Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My husband and I are planning a move from NJ to CHarlotte, NC in the next several months with our two dogs and cats. The dogs will be fine; however I am scared to death of how we are going to move our cats? We are driving, so the trip will be a long one and we probably have to stay in a pet friendly motel along the way. My two cats are not used to car trips ( going to the vet is stressful for them) Once we arrive in NC, we are renting a house for six months while we look for a house to buy. So this will entail another move.
My questions,
How do we make sure that our cats do not escape during all this moving--I though of putting a kitty harness on both of them and securing them with a leash once we take them out of their cat carriers? I am not sure what to do with them when our mover come to move all our stuff from NJ?
Should we put their litter box in the back of our SUV and let them out to relieve themselves in the back of the truck every 5-6 hours?
Should we keep them in their carriers while are in the hotel room? What about the litter box?
They are indoor/outdoor cats since we live presently in a wooded area on a cul del sac and I am really afraid to let them out at a new locatiion,
I know I must sound like a nut, but if anything happened to them and we lost either one of our fur kids i would be devastated.
Any advice on the above would be so helpful!
Thanks
If these animals haven't traveled before and you're traveling with multiples I suggest you make arrangements for your vet to give sedatives. Cat's generally dislike being confined and my kit kat had one too many problems on the road with me. Mountain driving appears to hurt his ears (he can't pop them like we do). I have a cat sitter from now on because it's just too stressful on him.
I have moved many times with cats, including from FL to IN just 2 weeks ago. I never put my cats in the car without them being in a carrier. Each cat gets their own. Too many things can go wrong when cats are loose in the vehicle, and even outgoing cats can be easily spooked by tractor trailers at rest areas. I have found that they generally do not care for fresh air or drinks of water while on the road. NJ to NC is not that long of a trip.
I bring the litter box (slid into a garbage bag) but kitties generally won't go until we have stopped for the night.
At all rest areas you will find these free magazines called "Motel Guide". there are a couple of others as well. They list all of the hotels/motels along the interstate by exit number. They let you know if places are pet friendly and sometimes there is even a coupon. As a rule, Motel 6/Super 8/Econo Lodge/Red Roof are all going to be pet friendly. I would not mention that you have cats, it is difficult to find a place that allows them. Look for a place that has all outside rooms.
Do not let your cats out of their carriers until you are done toting everything into the room and you have closed the door. Get the litter box ready and get out food & water. Open the carrier doors and allow them to come out on their own. They will either hide under the bed or begin exploring.
When you are getting ready to leave in the morning make sure to put your cats into their carriers before you start going in & out to your car.
When you get to your new location DO NOT let them outside for at least a couple of weeks. They need time to accept the new place as home. When the movers arrive put them into their carriers and leave them there until all of the unloading is complete.
Do not sedate for the trip unless you've done a test run beforehand. My senior cat reacts poorly to sedation- he knows his body isn't working like it's supposed to and that just makes his stress worse.
In general, cats will mirror your level of stress and anxiety. If you're super-fussy, they'll pick up on that and respond with more stress on their part. Stay calm and they'll generally do a bit better. Mine will yowl in their carriers for the first 30-45 minutes and then generally settle down for the trip. Remember that cats sleep/nap for 16-18 hours a day and that most of the time they're in the carrier would have been sleepies time anyways.
My husband and I are planning a move from NJ to CHarlotte, NC in the next several months with our two dogs and cats. The dogs will be fine; however I am scared to death of how we are going to move our cats? We are driving, so the trip will be a long one and we probably have to stay in a pet friendly motel along the way. My two cats are not used to car trips ( going to the vet is stressful for them) Once we arrive in NC, we are renting a house for six months while we look for a house to buy. So this will entail another move.
My questions,
How do we make sure that our cats do not escape during all this moving--I though of putting a kitty harness on both of them and securing them with a leash once we take them out of their cat carriers? I am not sure what to do with them when our mover come to move all our stuff from NJ?
Should we put their litter box in the back of our SUV and let them out to relieve themselves in the back of the truck every 5-6 hours?
Should we keep them in their carriers while are in the hotel room? What about the litter box?
They are indoor/outdoor cats since we live presently in a wooded area on a cul del sac and I am really afraid to let them out at a new locatiion,
I know I must sound like a nut, but if anything happened to them and we lost either one of our fur kids i would be devastated.
Any advice on the above would be so helpful!
Thanks
Sandy
Our cats travel in one of these:
We add a litterpan on the bottom. When we get to our destination we move them by carrycase to our TravelTrailer. There they find fresh water and clean litter pans waiting for them.
When you get to your new home you would to well to keep them indoors for awhile so they know where "home" is. All too many outdoor cats do not stay at their new homes but wander off in search of their old homes.
Before you let them out in your new area you should check with all the neighbors. Not everyone wants someone elses cats using their property for a litter pan or wants them hunting in their yard or sitting on their lawn furniture.
If you continue to let your cats roam outdoors, sooner or later you will lose one or more of them.
I had a mature cat who did not like car trips. He yowled for about 3 hrs when I moved (3.5 day trip). Then he was fine the rest of the trip. As another poster said, they won't use the litter box in the car - cats can hold it an amazingly long time! They occasionally took a sip of water but it was more trouble than it was worth. They ate and drank at night, in the motel room. I used Motel 6 all the way and had no problem - except when my dogs saw a guy walking his ferret to potty as I was walking them!
Generally speaking, everything racelady said is what I experienced. If you make the mistake of letting them out of the carrier while the vehicle is moving they're at risk of being a projectile if there's a collision. They will attempt to climb out windows, block vision on dashboard or crawl under the brake pedal. Very risky for all.
I travel regularly & was hoping he'd learn to enjoy the ride. The last trip he and I went on was WV to NY where we ran into a snow storm. He didn't make it to DC before he started freaking out in his carrier. Even pulling over numerous times & letting him roam around inside the car abated nothing. When we finally arrived he was so freaked out and angry he acted las if I was auctioning him to a chinese restaurant. He hid under the bed for a week before he'd allow me near him again and even then his personality was just 'off'. He didn't stop being 'off' for about 3 months after we arrived back home.
This was one animal. The OP is traveling with 4. I'm not crazy about sedation either but 6 hrs of 'trapped' to a cat is an eternity. If I had it to do all over again I wouldn't risk him being emotionally overwhelmed. No amount of comfort or talking to him was enough and it became an ordeal for both of us. Being prepared for the worst allows you to deal with it.
Dear fellow cat lovers, thank you so much for all the great info! The tip about not letting them out for several weeks ( I think i am shooting for six weeks!)
Was very helpful. I will ask the vet about the sedative idea--but I am not a fan of them for cats.
While I would love to keep both cats---Hemingway (Hemy, after the Ernest Hemingway cats a with six toes) and Max, our little orange cat indoors, they scream bloody murder to be out, especially in the summer. Winter is easier to keep them in because they hate the cold!
If anyone has any ideas of how to make our indoor/outdoor cats indoor residents permanently without them screaming for days on end- - I am all ears
LOL! I am guessing that for a few days at least they will not be looking to go outside.
You can try rescue remedy or Feliway to keep them calm. I would tell you to just ignore them, but I have one that was an outdoor model when I got her and I know what she is like when I make her stay in. Easier said than done to ignore them bouncing off the walls and climbing the curtains and telling you off for hours on end.
It is important to keep them in when you move. Something about the magnetic field of a specific location. Until they recognize the magnetic field of their new home they are likely to try to find their old one. You know how you hear those stories about cats or dogs that travel hundreds of miles all on their own and end up back at their old house.....
If anyone has any ideas of how to make our indoor/outdoor cats indoor residents permanently without them screaming for days on end- - I am all ears
Thanks again!
Aside from having lots of things to interest them inside, you can try this. It takes two people. One inside to crack the door open and another outside to spray clean water at the cat as he/she tries to leave through the door. The crack should not be wide enough to let the cat slip out. Go to another door (back, side door etc) and crack it. As soon as your cat tries to leave, have the 2nd person bang pans together as hard as possible. Or shake matal cans containing coins or marbles. You can also have the person blow a shrill whistle at the same time. The idea is to make the cat believe the outside is dangerous and frightening. It of course is dangerous but the cat doesn't know this. They soon learn that there are horrible frightening noisy wet things outside both doors. And yes, I was told that a low number of cats will persist in roaming the house caterwauling even if they avoid the doors. How long they continue this I don't know. It did work for our cats in the RV. They would try to follow us outside to be with us. That had to be stopped. Almost every campground we've stayed at had lost cats and one even had several dogs living on the trash and what kind people fed them. Very sad.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Merry Christmas and thanks!
