Traveling with multiple kitties

[MaryleeII]

Originally Posted by Seacove

Would the vet recommend Dramamine?

Check With The Vet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Please, don't give human medicine to animals without checking first. It can kill the animal

[MaryleeII]

I like the idea of taking along bottled water, so they have the water they're used to.

Another suggestion---keep the AC on recirc---not fresh intake. Cats are very sensitive to smells and outside smells could provide a sensory overload!

One more hint---they sell Feliway at pet stores. Its a spray that's supposed to calm them. You can get plugins, spray, wipes, etc. You could try using the plug in in your home before moving so they get used to it, then use it inside their carriers. Personally, I found it not to be worth the price, but I didn't use it in the home first. I tried spraying it on some paper towels then put inside the cages. It either didn't work or didn't work enough with the one cat who just howled and peed the whole trip

[skelaki]

You could try giving Rescue Remedy (the one formulated for pets) before and during the trip. For possible motion sickness, ask your vet if it would be ok to give them ginger capsules. Ginger us ine if the best motion sickness remedies but I don't know if it is ok for cats.

If there's time take them on some short trips in their carriers to accustom them to travel (when not going to the vet).

[utsci]

Yu have about an 18 hour drive. I would try to do it in one long day if you have more than one driver. If you have to overnight be sure, as others have said, that you plan a pet friendly hotel. We did a 2500 mile move with our cats and made one stop. The cats were in their carriers (larger carriers than I would normally buy for them just to go to the vet, etc) while in the car. We carried the carriers into the hotel and never let the cats out excpt in the hotel room. We quickly figured out that they would not eat, drink, or use the litter box except at the hotel. Just to be safe we put them in the bathroom with the door closed so they would not have any messes while we were sleeping...scratching furniture or carpeting, spraying, or yakking up a furball on the bed.

We also took bottled water along. We put a bag of ice on their crates once in a while as we were traveling in the summer and the AC in the moving truck was pretty marginal. And definitely make sure you have plenty of their current food for the trip. Having a good supply of their litter is also a good idea. You may not be able to find every brand, every different kind all over.

One cat cried for the first couple of hours. But when she realized that things were not changing based on her behavior she eventually settled into her crate pad and went to sleep. In fact, they slept most of the trip.

Good luck!

[MaryleeII]

Originally Posted by doghead

This may have been covered already--I didn't read the posts all that closely. I've moved long distance with 5 cats and 2 dogs. I had big plastic dog crates and paired up 4 cats that got along. The fifth one went in her own carrier. I tried not to drive more than 8 hours at a time, and stopped at motels and said I had 2 dogs and left early the next day. It worked out, but on the return trip 2 years later, one of the cats got sick from the a/c. Good luck.

How did the AC make kitty sick?