Moving--Logistics with 4 cats? (ferral, food, dog, litter)

[maggie2101]

We are moving from Houston to Little Rock in the spring, approx. a 10 hour drive. I am having trouble wrapping my head around how we are going to manage the cats with movers coming and going both at the starting point and our destination.

#1 cat, Haggie, is older and pretty easy to manage. I will easily be able to grab him up and put him in a cage or carrier. He gets pissed off in the car and wants to look out the window. On the move from Little Rock to Houston I held him on my lap the whole way and he looked out the window or slept with no problems.

#2 cat, Gracie, she is easy to manage and it won't be an issue to stuff her into a carrier. She has never been further than the vet in the car.

#3 cat, Cinder, a former feral from outside. She does not come when you call her and spends most of her time at a distance from the family. She will be a problem to get into a carrier.

#4 cat, Deuxdad, is also a former feral and unknown how she will react in the car for such a long trip.

I am thinking of putting them in some dog crates in the back of my SUV.

So, what I am thinking is to board all of them the day before the movers come and then we will spend the night in a hotel the night the movers have picked up everything. Early the next morning we will pick them up from boarding and head on out. When we arrive at our destination I am pretty sure the household goods will not have been delivered, but maybe I could close them up in one room of the new house or should I board them?

Arrgh, this is keeping me up at night even though we aren't moving until probably the spring or late winter.

[Emeraldmaiden]

If I were you, I'd board them on the new home end, too. It will ease your stress; trying to keep a bunch of people from opening the kitty room door can be problematic.

When we moved across the country with our two cats, we put them in a crate in the back of the car. One of those wire crates with a solid metal bottom. We had just enough room for two cats, one small litter pan, and food (just a little kibble) & water. We went from Tucson, AZ to Wilmington, DE, about 2400 miles.

You might see if your cats react well to Feliway; we got a spray bottle of it and sprayed the car and the crate, as well as around the house for a few days prior to the trip. Still, Pumpkin did his disappearing trick in the hotel at least once. We found him inside the recliner. sigh

[maggie2101]

I do think it would be best to board them at my destination, but getting there in time to do that could be an issue. I will have to do some more research there.

[hellpaso]

We moved with two cats from El Paso to McAllen (a lovely two day drive across our great state). My husband took one (crated), & I took the other (crated). We were late leaving the first day, & only made it to Fort Stockton, so day 2 was a doozy. They did fine in the crates. When we reached our new home, we just put them in a closed room (with a sign re the gatos loco), & it worked out fine. Bon Voyage!

[JoanD'Arc]

Hi, Maggie,
When we moved our 2 older cats (some years ago) I dosed them with meds to make them sleepy and put them in a carrier in the rear of our SUV. Not a meow was heard. It was a 2-day trip so they came into the hotel with us and slept in the bathroom.

If this might work for you, ask your vet for some meds. Make sure your carriers are big enough for comfort. You might just keep them in the carriers in a closed bathroom or somewhere more quiet until the movers leave your new home. Let everything settle for a short time to allow them to calm down. Then let them out to explore.

Good luck.

O, sorry. Missed the part about not moving in right away. It might make you feel better to board them on arrival until you're settled in, at least as much as possible!

[kakers]

First off breathe! It's all going to turn out OK We're moving with our 4 in the spring, but we're going off the continent so it will be, well, really involved to say the least.

Yours will most likely be fine for the 10 hours in their carries. You can provide them with water and feed them a little (if they don't get car sick) when you take potty breaks. The logistics of travelling with a pet in the vehicle- you'll have to have one of you stay with the car especially if it's at all warm out. I'm sure you'll remember the basics, like pack their food and bowls in your vehicle.

I definitely think it will be a good idea to board them the night before you leave. When you get there, that's going to be another conondrum. If you can plan ahead with the movers to get that room packed last in your current home, so it gets unloaded first in the new place, you could keep them in their carriers while that room gets unloaded then let them out and lock the door if you can until the rest of the moving is done.

~Katy

[maggie2101]

Thank you for the good suggestions. I suppose that boarding will be the way to go. I dread this, but I can't wait to be settled in to my new home with my family of people and cats.

[JoanD'Arc]

Don't forget to check with C-D-ers in Little Rock for referrals on boarding. That was good advice to just breathe! It will turn out ok!

[maggie2101]

Originally Posted by JoanD'Arc

Don't forget to check with C-D-ers in Little Rock for referrals on boarding. That was good advice to just breathe! It will turn out ok!

I am planning on using the same vet who does boarding that I used the whole 20 years I lived there before moving to Texas. It is a great place.

[maggie2101]

I should have included pictures. A post in the cats forum needs pictures!

Haggie the one-eyed cat.



Gracie, born in a shelter.



Cinder, the feral rescue.



And Deuxdad, the newest feral member of the family.