[flamingo]

Does anyone have advice or experience in transporting a cat by car? My cat is quite high strung and bringing her to TV from Ohio is a daunting thought. She is fourteen and has never been outside except to go to the vet. We take her in a zippered pillow case. We were able to use a carrier only once--after that, just the sight of it sent her into reclusion for the rest of the day. I would like to make the trip as easy as possible. Thanks for any tips or help.

[cynkr67]

We never expected a problem when bringing our cat down last fall, but we were surprised how hard it was on her. She spent the first two weeks under the bed. This time when we came down we got tranquilizers from the Vet. The only problem was I fed her before dosing her...the food diluted the tranquilizer so she didn't relax...only got more hyper and I ended up holding her most of the 8 hrs of the drive. Gonna try the tranq without feeding her this time and hope that helps! Good luck.

[K9-Lovers]

Here is another thread talking about traveling with cats to and from TV. Maybe you will find some good information.

Click on this link: Transporting Cats

[RichieLion]

I took my 3 cats to the vet the day of the moving van was at my house and then on the day of the drive I picked them up in a large enough cage in the back of the car. The vet updated their shots and gave them a tranquilizer for the trip and gave me a couple of more doses if necessary, and it wasn't. My wife and I switched driving duties as needed and drove non-stop. They basically slept for about 16 of the 18 hour trip and by the time we got to our house they were alert. The first day was a little strange for them, but the second day the furniture arrived and once those familiar items were in the home, they relaxed. Now they're living the life and own the lanai.

[katezbox]

Like Richie we had a tranquilizer for our kitties. That seemed to work and we drove from Conn to SC (to live while the house here was being built) - then we had an extra does to give them for the trip from SC to TV... The biggest issue is that Miss Claudie is more than 10 pounds lighter than Tommy - we wanted to be sure the dose was OK.

Good luck....

[chuckinca]

We have driven from SF Bay Area, CA to TV twice with our three cats (a 13 YO and two 2 YO's). They all meow for a while as we get on the road but then they settle in for the long haul. We drive a pickup with a camper shell and a pass thru rear window so that they can roam around and set up their food,water and litter box in the back of the enclosed truck bed. The first time I was driving alone (wife flew) and I made the 3000 miles in 3 1/2 days. This last trip we pulled a travel trailer and limited our time on the road each day to about 6 hours. Also made a few stops where we stayed for more than just an overnight. In all it was 12 days on the road and everyone survived.


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[Pturner]

Fumar must not hate cats. He never posts on these cat threads, although for some reason, I always expect to see a Fumar post disparaging cats.

Flamingo, Welcome to you and your feline. Let us know how she handles the trip. Best wishes.

[Sparky-30]

Forget the meds for the cat, instead take them yourself, it was hell transporting ours down 2 cats singing all the way for 14 hrs, much easier that way.

[jblum315]

[QUOTE=Pturner;341384]Fumar must not hate cats. He never posts on these cat threads, although for some reason, I always expect to see a Fumar post disparaging cats.


Maybe Fumar respects cats because they are the natural enemy of dogs. Everyone knows Cats Rule!

[Bill-n-Brillo]

Originally Posted by Sparky-30

Forget the meds for the cat, instead take them yourself, it was hell transporting ours down 2 cats singing all the way for 14 hrs, much easier that way.

That was exactly my thinking as well!

One of our dearly departed cats used to howl.....like a dog.....rather than meow. When he would demonstrate his "talent" when others were in the house, it would scare them! A 25 minute ride to the vet's office in the car with him was more than I could stand - Sandy would volunteer to take him when it was his turn for a vet visit.

Bill

[Barefoot]

It takes us 26 hours to drive to TV (we usually stop two nights, although Fireboy would prefer to drive straight through ). The first trip we sedated the cat the first day, but the second day we forgot to give her the pill. And she behaved just fine. For our cat, the key is to let her roam and not confine her to a crate. She is miserable in a crate and cries constantly. When she can roam, she is great. Of course I keep a halter on her with ID, and I make sure she is leashed in before I open any car doors. She settles down with our two dogs and sleeps the 26 hours away.

[marybb]

Barefoot,Think I'm going to try letting Oliver our main coon, roam in the car as well. Thank you for a great tip

[CaliforniaGirl]

Originally Posted by Sparky-30

Forget the meds for the cat, instead take them yourself, it was hell transporting ours down 2 cats singing all the way for 14 hrs, much easier that way.

My cat screamed from California to Florida. The only peace I got was at night - strange motel rooms, so she would crawl under the bed and hide quietly. EXCEPT the one day I had car trouble and had to spend an unscheduled night at a Super 8 Motel in Van Horn, TX - they didn't accept pets and I couldn't drive anywhere else, so I had to smuggle her in. Did she crawl under the bed? Heck no. She wanted to sit in the window and watch the world go by. I hadn't eaten all day so decided to use my only kittie tranq to put her out so I could walk to McDonald's next door...she fell asleep, I put her in her crate and closed the door, got all of 10 feet before she woke up and let out blood-curdling screams. Had to hold her all night to keep her out of the window. Without food or sleep for 24 hours, she came awfully close to being kitty stew.

Still love her to death, though...and she rules the roost.

[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by marybb

Barefoot,Think I'm going to try letting Oliver our main coon, roam in the car as well. Thank you for a great tip

Mary, please be sure your Coon has a halter with lots of info! I have two tags with three telephone numbers. Also we block our cat from the driver's seat so she doesn't lunge under the pedals. When we stop to walk the dogs, before we open the doors, we put a leash on the cat's halter and attach her to something secure. While we travel we always provide water and a small litterbox.

We have to put all our luggage on the roof because our SUV is stuffed with a small dog, a cat, a 70 lb dog and all their stuff. Thank goodness they are all good travelers. And thank Goodness for Red Roof Hotels.

Good luck with your travels.

[K9-Lovers]

Barefoot, you and Fireboy are my kind of people!