Are you from the Northeast? Did you move with pets? (Portland: hotels, floor)

[GrnMtnFire]

I am relocating from Vermont to Nashville....my wife and I have 2 cats that she won't part with. How did you move your pets? Did you stop 1/2 way? What hotel? Or any recommendations?

Thanks!

[SRRB2008]

Originally Posted by GrnMtnFire

I am relocating from Vermont to Nashville....my wife and I have 2 cats that she won't part with. How did you move your pets? Did you stop 1/2 way? What hotel? Or any recommendations?

Thanks!

Hi GRNMTNFIRE-

I moved from MI to TN at the end of April. I have a lab. The vet told me to give him benedryl to make him sleepy on the way down. Boy- that didn't work!! It was a LONG ride because he cried the WHOLE time! We drove straight through but it's only a 8 or so hour drive. I stopped and let him stretch his legs and stuff but it was an awful ride down. Hotels do take pets- you just have to do some research. Ask your vet if there is anything you could give your pets to make them comfortable for the drive.

GOOD LUCK ON YOUR MOVE!!!!

[Kimnjasonx3]

We are preparing for our move down in the first part of June. My vet gave us some pills for our cat and our Lab. She gave us enough to make it the full trip. We will need to stop half way to give them a 2nd dose.

[SRRB2008]

Originally Posted by Kimnjasonx3

We are preparing for our move down in the first part of June. My vet gave us some pills for our cat and our Lab. She gave us enough to make it the full trip. We will need to stop half way to give them a 2nd dose.

Hi-

What did your vet give you? My vet told me to give my lab benedryl. He is 90 pounds so my vet told me to give him three. It didn't work! Unless he is so stubborn that he was fighting it!!!

THANKS!!!

[ben52284]

We probably should have asked for advice when we drove down from cleveland with our two cats, but we did pick up a sedative from petsmart. The sedative didn't work, but we made it all the way in one go with a litterbox in the trunk and a back seat folded down. We had to keep one of the two cats in a carrying cage at all times to keep them from fighting, and perhaps most disturbing was that one cat maintained control of the litter the whole way--he ended up falling asleep in the box about halfway down.

[irreplaceable]

We drove down from upstate NY with a cat and a dog and they were fine. We didn't give them anything. I put a harness on the cat and took him out of his cage at stops to walk him but he didn't like it at all and would not go potty. He held it for 16hours till he got his litter box!. We also didn't stop and stay at a hotel. Good luck to you, when are you moving?

[Kimnjasonx3]

I am sorry - I do not know what the medication is. It is pill form and a sedative; that is all I know. Should be interesting getting a pill down our cat's throat

We have a 12 hour drive so we will be stopping half way to give the 2nd dose to them.

[rossc]

Most chain hotels are now pet friendly. We travel with a Westie and a 180lb Saint Bernard and have never had a problem finding a hotel. Never had to drug the dogs. They like riding in the car. Cats, on the other hand, don't seem to travel well. We are 16 hours from Nashville and will be making that move before winter hopefully.

[hml1976]

We did it with two cats from NYC to Nashville, no problems at all. We did drug them

However, the same two cats recently made the car ride from Nashville to Portland OR, while it was A LOT harder, we still did it no real problems.

[themudpuppy]

Originally Posted by Kimnjasonx3

Should be interesting getting a pill down our cat's throat

Pill Pockets are handy for some cats. They're treats you put the pill in. But some cats won't accept pills in treats or food, so here's how I pill a cat that doesn't want to be pilled.

I take a towel and wrap the cat up like a burrito, not too tight but tight enough that the paws can't come out. If I have to pill the cat alone, I sit on the floor and hold the cat between my knees, leaving my hands free to administer the pill. I open the cat's mouth and pop the pill in. Then I stroke the cat's throat to get it to swallow. If he won't swallow, I gently blow into the nose, which triggers a swallowing reflex. Then feed the cat his favorite treat or a special meal.

There is also a tool called a pill popper that can help get the pill down the cat's throat without you having to put your fingers too close to the teeth. You can find it and Pill Pockets at most pet stores.

Regarding hotels, most Motel 6's accept pets. Some Days Inns do too, but I had to pay a hefty pet fee last time at a Days Inn. I think Red Roof Inn is another one that accepts pets. I always travel with my dog. We made a cross country trip from TN to FL then on to AZ and NV. It was a month long trip and we stayed in a different town almost every night. We stayed in a Motel 6 whenever we could find one. They're the cheapest when you have pets.