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I"m curious about something for anyone who has done distance driving with their cats:
my vet said that if William & Hannah don't complain about being in the car for their 1/2hour rides, they likely won't complain for a 10-12 hour ride. Canute & Magnus start yowling from the get-go! But I remember when Magnus was a kitten, I took him on a 2.5hour drive, he was fine until around 2 hours and then started nonstop with 'arewethereyet?arewethereyet?arewethereyet?' aargh! luckily it wasn't long and then he shut up. since he's grown he's awful. But have you found that cats who are quiet at the beginning stay quiet? I would love it if I didn't have to dope at least 2 of them for the big drive (just let them out in the car and stretch if they want to when we are at the rest stops).
Jack loves to ride in the car. He will sit in the back window and stare at the cars behind, or on the back of my seat with his paws on my shoulder. I think he slept in the sun on the dashboard of the
RV all the way headed south to Florida.
He has developed a bad habit of clawing the upholstery which I don't care about in the house, but need to avoid in the car, so I usually do not take him along unless wife is there to lend a hand if he misbehaves.
Pedro hated the car and would howl constantly when he had to go in it. But that was nothing compared to his antics in the vet's waiting room with the dogs. That's how I came to get the house call vet: Cat Calls. Strongly recommend it.
For cross country trips, I bought a product by Pet Naturals of Vermont. The cover also says: Fun-shaped Chews for Cats. In big letters it says CALMING. Supports Stress Reduction. You get 21 sugar free chicken liver flavored chews. I've found it does help. You'll still get a few meows here and there, but for the most part, it helped out a lot. I bought some other brand that did not work at all, so I went out of my way to find the Pet Naturals brand several times. Best to take note of where you buy them, if you do.
Two of ours travel well. We take them camping with us and to FL in the winter with us. One doesn't do well at all. She cries and rolls around and makes all kinds of crazy sounds until she's panting and even her little footpads are hot to the touch. She actually gets herself worked into a frenzy. She's been traveling since she's 7 or 8 weeks old. Go figure! And she's in a large cat cage with her pal Zephyr and a litterpan. Zebulon just sleeps in his roomy carrier. We don't even know he's back there. We have to keep him separate since Zephyr doesn't like him at all.
Make sure you put kitty in cat box before the car ride.
Oh, I've had Jack out for hours without a box. When he gets back home, he trots upstairs, does his business and comes right back down to the kitchen for a snack.
True, but I have had cats in the car, who are very upset, because they had to "go", and I did not realize the problem, or anxiety some cats have about having a box available...just like humans, we are all different. I had one cat, relieve himself in the car, on the seat...so, just avoid that problem if possible.
I agree with the fact that each cat is different. My last cat was great in the car, we moved across country a couple of times and she did very well. She pretty much slept on the floor in the back the whole ride. The cat I have now hates being in the car. The last trip to the vet ended with him peeing in his crate on the ride home, smelly. I think mobile vets are the best bet for the cats that don't like to travel.
I've never had a cat who didn't freak out in the car, and I've had lots of them! On the other hand, I've never really tried to get them accustomed to it. They just hate it and let me know in no uncertain terms!
I once had one big cat that I would take with me on "drive thru" errands. The bank tellers would think he was a dog at first glance and give me dog treats. My cat appreciated the thought.
Our current kids are a mixed bag in the RV. One just freezes - where ever she starts, she stays. Another climbs into the bathroom sink, paws at the mirror and screams. We are going to try a ThunderJacket with him next trip.
When we full-timed in the RV, it was a blast. When the jacks went up - everyone went to their own special place, same place every time. It made it so much easier to count heads and make sure everyone was safe.
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And she's in a large cat cage with her pal Zephyr and a litterpan. Zebulon just sleeps in his roomy carrier. We don't even know he's back there. We have to keep him separate since Zephyr doesn't like him at all.
