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My cats don't get along, so we had to travel in two cars. The cat in my car (who is the least adaptable, most skittish) snuggled under some blankets and was very content. I had used some homeopathic drops.
The cat in my husband's car ... he kept the cat in the carrier and had non-stop meowing. I had traveled with that cat in a mini-van, out of a carrier, and had no problems.
But that said, it would be dangerous to have a cat get under your feet while you are driving. That's my main fear with letting them out of the carrier (which probably no one could really recommend doing anyhow).
I'm taking 6 cats from San Diego to Seattle here in a few weeks.
I hope you keep in touch and let us all know how it goes.
We will be moving our six cats from Sacramento to Washington in June. It's only a two day trip, but we want to make it as easy on them as we can.
I have a pickup with an extended cab so I plan to take out the back seat and make that whole area into a kennel with a litter box, food, water, and individual boxes for each cat to hide in if he wants to.
Last summer we made the trip with two of them who were too small to go to the Kitty Hotel with the rest of the group, and it really was no problem. They shared a large carrier and went into the motel at night with us.
But, they are big cats now and six cats in carriers is a bit difficult to deal with. We plan to leave them in the truck this time and maybe we can drive straight through.
Thinking about how the cats will fare is the most stressful part of our impending move.
Thinking about how the cats will fare is the most stressful part of our impending move.
I'm with you. We gave ourselves alot of needless stress about the same thing. Our cats handled a 4 day cross country drive far better than we ever imagined. Just relax and trust your cats. See my post ( #2 ) above.
Thinking about how the cats will fare is the most stressful part of our impending move.
I'm with you. We gave ourselves alot of needless stress about the same thing. Our cats handled a 4 day cross country drive far better than we ever imagined. Just relax and trust your cats. See my post ( #2 ) above.
blessings....Franco
This is wise advice for sure. I believe you are right in just trusting what you know about the cats. Mine laidback and small so I've got more flexiblilty than large cats that are more fussy. I needed to hear that. It builds my confidence.
Yes, it's doable! My husband and I drove from the DC area to southern CA in about 5 days. We had ourselves, our two cats and lots of "stuff" in our Honda civic. Our cats were older at the time (10 and 11), so we just let them out of the carriers and they found a comfy place to sleep (although carriers would be safer for them of course). We did not medicate them, they eventually chilled out.
In July we moved from Baltimore to Tucson with 3 cats. The all totally hate the carriers, so we modified our car to make it cat friendly.
We have a Subaru Baja, so I think that gave us a good advantage, as it has a small truck bed that is accessible with the back seat down. We put the litter pan in the bed and secured it so it wouldn't slide around. We also had a single story cat tree that we kept secured and they took turns sitting on top of that checking out the scenery. We had multiple blankets and beds for them to sleep on. And we also had a large rabbit water bottle rigged up so they could have access to water whenever they wanted.
We put a net up at the back of the front seats so they couldn't get up and distract the driver. It took a little planning to get a system down, but it worked out really well. We did the trip in 5 days and used a large crate to get them from the car to the hotel rooms and back.
Like I said, I think our vehicle made it easily doable, but if you have an SUV or station wagon, that would be easy as well. One important thing too was that we constantly checked on them (their breathing, etc.) to make sure no one was overheating (it was the summer). When we had to make stops we parked in the shade or left the AC blasting.
Good luck with the trip. It can be done with a little planning.
Thanks, mdtoaz and christalcali, very helpful. I would be traveling in a Chevy Malibu so I won't have the space like a Baja, but I have considered seeing if I can get some of the back seat to go down so they have acess to the trunk if they want. I plan on buying a single level cat tower so they have something familiar in the hotel rooms whereever we go. I am hoping i can invest in some sleepipods but i know it isn't that necessary. They are much more comfortable for them and easy to secure in a car. Plus, they look totally cool! But, that's beside the point .
Piper will be the pant-er in the car so I'll have to keep a sharp eye on her stress levels.
i have two dogs and two birds to move with me from az to ny. can anyone share their experiences and advice on traveling with pets? i'll be driving with my pets.
Make sure you cover the bird cage. As for the other pets, you could ask for a mild sedative from your vetinarian.
Also, take your pets for a trial ride for about an hour to see how they react. Get them used to traveling by taking them in your car every day for a drive. Some pets do get car sick and vomit so putting them in a kennel cab might be a good idea.
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driving across country with pets!
i have two dogs and two birds to move with me from az to ny. can anyone share their experiences and advice on traveling with pets? i'll be driving with my pets.
