Transporting Cats

[homeball]

Hi all,

My wife and I just sold our house in Garden City South, NY and plan to move down to TV around the end of January. We have two 11 year old cats who have never traveled anywhere except to and from the vet. We were considering sending them to TV via a professional pet transporter instead of taking them with us for a very long car ride.

Does anyone have any ideas about or experience with transporting pets. If anyone knows of a reliable and safe transporter service that they had good experience with, I would like to hear about it.

Thanks for any help you can give.

-Dave-

[chuckinca]

We recently got a quote from a pet transporter for our cat: $1200 from Norcal to TV.

Also checked with Delta airlines who will ship animals as freight - $250 (or so) plus vet health cert no more than 10 days old.

I believe United and Delta airlines change around $80 to carry on a small animal that fits under the seat in front in a soft sided carrier.

(we have an 11 YO and two 6 MO kittens - above quotes are each)


.

[cglenhar]

I brought my big fat 5 year old cat, Yoda, down here by car. She was an indoor/outdoor cat up north and never rode in a car except to go the the vet. I figured that the trip would be horrible as my lab (who only barely tolerates her) had to share the back seat with her for the 20 plus hour trip.

I bought a medium dog harness (she weighs 25 lbs), a leash and a carrier. She slipped the harness as soon as I put it on her and curled up inside the dogs belly and never made a peep all the way down. I brought food, water and a small pan of litter, but she never took advantage of any of the supplies until we got settled down here. I also bought those herbal tranquilizers, but never needed them. Ask your vet about those.

Yoda tends to be pretty mellow, so I think it may depend upon your cats temperament. Good luck!

[Bogie Shooter]

We had a cat also who was indoor/outdoor and he made the trip in a pet carrier. He joined us in the motel room where he did his business after riding all day....no problem. Maybe a little whining but thats all.
$1200 WOW!

[Floridagal]

We drove down from NY 13 years ago to South Florida and the vet gave us some tranquilizers and we had no problem.

I came to TV 4 years ago with two different cats and had no problem on the trip up.

I would suggest you check with your vet.

[graciegirl]

Hershey and Mikey both five year olds have made the trip twice. The first time there was a lot of angst. Yelling and crying and trying to get out of the pet carrier. The second time (ten days ago) we put harnesses on them, fairly snug, about five days before the trip. The day of the trip we fastened leashes to them, turned the carrier on end, (heavy plastic vinyl and mesh from Walmart)
and dropped them both in leash and all VERY quickly, zipped them up. We let them out after about an hour and they found laps and all was well.(Our daughter was with us) We put them back in the carrier for our stops. Put a small litter box in there too. The carrier cost less than thirty dollars, is lightweight and roomy.

Hate to use tranquilizers, plus they won't eat anything they don't LOVE.

[Atlantic]

Hi Homeball, made the trip here two years ago with a cat that never went out side never mind took a two day ride in the car. He did fine, did a lot of meowing the first hour or so. He didn't eat, drink or use the litter box until we stopped at night in a motel. Meanwhile after two years in the Villages he has grown fat and happy. As long as your cat is with someone he knows and loves he will be fine. Do not ship him down keep him with you!!!

[Atlantic]

Hi Homeball, made the trip here two years ago with a cat that never went out side never mind took a two day ride in the car. He did fine, did a lot of meowing the first hour or so. He didn't eat, drink or use the litter box until we stopped at night in a motel. Meanwhile after two years in the Villages he has grown fat and happy. As long as your cat is with someone he knows and loves he will be fine. Do not ship him down keep him with you!!!

[Barefoot]

Hi all,

My wife and I just sold our house in Garden City South, NY and plan to move down to TV around the end of January. We have two 11 year old cats who have never traveled anywhere except to and from the vet. We were considering sending them to TV via a professional pet transporter instead of taking them with us for a very long car ride. -Dave-


Please don't ship your cats. I used to work in the travel industry and I was told by air cargo guys from different airlines that it is inhumane to ship animals. They are in the dark, it can be cold, they are afraid, and there are often accidents with other cargo shifting around.

We drive for 26 hours to get to TV. Our 16 year old cat travels with us. (For the first 14 years of her life she didn't travel at all). We do keep her in a harness with ID attached, and a leash, so we can secure her when we stop to walk the dogs.

At first we gave her tranquilizers as she would get car sick. Now she doesn't need tranquilizers. She just lies down with the dogs and sleeps through the whole trip. She uses a small litter box occasionally, and eats when we stop at night. She adjusted very readily to the travel.

Please give your cats a chance. If you start taking them for short drives (which is what "the books" recommend), it may give you an idea of whether they'll be anxious and require sedation.

You might want to start by using a tranquilizer, the Vet explained to me that it reduces their anxiety and is therefore the humane thing to do (if they need it). By the way, I found the key to giving a tranquilizer was that it has to be done at least two hours prior to the start of travel.

Good luck, and welcome to Paradise.

[redwitch]

Another non-fan of shipping animals. The stress to the pet and the risk is too high to make it worthwhile.

I traveled from California to Florida with 3 cats. One cat was absolutely car-phobic. She would poop the second she was put in the carrier and by the time I would get her to the vet (5 minutes away, max), there would be nothing left in her innards (but the car smelled wonderful!!!). One cat did not like cars but could tolerate. The third one didn't care as long as she was in a lap being petted or could look out the window.

I got tranqs and give them each a mild dose for the first leg of the trip. For the rest of ride, no tranqs for any of them and no problems. We would take them out at night and let them roam the hotel room. They rode quite contently during the day -- even drank, ate and used the litter box (one cat was a piggy ... no way would she go all day without her food).

It does seem daunting to drive with felines but giving them a very mild tranquilizer until they are used to the motion seems to do the trick and they really don't mind once they feel safe in their "moving house."

[meriboo]

We have transported cats from Chicago area to Florida twice. The first time we traveled with one cat, put her in her carrier and went on our way. What a disaster!!! What a mess!!!! The second time traveling with two cats, put a litter box on the floor in the back and let the cats have their freedom. This way worked great. AFter about 5 min of checking all the nooks and crannies the cats settled down for the trip. Each night with the help of the carriers they enjoyed the motel room.

Can't imagine $1200 for pet transportation. Perhaps a new job for me.

[fizzbyn]

Exactly 1 month from today, Dec 12th, the movers are coming and we're starting on our 5-day trip from Arizona to The Villages. With us will be our 86-year-old mother and a 15-year-old grouchy cat, so I'm very interested in this thread. We had two cats when we made the 9-hour drive from California to Arizona. We settled in AZ three weeks before we went to pick up the mother and cats, so we decided to rent a van where there'd be lots of room for the cats to roam about and for their dirt box, food and water. They howled for about an hour and then spent the rest of the 8 hours under the seat. Then never ate, drank or used the cat box. Now we have only one cat, but we kind of know what he'll be like. We will provide food, drink and liter box, but we don't know if he'll use them until we get to the motel. We just hope he will then. We'll put him in back with our mother so she can entertain him, if that is even possible. Keep this thread up... the more we learn the better.

[ouma1938]

We always taken our cats with us when we moved and they always end up settling down quite quickly. Don't worry if they don't eat, unless its a three day trip, but they usually eat when you get to the motel if you do make an overnight stop. Whatever you do will be better than shipping them down. They would be so scared, and its just not safe. So many things can happen.

[bargee]

Start getting them used to the carriers now.Short rides are good also.They'll moan and groan for a while but they get used to it after an hour or so.

[uujudy]

Traveling 2400 miles across the country with two kitties was really an adventure for us! On the first day Baby Monroe finally stopped yowling around Little America. That's in Wyoming, and about 4 hours into the trip. Every time we stopped the car for a rest and started again he would yowl for an hour or so.

We bought 2 small soft-side cat carriers for the trip instead of the big hard-side airline carriers we usually use. They have mesh sides and close with a zipper. They saved a lot of space in the car, HOWEVER the mesh sides are pretty much shredded by now, and getting the cats back into them in the morning was harder than if we had used carriers that they couldn't sink their claws into. The carriers close with a zipper. It was a 2- person job to get each cat into his own carrier each morning. Tommy Boy "snags" on things with his paw. It's part of his OCD personality. He will lie on the floor next to the dishwasher and "snag" on it for hours. If he can get something to make a sound when he snags, he's happy. He'll lie next to the window and snag on it at the bottom so it makes a clicking sound. He did this with his carrier when he discovered he could make the zipper pull make a dinging sound. For 2400 miles we listened to Baby Monroe yowling and Tommy dinging. YOWWLLL, ding ding ding, YOWWLL, ding ding ding ding....

We had figured out by Kansas that if we bought them each a hamburger (plain, no ketchup, no pickle) they would fall into a drugged-up stupor, and actually sleep for a while. Think about THAT next time you get a hamburger! We could drive almost 200 miles in silence after a hamburger stop... except for the first time in Kansas when we didn't wait long enough after the hamburger stop and Baby Monroe spewed all over his cat carrier. We pulled off the freeway and Mr. Judy (bless his heart) battled the wind to clean out the carrier by the on-ramp. Wish I had pictures of that. lol

We tried letting them each out of the carrier for a while, but Tommy Boy just hid under my feet, and Baby Monroe tried to hide under the brake pedal. They seemed to feel safer inside their carriers. We felt safer without a cat under the brake pedal.

We also had to factor in the time it took to unload and load the car every day. We had the 2 cats and their carriers, the litter box, the bag with the cat food, fresh litter, Tommy's eye medicine, cat treats, and their favorite blankets. It was like traveling with a baby. If we drove too long and waited too late, by the time we were all unloaded and the kitties were fed and pottied and settled in at the new motel, all the restaurants would be closed. After seeing the effects of hamburgers on them I sure didn't want us to eat fast food all the way across country. We had to stay sharp!

We made it to The Villages. We're still married, and both kitties are doing fine. Just get yourself some of those foam earplugs. You can do this!

[homeball]

Thanks all for replying.

Two cats are twice the joy but also twice the trouble. Moving in the middle of the winter and having to find a pet friendly hotel/motel on what will probably be a three day trip seemed a little daunting so I was just exploring alternatives. Our two cats were born outside and we took them in when they were a few months old. So they had ferile tendencies which have for the most part disappeared over the years. But they're still not as docile and are a little wary even though they're house cats. I found several services on the internet but I was just looking to see if anyone had used a service and might recommend it. We're keeping all of our options open. I feel that, if we're not moving in the middle of a snow storm, we probably will keep them with us.

-Dave-

[Barefoot]

And please don't forget to put harnesses on your cats when you're travelling, with current information on how to reach you.

Of course no-one ever plans to lose a pet. But if that horrible thing were to happen, putting current ID on your pet is easy to do and could save you a lot of hearbreak.

[chelsea24]

We transported 4 cats from Chicago to TV and I guess we were really lucky.
We have a van, so two huge dog crates in back, two cats in each, fully equipped with disposable litter boxes, food and water. All of our cats were chipped before we left and numbers sent to database. Then mild tranquilizer the first day and didn't need any the second day. They must have liked the
hum of the engine. Very calm, never cried. I would talk to them on and off.

Ate only at drive-thru places, because I wouldn't leave them alone outside. And stayed in a pet friendly Comfort Inn.

I was terrified of the move, but all went extremely well. Thank goodness! :)

[homeball]

Traveling 2400 miles across the country with two kitties was really an adventure for us! On the first day Baby Monroe finally stopped yowling around Little America. That's in Wyoming, and about 4 hours into the trip. Every time we stopped the car for a rest and started again he would yowl for an hour or so.

We bought 2 small soft-side cat carriers for the trip instead of the big hard-side airline carriers we usually use. They have mesh sides and close with a zipper. They saved a lot of space in the car, HOWEVER the mesh sides are pretty much shredded by now, and getting the cats back into them in the morning was harder than if we had used carriers that they couldn't sink their claws into. The carriers close with a zipper. It was a 2- person job to get each cat into his own carrier each morning. Tommy Boy "snags" on things with his paw. It's part of his OCD personality. He will lie on the floor next to the dishwasher and "snag" on it for hours. If he can get something to make a sound when he snags, he's happy. He'll lie next to the window and snag on it at the bottom so it makes a clicking sound. He did this with his carrier when he discovered he could make the zipper pull make a dinging sound. For 2400 miles we listened to Baby Monroe yowling and Tommy dinging. YOWWLLL, ding ding ding, YOWWLL, ding ding ding ding....

We had figured out by Kansas that if we bought them each a hamburger (plain, no ketchup, no pickle) they would fall into a drugged-up stupor, and actually sleep for a while. Think about THAT next time you get a hamburger! We could drive almost 200 miles in silence after a hamburger stop... except for the first time in Kansas when we didn't wait long enough after the hamburger stop and Baby Monroe spewed all over his cat carrier. We pulled off the freeway and Mr. Judy (bless his heart) battled the wind to clean out the carrier by the on-ramp. Wish I had pictures of that. lol

We tried letting them each out of the carrier for a while, but Tommy Boy just hid under my feet, and Baby Monroe tried to hide under the brake pedal. They seemed to feel safer inside their carriers. We felt safer without a cat under the brake pedal.

We also had to factor in the time it took to unload and load the car every day. We had the 2 cats and their carriers, the litter box, the bag with the cat food, fresh litter, Tommy's eye medicine, cat treats, and their favorite blankets. It was like traveling with a baby. If we drove too long and waited too late, by the time we were all unloaded and the kitties were fed and pottied and settled in at the new motel, all the restaurants would be closed. After seeing the effects of hamburgers on them I sure didn't want us to eat fast food all the way across country. We had to stay sharp!

We made it to The Villages. We're still married, and both kitties are doing fine. Just get yourself some of those foam earplugs. You can do this!


Had to read your post in 2 sessions, laughed so hard I had to take a break.
Homeball is actually my other half. He's better at the computer than I am, he already has an avatar.
With all the things we have to deal with now that we have a contract to sell our house it seems that the kitties are at the top of the list.
Thanks to all of your for your advice and encouragement.
Looking forward to our preview visit in December and if all goes according to plan, next year we'll be in The Villages, kitties in tow.
Woo Hoo!:a040:
Gail

[chuckinca]

Exactly 1 month from today, Dec 12th, the movers are coming and we're starting on our 5-day trip from Arizona to The Villages. With us will be our 86-year-old mother and a 15-year-old grouchy cat, so I'm very interested in this thread. We had two cats when we made the 9-hour drive from California to Arizona. We settled in AZ three weeks before we went to pick up the mother and cats, so we decided to rent a van where there'd be lots of room for the cats to roam about and for their dirt box, food and water. They howled for about an hour and then spent the rest of the 8 hours under the seat. Then never ate, drank or used the cat box. Now we have only one cat, but we kind of know what he'll be like. We will provide food, drink and liter box, but we don't know if he'll use them until we get to the motel. We just hope he will then. We'll put him in back with our mother so she can entertain him, if that is even possible. Keep this thread up... the more we learn the better.


Make sure your mom gets up and walks around every two hours of so to keep her blood circulation in order. My 82 YO mom flew from LA to MCO a few years ago and ended up in ICU for a week because she didn't walk around on the plane to keep the blood flowing.

And, good luck with the grouchy cat too.


.

[swrinfla]

homeball:

:agree:

I will just re-inforce other folks' admonishment: DO NOT SHIP YOUR CATS!

My now-gone cat hated trips to the vet, so I was concerned as to how he'd travel coming here - a two-day drive. I had a small cage (not a carrier) which had been used a couple of times when he or his sister had to be "confined" after surgery or illness. This fit nicely beside me in my "mini-van," and The Cat settled in comfortably. The first hour, he howled, but the rest of thr trip he was fine. When big 18-wheelers roared by, he was seriously upset for the first two-three hours, then I think he became mesmerized by the motion of the car.

He even ate - a very little - at the motel the one night we had to stop. And, he slept very close to me over night! Once we got here, he settled in in two or three days, and really loved the lanai and its outside-but-not atmosphere!

Again, do not ship your cats!

SWR

[Sgt Mac]

I have shiped Dogs by Plane 3 time with no problems
but one time we drove from DC area to Colorado with our Bull dog and it gave him really bad GAS then the air condition when out he started making a loud
huffing and drooling after 3 days we arrived at the Hotel the lobby was full and he coughed up a golf ball that hit the wall over top of the desk after a good swim in the pool he was back to his old self chasing room service.

Now we will be bring down our Boxer and Parrot the bird will make the trip with
no problem but the dog aka Pussy cat I think I will give him a few good drinks for the road :icon_wink:
Good Luck it will be fine
Da Sgt

[fizzbyn]

chuckinca...
Thanks for warning us about having our mother walk every two hours. Probably be good for us, too. I hadn't thought of that.

uujudy...
I laughed so hard at your adventure and just had to share it with hubby. But with our trip coming up fast, it gets less funny and more scary. Otis is neurotic, but not as neurotic as Tommy Boy, so we can hope at least for quieter trip. Maybe just yowl yowl yowl, no ding.

[chuckinca]

chuckinca...
Thanks for warning us about having our mother walk every two hours. Probably be good for us, too. I hadn't thought of that.

uujudy...
I laughed so hard at your adventure and just had to share it with hubby. But with our trip coming up fast, it gets less funny and more scary. Otis is neurotic, but not as neurotic as Tommy Boy, so we can hope at least for quieter trip. Maybe just yowl yowl yowl, no ding.


Your welcome.

Early in the Iraq war a news reporter died after he got blood clots in his legs due to riding around in tight confinement in a tank.

[uujudy]

I laughed so hard at your adventure and just had to share it with hubby. But with our trip coming up fast, it gets less funny and more scary. Otis is neurotic, but not as neurotic as Tommy Boy, so we can hope at least for quieter trip. Maybe just yowl yowl yowl, no ding.

Fizzbyn,

Just remember the hamburgers and the earplugs. It will be the adventure of a lifetime, and you'll have stories to tell at all the holiday parties! LOL
All I know is that I bought 2 books on CD for the trip, and in 2400 miles we were only able to listen to the first chapter of one book -- and it was a good book! :read:

[joannej]

We brought our 10 year old/indoor/outdoor male cat to the Villages last Jan. for a month, and he moaned and cried in the car a little at first, then settled in with the motion of the car and was fine. No need for a cat liter box or food or water during the 2-day trip. What we did before the trip was to get a motion sickness pill into him that the vet prescribed (he didn't believe in giving cats tranquilizers). Next we sprayed his cabin carrier (very soft carrier and big enough for him to sit in) with Comfort Zone which contains cat pheromones which calms cats. When we stayed in the Villages rental property we plugged in a liquid form of Comfort Zone into an elec. outlet which also contained cat pheromones. He never had an accident at the rental home!! Goggle the internet for Comfort Zone, it's a lot cheaper there than buying it at pet stores. Your pets will be good at the motel and use their box and will then eat/drink. Just make sure you plug up any holes around the bed box so that your cats don't "disappear" under the bed!!! Hope this helps!!!

[ouma1938]

I agree with not shipping pets. Its inhumane and not safe. Cats adjust very well and if you let them get used to the carriers and the car travel with a few short trips they will settle down quickly on the long trip. Food and water and a litter box in the motel will keep them happy and the sound of your voices talking to them gently if they begin to cry will also help. I travelled for a number of years between NYC and SC with my cat and she withstood the trip beautifully, she stopped travelling when she was 15 when I stopped going back and forth, and she lived to the ripe old age of 18.

[fizzbyn]

We made it... the trip went well with the cat and mother-in-law, who basically entertained and took care of the cat in the back seat. We found that south Texas isn't nearly as boring as the pan handle and we enjoyed all the different trees once we got to Louisiana. I took a zillion pictures crossing the Mississippi for the first time on the ground. We did get out of the car every few hours, mostly at McDonald's. I can't believe how many McD's there are on I10. Thanks everyone for all the helpful info. We're so happy to be here!

[uujudy]

We made it... the trip went well with the cat and mother-in-law, who basically entertained and took care of the cat in the back seat. We found that south Texas isn't nearly as boring as the pan handle and we enjoyed all the different trees once we got to Louisiana. I took a zillion pictures crossing the Mississippi for the first time on the ground. We did get out of the car every few hours, mostly at McDonald's. I can't believe how many McD's there are on I10. Thanks everyone for all the helpful info. We're so happy to be here!


Yay! You did it! Congratulations and welcome! :pepper2:

[Barefoot]

We made it... the trip went well with the cat and mother-in-law, who basically entertained and took care of the cat in the back seat. We found that south Texas isn't nearly as boring as the pan handle and we enjoyed all the different trees once we got to Louisiana. I took a zillion pictures crossing the Mississippi for the first time on the ground. We did get out of the car every few hours, mostly at McDonald's. I can't believe how many McD's there are on I10. Thanks everyone for all the helpful info. We're so happy to be here!

:welcome: Glad to hear you made it safely.

Your cat doesn't look very happy .. but after he chases a few gecko's he'll cheer up.

[redwitch]

Glad everyone made it. Once I found The Waffle House, McDs never had a chance. I think we stopped at at least 3 in every state east of the Mississippi.

So, when do we get to meet your MIL, the cat and you?

[chuckinca]

Read in this morning's paper that starting June 17th Southwest Airlines will allow cats and small dogs as carry on for a charge of $75 each way.

Also, will allow unaccompanied minors between 5 - 11 YO for a charge of $25 each way.


.

[SUNNYMARYANN]

was there any mention of maximum size of a dog? That would be a blessing for those of us who have push nosed dogs i.e., pekes and cavaliers because they cannot fly in cargo. Mine are 17 lbs. each.

[Barefoot]

I have flown numerous times with my smaller dog in the cabin with me (I would never ship an animal). I recently travelled with WestJet in April . I bought a soft-sided carrying case for under $20 from Walmart. (As a side note, Air Canada discontinued allowing dogs in the cabin due to passengers' allergies.)

The requirement of most airlines, including West Jet, is that the dog be under 20 lbs and be able to fit under a seat. My dog is only 10 lbs but he has extremely long legs, so it would be impossible for him to fit under a seat if he were standing. So I sedate him, he sleeps quietly, and we're happy. :girlneener:

The check-in personnel never examine the case or even look over the counter. I could have an gorilla in the case for all they would care. The only strict rule that the airlines all seem to have is that the pet MUST stay in the case while on board, and you must keep the zippers closed.

My friend recently flew with her small dog in the cabin. She unzipped the dog's case so she could pat her dog, and it got out and ran through the cabin. I told her she will ruin it for the rest of us. :cus:

[katezbox]

First -my total agreement - NEVER ship your animals. USAir stopped taking pets in cargo -why? because when they merged with America West they took on hubs in Phoenix and Vegas, They heat outdoors could be over 100 degrees F - think of how hot it could get in the storage area and then hoe cold it can get at 30,000 feet.

We tranquilized our cats for the 15 hour ride from Conn to Myrtle Beach and then for the 10 hour ride from MB to TV. We also tranqed Claudie on her way home from ST. Maarten.

Our little dog is also way under the weight limit, but tall. We plan to take him to Maine this summer on a plane and will tranquilize him as well. He is great in the car, but he wants to see what is going on and will be unhappy in the carrier we purchased from JetBlue.

k

[laurie91423]

I traveled from California to Florida with 3 cats. One cat was absolutely car-phobic. She would poop the second she was put in the carrier and by the time I would get her to the vet (5 minutes away, max), there would be nothing left in her innards (but the car smelled wonderful!!!). One cat did not like cars but could tolerate. The third one didn't care as long as she was in a lap being petted or could look out the window.
"

Thank you for your advice. We'll be moving from Los Angeles to TV (when our house sells) and the thought of moving with 4 cats terrifies me. There's one kitty we don't particulary like, but I wouldn't ever leave him in a shelter. He's just not friendly - (maybe he's bi-polar?:o)

We very much look forward to the sale of our house and working out how to secure our lanai from our clawed children. We are intrigued by the idea of a cat door to the garage, but don't understand how we could drive in without them running into the cul-du-sac. Fluffnick & Farfel aren't dummies. They are having us move to Florida for them, aren't they?:jester:

Laurie in Sherman Oaks

[redwitch]

Cats LOVE lanais. They're protected from the outside world but can fantasize catching all those yummy birds and, when they're lucky, even torment the anole foolish enough to sneak into the lanai. Honestly, I'd let them visit in the lanai as much as possible rather than keeping them away from it. It really is a cat's favorite hangout.

As to the cat door to the garage, most cats will run back into the house the second the door starts to open -- garage doors are not quiet. I know of several people who have done it, both here and in California. I would never do it because garages really get hot during the summer and cat litter stinks! But, this is a personal choice.

Good luck on your sale. However you decide to travel with your kitties, I think you'll be surprised as to how tolerable it is after the first hour or so.

[chuckinca]

Leaving Norcal next Thursday, 2/4/10, for TV with our three cats. Driving a PU with a camper shell and pass thru windows. Will set up house for the cats in the camper shell but let them into the cab if they are good - which I expect they will be.

Thanks RW for the Waffle House info (how did you stop at three of them in Mississippi on I-10?).

We got the cats rabies shots and and 4 n 1 shots last week and have the vet's signed doc in the PU. Got the shots at a monthly clinic at the local SPCA and cost $78 total for all three! Anybody have problems with legal authorities due to transporting animals across state lines?

Hope that the cold and snow that closed I-40 today doesn't get further south and impact I-10!

.

[chuckinca]

Cats LOVE lanais. They're protected from the outside world but can fantasize catching all those yummy birds and, when they're lucky, even torment the anole foolish enough to sneak into the lanai. Honestly, I'd let them visit in the lanai as much as possible rather than keeping them away from it. It really is a cat's favorite hangout.

As to the cat door to the garage, most cats will run back into the house the second the door starts to open -- garage doors are not quiet. I know of several people who have done it, both here and in California. I would never do it because garages really get hot during the summer and cat litter stinks! But, this is a personal choice.

Good luck on your sale. However you decide to travel with your kitties, I think you'll be surprised as to how tolerable it is after the first hour or so.


RW: Use some silicon spray every month or so on the garage door tracks and rollers and it will cut down on the noise and make the door operate easier.

(all cats in TV need to be strictly indoor cats)


.

[redwitch]

Naw, I'll leave it noisy -- scares the cats into the house when one manages to sneak into the garage. But even a quiet door is scary for a cat -- guess they think the bogeyman is opening the door to get them or something. Gotta love that magic!

And, Chuck, some Gallo salame (stick, not sliced) would sure taste good. (What a strange think to miss, eh?) So would some sourdough bread but ......

[Poetrosie]

My son and I drove from NY to Tuscan, AZ with 3 kitties (no tranquilizer). One was in a carry-on and the other two hid in two different corners of the car, like prize fighters, as far from each other as they could possibly get! We got a bubble for storage on the roof of the car. And we folded down the 2 back seats and set up the trunk with water, food and toys, like a mini rec center. After a few days, the cats interacted and I would find then huddled together. A few days later, Mickey would sit up in the back window sunning her pretty self. The only problem we had was having them adjust to staying in the motel rooms at night. In the morning they would all be hiding, but once in the car, they were fine and happy. I think cats adjust well to any new situation, if given the time. My son's cat Trinity has lived all over the world with him (and now with me) and she's an awesome kittie. Hope this helped. I just love talking about my cats.

[linko38]

We moved a year ago to the area. we brought our indoor 15 year old cat. We checked in a pet friendly hotel one day. She loved the car ride. She rode in our back seat in a kennel. after awhile she was let out to stare at the semis going by. I was surprised how well she did.

[jblum8156]

I totally agree with RedWitch. Traveled with our Siamese from NY to Miami. Gave her a trank the first day and she went into a "coma." The second day, no trank, she was so calm we decided to let her out of the carrier. Fine, until we stopped at a rest stop and all 4 of us got out of the car (being very careful of the cat of course). But when we returned to the car we couldn't find her. Lots of blame etc., we hunted and called, no cat. Eventually we found her wedged under the drivers seat where there is about 3 inches of headroom. Cats can be very tricky!

[l2ridehd]

There are only two types of cats in TV. Indoor cats and gator food. :icon_twisted:

[Jeff Bieberfeld]

We had a cat also who was indoor/outdoor and he made the trip in a pet carrier. He joined us in the motel room where he did his business after riding all day....no problem. Maybe a little whining but thats all.
$1200 WOW!

i brought our 6 year old cat, zao, down from philadelphia in december. she was in a pet carrier, and pretty much howled a lot for the first day. she ate a bit, drank and used her litter box when i stopped for an overnight in a hotel (i sneaked her into the room...she was an angel.)
the next day she slept for the rest of the ride and never made a sound.
i think that cats might get motion sickness and that is why they are usually so unhappy when they are in a car. once they stop eating it seems that all is ok.
and she loves it here in the villages.

:cool:

[graciegirl]

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.

[Barefoot]

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!

[Brooklyn Senior]

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.

[springfield]

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.