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My husband and I and our dog and cat want to move back home to Orlando from Chicago in August.
We have a car, but we left it with my parents in Orlando when we moved to Chicago because you don't really need one here. On the way up we rented a penske truck and only had to cart our dog because we didn't have the cat yet. The dog just sat on the floor or on my lap the entire trip. Now I don't know what to do with the cat. I figure I'll have to keep him crated for safety reasons but I don't know how to work out the litter box situation, since we won't be able to fit a crate that is large enough to hold a cat AND a litter box in the cab of the truck.
I was thinking of starting now on training him to walk on a leash so I could maybe stick a litter box in the back of the truck and take him back there when we stop?
Any other ideas?? We typically take turns driving and don't stop to sleep but for a few hours at a rest stop.
I simply put my cats in a crate with towels. They were so nerved out by the whole thing they never evacuated when we were on the road. Just in case I kept spare towels and a trash bag (for the soiled ones) in case they did. I planned ahead with reservations at La Quintas along the way (the are very pet friendly and I always use them when traveling with pets). I then set out the litter box in the hotel room, which they used, and packed it up the next day when we hit the road again.
One thing I would recommend is before you let the cat out in the hotel room, wherever you stay, be sure to cat-prrof the room. They want to go hide and my mother has had some terrible experiences with them burrowing into the box spring of the bed, etc. Another possibility is to also pack a folding exercise pen, which you could simply set up in the room. That would have plenty of space for a sleeping area, litter box, food and water.
My 3 cats also refuesd to use the litterbox in the car during the day. They would use it in the motel at night. You may have to make a night's stop or 2 for the cat's health!
We moved from Ft. Lauderdale to North Carolina three years ago with our dog and cat. The dog rode with my husband in the moving truck and I had the cat. The cat did not like going in the car. I had her in a carrier next to me large enough for her to move around. We also had a disposable litter box. On the advice of my daughter whose cat it used to be we got a tranquilizer from the vet. We gave her a quarter of it. At rest stops I would keep the doors closed and put the harness on her and put her in the litter box. She never went most likely because of the stress. Even when the pill wore off halfway through the trip. She wouldn't drink or eat. And God bless her, she held it until we got to our new home. A 13 hour trip.
I am glad we only gave her a quarter of the tranq. We got in about 3 in the morning. She ate and drank normally once we got there and was fine after that.
That is how we did it. But your trip would be longer and it might be a good idea to stop for the night as suggested.
I moved with 2 dogs and 2 cats. However, our move only took 5 hours. I followed my husband who drove the moving truck and I followed with a packed SUV and all the animals. I felt like some sort of hillbilly. I got a crate for each cat and placed towels in there with them. Mostly for comfort or if they got sick. The cats meowed for part of the trip, then they slept. Cats do not enjoy car rides. If you need to stop over night the suggestions for making sure the hotel room is cat proof and set up a small litter box are good ones. I drove straight through but like I said it was less than half the time of what you are going to be doing. My male cat is pretty easy going so once we opened the crate at our new destination he was out exploring. The female cat was freaked out and stayed in the crate for a couple of hours after we arrived. Later in the evening the cats finally used the cat box. Neither cat got sick or had any accidents in the crate. I think they were too freaked out to do anything but meow. Also our female cat acted stressed for a couple of days. She didn't eat much. A friend of mine moved from Detroit to Las Vegas and her cat was so messed up they had to take it to the vet! But her cat was 18 yrs old so I think her age had a big factor. I wish you a uneventful move! Good luck!
Yep Have to agree with the other posters on here just move from florida to ohio with my two dogs and other animals /small and everyone did just fine and they went to the potty on potty pads and we were out by the next am and home in a few hrs and now everyone is just fine . good luck to you and blessing for sure .
I moved from OR to MN with 2 cats and my DH in a UHaul. We had the two carriers in the cab with us. What I did, was put a small shoebox lined with a plastic bag and some litter in it. I also put towels on the bottom of the carriers. After the first day the cats calmed down enough, sort of, to use at least drink some water during the day, and used the "litterbox" sparingly. I also recommend kitty proofing the hotel room before letting them out. One thing you might try, if it'll work for you, is putting them in the bathroom, since if they do decide to void somewhere other than the litterbox, it'll be easy to clean.
I moved my two cats with me and divided my move into two 8-hour days. The thing that really got them to relax in their crates, was covering their crates with a large quilt. They were both known to be awful travelers, but covering their crates allowed them to relax and fall asleep within the first hour of the trip. I had them strapped in to the passenger seat next to me and would peek in at them once in awhile and they were always sound asleep. Keep in mind that most cats sleep all day anyway. It isn't uncommon for them to go 12 hours without using their litterbox. I did do an overnight stop and they used their litterbox overnight before packing it up and hitting the road again the next morning.
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However, our move only took 5 hours. I followed my husband who drove the moving truck and I followed with a packed SUV and all the animals. I felt like some sort of hillbilly. 
I got a crate for each cat and placed towels in there with them. Mostly for comfort or if they got sick. The cats meowed for part of the trip, then they slept. Cats do not enjoy car rides. If you need to stop over night the suggestions for making sure the hotel room is cat proof and set up a small litter box are good ones. I drove straight through but like I said it was less than half the time of what you are going to be doing. My male cat is pretty easy going so once we opened the crate at our new destination he was out exploring. The female cat was freaked out and stayed in the crate for a couple of hours after we arrived. Later in the evening the cats finally used the cat box. Neither cat got sick or had any accidents in the crate. I think they were too freaked out to do anything but meow. Also our female cat acted stressed for a couple of days. She didn't eat much. A friend of mine moved from Detroit to Las Vegas and her cat was so messed up they had to take it to the vet! But her cat was 18 yrs old so I think her age had a big factor. I wish you a uneventful move! Good luck!
