Transporting cats long distances
 

Hi again,

My brother in law's mother is moving from FL to PA in the near future. She
has a couple cats she plans to bring with her. I wonder if you might give
some advice about how best to transport the kitties on a long distance
drive.

I have no clue how this would work and have determined I will never move
since I can't even catch all cats to go to the vet....

Thoughts would be appreciated.

PattyC

On Thu, 03 Jun 2004 23:52:19 GMT, all of a sudden, "PattyC"
exclaimed:

Hi again,

My brother in law's mother is moving from FL to PA in the near future. She
has a couple cats she plans to bring with her. I wonder if you might give
some advice about how best to transport the kitties on a long distance
drive.

I have no clue how this would work and have determined I will never move
since I can't even catch all cats to go to the vet....

Thoughts would be appreciated.

PattyC

We've travelled extensively with Meep the Travelcat. Many trips from
England to Scotland, then England to Australia, Australia to the US,
cross country from West to East Coasts, and now back to England again.

Well, first you need to be able to catch them :) Then, they need to
see the travel crate as a safe haven. Meep's crate is always out,
sometimes I put some dry treats in there to convince her to visit it
occassionally. Some cats will sleep in the crate when it's set out.
Meep used to, but doesn't anymore.

She does have this interesting crate habit - when we get back from
wherever we've been, and I let her out of the crate, she will *always*
dart out, but then within the next 30 minutes, she'll walk in and back
out of the crate, then she ignores it completely.

Anyway, start familiarizing them by taking them for short journeys.
Get them in their box, go around the block, let them out, give them
treats. Help them to associate the box, and travel, with good things.

I'd suggest leash training if you can, but it can be quite difficult,
if sometimes almost impossible, to leash train an adult cat. Meep was
leash trained starting immediately after she settled into her new
home.

Rescue Remedy can help take the edge off, but if you've got a yowler,
your vet might prescribe something stronger (I've travelled long
distance with a yowler. NO FUN). I'd only recommend valium - there's
another drug that Meep was given (ACP?) and she reacted VERY poorly to
it.

You might purchase a book that lists all the pet-friendly hotels in
the US too, or google for some. Stay away from motels, and other
establishments with outside doors. You want an inside corridor in
case a cat escapes.

Each night, when you arrive, check the room for cat-traps first. A
scared cat can find the most amazing places to hide. Find some way to
deal with them, or ask for a different room. We once had to
litterally dissasemble a hotel bed when Meep up and hid in the box
springs. After you've determined the room is safe, set up the
litterbox, food and water BEFORE letting the cats out. As much as
possible, always put them in the same location, so they'll know where
to find things. I put the litterbox in the tub, since it's easier to
clean that way.

Litterbox: Can do this a number of ways. I found some reasonable
"disposable" litterboxes through Drs Fosters and Smith. The one we
used lasted about 5 days, barely, but I had brought extra litter,
since the stuff in there is pretty aweful, and I wasn't sure Meep
would accept it. It might be helpful to bring a plastic bag of
"clean" litter from your home litterbox. When using Meep's travel
box, I use liners, clean the litter, then tie up the liner and drop it
into a second bag for travel.

Oh, and NEVER NEVER EVER let them roam loose in the car. Ever. A
cat's favorite hiding place in the car will be under the gas or brake
petals. Not to mention if you (gasp) have an accident, your cat(s)
become furry projectiles and could be killed or seriously injured.
Tie down the box, too, if possible, for the same reason.

I think I bring more junk, by volume, to travel with a cat than I
would if I had a child. Litterbox, litter, food, bowls, toys,
harness, leash, blanky...

I can't think of anything further at the moment. Hope this is
helpful. Oh, did I mention not to let them loose in the car?

jmc

On Thu, 03 Jun 2004 23:52:19 GMT, all of a sudden, "PattyC"
exclaimed:

Hi again,

My brother in law's mother is moving from FL to PA in the near future. She
has a couple cats she plans to bring with her. I wonder if you might give
some advice about how best to transport the kitties on a long distance
drive.

I have no clue how this would work and have determined I will never move
since I can't even catch all cats to go to the vet....

Thoughts would be appreciated.

PattyC

We've travelled extensively with Meep the Travelcat. Many trips from
England to Scotland, then England to Australia, Australia to the US,
cross country from West to East Coasts, and now back to England again.

Well, first you need to be able to catch them :) Then, they need to
see the travel crate as a safe haven. Meep's crate is always out,
sometimes I put some dry treats in there to convince her to visit it
occassionally. Some cats will sleep in the crate when it's set out.
Meep used to, but doesn't anymore.

She does have this interesting crate habit - when we get back from
wherever we've been, and I let her out of the crate, she will *always*
dart out, but then within the next 30 minutes, she'll walk in and back
out of the crate, then she ignores it completely.

Anyway, start familiarizing them by taking them for short journeys.
Get them in their box, go around the block, let them out, give them
treats. Help them to associate the box, and travel, with good things.

I'd suggest leash training if you can, but it can be quite difficult,
if sometimes almost impossible, to leash train an adult cat. Meep was
leash trained starting immediately after she settled into her new
home.

Rescue Remedy can help take the edge off, but if you've got a yowler,
your vet might prescribe something stronger (I've travelled long
distance with a yowler. NO FUN). I'd only recommend valium - there's
another drug that Meep was given (ACP?) and she reacted VERY poorly to
it.

You might purchase a book that lists all the pet-friendly hotels in
the US too, or google for some. Stay away from motels, and other
establishments with outside doors. You want an inside corridor in
case a cat escapes.

Each night, when you arrive, check the room for cat-traps first. A
scared cat can find the most amazing places to hide. Find some way to
deal with them, or ask for a different room. We once had to
litterally dissasemble a hotel bed when Meep up and hid in the box
springs. After you've determined the room is safe, set up the
litterbox, food and water BEFORE letting the cats out. As much as
possible, always put them in the same location, so they'll know where
to find things. I put the litterbox in the tub, since it's easier to
clean that way.

Litterbox: Can do this a number of ways. I found some reasonable
"disposable" litterboxes through Drs Fosters and Smith. The one we
used lasted about 5 days, barely, but I had brought extra litter,
since the stuff in there is pretty aweful, and I wasn't sure Meep
would accept it. It might be helpful to bring a plastic bag of
"clean" litter from your home litterbox. When using Meep's travel
box, I use liners, clean the litter, then tie up the liner and drop it
into a second bag for travel.

Oh, and NEVER NEVER EVER let them roam loose in the car. Ever. A
cat's favorite hiding place in the car will be under the gas or brake
petals. Not to mention if you (gasp) have an accident, your cat(s)
become furry projectiles and could be killed or seriously injured.
Tie down the box, too, if possible, for the same reason.

I think I bring more junk, by volume, to travel with a cat than I
would if I had a child. Litterbox, litter, food, bowls, toys,
harness, leash, blanky...

I can't think of anything further at the moment. Hope this is
helpful. Oh, did I mention not to let them loose in the car?

jmc