pushed out a corner but stayed close. Replaced our screen with a pet resistant thicker screen from Lowes or Home Depot.

[jnieman]

We are moving to The Villages in June and need to transport our 10 year old declawed cat. Help! We were thinking of getting a large pet crate and putting in small litter box. Would love to hear from others that have traveled to the villages with their cats. Appreciate your replies!

We gave our cat a half of a tranquilizer and were sorry we did. He was out of it for the first day stumbling around and I felt sorry for him. The second day we just had his pet carrier in the back seat (no tranquilizer). We faced it forward so he could see out with the door open and he could see me. I would pet him sometimes. He stayed in it the whole time and didn't cry at all. So long as he could see us and see out he was fine. We had a small litter box on the floor of the car which he never used until we got to the hotel that night. We let him roam the hotel room at night. We put just a small amount of food in the feeder with a small amount of water. If you have a pet crate that would even be better as long as he has air flow and can see you while you ride in the car. Those are my suggestions based on our trip. All cats are different. Ours was pretty wound up when we left and it took him about an hour to calm down. We only gave him half of a tranquilizer that the vet gave us and it was too much.

[villagetinker]

We brought down 2 cats, by air, no problems, no pills. First, contact the airline about restrictions, the one we used (Allegiant) required one pet per flyer, and one pet per row, and an FAA rated pet carrier. Additional ticket for each pet $75. Amtrak would not allow pets, except service dogs, and the movers would not take pets because of the duration of the moved 2-3 days.
As for the lanai, we bought portable pet fencing for PETCO (I think) and attached it inside the lanai aluminum structure to make sure the kitties could not get out.
Hope this helps.

[lynn22]

Hi we did that a year ago with our 15 yo cat . I had a pet crate in between my hubby and I in a rental moving truck , so maybe about a 2 ft crate . I was really worried but Charlie did just fine I did put a small litter box in and he did use that mostly slept occasional cry but a year later he's still wonderful

[mixsonci]

I just brought my cat down by car from Massachusetts in January. She hates to travel but handled the 20 hour drive quite well. In fact, I have traveled with one or two cats for the last 20 years by air and by car. Cats are unique in that they can basically shut their entire system down. I have traveled 20 or more hours with my cats and they stayed in their crate. They did not/would not pee and for the most part would not eat or drink for me even though I tried to feed them. By the end of every trip, they were fine and went about their life as if nothing was different after they investigated their new surroundings. Of course, some cats may be a little higher strung than mine were. If you are taking your time getting here, you don't want to have to keep giving them tranquilizers. I did not sedate either of my cats and they did a LOT of traveling. Just leave them in the crate and they will settle down. You might even put a towel over their crate so they don't get nervous with all the goings on around them. They are not like dogs who love to look out the window.

[laryb]

We are moving to The Villages in June and need to transport our 10 year old declawed cat. Help! We were thinking of getting a large pet crate and putting in small litter box. Would love to hear from others that have traveled to the villages with their cats. Appreciate your replies!
We drove down with our Maine Coon from Ma to Fl without problems. Went to Ocean State job Lot and bought 2 collapsible wire crates, making sure that one would be able to fit the litter box. Then I took the back of one off (no door), and the door end of the other off. Put the litter box in and wire tied 2 together. Now obviously your vehicle has to be able to accommodate this. I tied them together in the vehicle with the door end facing the car door so I could get him in and out. Had a Honda Accord at the time.

[redwitch]

Drive from California with three cats. One was the ultimate fraidy cat (she'd poop before the car was started). One was just a typical kitty -- didn't like cars but found them tolerable. The third thought a car ride was the cat's meow. I did give my fraidy cat a quarter of a tranquilizer the first day. Didn't need one after that. She was fine for the rest of the trip.

There really wasn't room for a crate for the girls, so we let them roam free with halters and leads on them. We did have a litter box on the floor as well as food and water. Both were used and more than once there was a quick stop to clean the box and wait for the smell to dissipate. The only place off limits was under my seat or lap since I was doing all of the driving. We blocked off the back of the seat so no one could crawl under and my daughter was quick to grab whatever cat decided my lap was her spot.

They adapted pretty quickly to their new home and they KNOW the lanai is just for them, although they will deign to share it with me on occasion.

You might want to try some short rides now just to see how your kitty will handle the ride. If prone to motion sickness, get something from the vet to help her out. If she's a little nervous, I'd recommend suffering through the initial howling. It will subside. If she miss truly terrified like my one was, then I think a trank to get her started but only for the initial stage.

Good luck. The trip won't be as harrowing as you think.

[Bonanza]

Please don't even think about tranquilizing your cat.

We drove over 2,500 miles with our cats and stayed overnight for 4 nights.
Cats prefer to be enclosed so don't put her in a wire cage unless you cover it.
Have some plastc bags handy for poop, pee and puke problems and also a container of wipes (good for everyone).
We did not feed or water our cats in the car. They ate when we stopped and got settled in a motel.
Bring a yard stick and spray bottle (for water), in case your kitty won't come out from under a bed when you stay overnight. We also brought a brush and dust pan along to sweep up around the litter box.

What you imagine is much worse than the reality of the trip. Relax!
It will all go pretty smoothly.

[~Jojo~]

I came to this thread to ask about tips on traveling with cats but all wonderful answers!!! We were in TV a few weeks ago for a long weekend and we missed our cats tremendously..and according to my daughter, they missed us too! So, we decided to bring two of the tree with us next month when we drive down for a month. The two boys are like Velcro, always at our side, one with me and one with my hubby. Our girl is very independent and hangs out with my daughter mostly. She barely tolerates her brothers so it will be a nice vacation for my Tootsie, when we take the boys with us. I've traveled to Canada before, 6 hour ride with one of the cats. He was fine, with a harness but slept on my lap the whole time... ( I know, I shouldn't let him on my lap). I pushed him off when I arrived at the border but Bubu came back on my lap to lay down. Border agent said nothing... No questions asked!

[HimandMe]

We are moving to The Villages in June and need to transport our 10 year old declawed cat. Help! We were thinking of getting a large pet crate and putting in small litter box. Would love to hear from others that have traveled to the villages with their cats. Appreciate your replies!

There is a spray for the cage that relaxes cats called Fenway.
Our two cats have gone back and forth. One is a prince, the other yells the whole time but now we have found that we put him in his cage with a blanket so he cannot see the other traffic and he quiets down and sleeps most of the way. He makes a noise and we let him out to use the box in the back of the SUV and put him back in. The other cat roams free, sleeps on our lap and is happy the entire journey. It took a long time to realize we had to cover the cage to keep the yowler happier.

Traveling by air is easier. They just stay under the seat in front of us.

[Fanman]

I agree with Bonanza 100 %. My wife and I found the secret was to cover the cage. Our male hates to travel and would meow the whole time. Once we started covering the cage he laid right down and went to sleep. We have made several trips back and forth to Maine with no trouble at all. We feed them at night in the hotel only and it works out fine. We've tried putting them in the litter box when we stop but they never use it. Don't forget that cats being hunters are very wary of predators and if their hidden they feel safe.