Driving Cross Country

On 2005-01-05, MaryL penned:

I would suggest -- both for your sake and the cats' -- that you reduce
the length of time you plan to spend on the road each day. A 12-14
hour day is much too long; it would be preferable to add an additional
day of traveling, even though that means one more night in a motel
(and shifting everything from car to motel and back again).

I think this depends on the cat. Oscar hated the car ride from VA to CO and
mewled the whole way. As far as I could tell, she didn't touch her food or
use the litter box (or any other facility) for the entire trip. I couldn't
really tell if she'd had water. She wouldn't even eat in the motel rooms, but
for some reason, once we got to the apartment in Colorado, she was willing to
eat, use the litterbox, etc.

Anyway, for Oscar, the best thing to do was to get the trip over as quickly as
possible, like pulling off a bandaid.

On the other hand, driving alone for 12-14 hours is pretty scary. Some people
can do it just fine, but others will have trouble staying alert. To the
original poster: please keep tabs on your own mental state, and if you're
tired or find your mind wandering, please pull over and take a break! Believe
me, I fell asleep at the wheel once, and the split-second where I thought I'd
killed someone ... I'll never drive tired again.

--
monique, roommate of Oscar the (female) grouch
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eros was adopted! Eros has a home now! *cheer!*

In article .com,
wrote:

- I will be moving to Oregon next week from Iowa, and I'm bringing my 2
- cats with me. I am planning to drive as much as I can before stopping
- for the night (12-14 hours). I'm worried about how the cats will fare
- for such a long trip. One of my cats hates the car, and I do have a
- sedative from the vet, but I'd like to avoid using it if possible. I'm
- mostly concerned about how the cats will eat, drink, and use the litter
- box. I will be driving alone so I must keep them confined to a carrier
- (large enough for both cats), and they won't have access to a litter
- box. I will stop every few hours and let them use one if they are
- willing - is this reasonable?. Has anyone had experience driving
- long-distance with cats? Any tips?

Put a thick towel in the carrier, and bring extra towels
so that you can change them if necessary. (When you stop for
the night.)

I would avoid stopping just to let them use the litterbox. You
could risk having them escape. And make sure they are both
wearing collars with ID tags on them. If you don't have a phone
number where you can be reached, then use a phone number for a
relative who you can trust to react if the cats escape and are
found. If they're not microchipped, now would be a good time to
do that.

Have a litterbox and food/water ready for when you stop for
the night. Let them eat and drink once you are secured inside
your room, and give them free access to the litterbox. (I'd
buy a couple of those disposable litter boxes for the occasion.)

I travelled from NC to Texas with five cats. We did fine. They
were uncomfortable, of course, but that couldn't be helped.

I hope you have a pleasant and uneventful trip.
--
8^)~~~ Sue (remove the x to e-mail)
~~~~~~
"I reserve the absolute right to be smarter
today than I was yesterday." -Adlai Stevenson

http://www.suzanne-eckhardt.com/
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On 5 Jan 2005 05:32:28 -0800, all of a sudden,
exclaimed:

I will be moving to Oregon next week from Iowa, and I'm bringing my 2
cats with me. I am planning to drive as much as I can before stopping
for the night (12-14 hours). I'm worried about how the cats will fare
for such a long trip. One of my cats hates the car, and I do have a
sedative from the vet, but I'd like to avoid using it if possible. I'm
mostly concerned about how the cats will eat, drink, and use the litter
box. I will be driving alone so I must keep them confined to a carrier
(large enough for both cats), and they won't have access to a litter
box. I will stop every few hours and let them use one if they are
willing - is this reasonable?. Has anyone had experience driving
long-distance with cats? Any tips?

Thanks!
Liz

If you can, train your cats to a leash and harness - it will make
travelling with them a whole lot easier! Avoid the sedative if
possible, especially if it's ACP. Valium, IMHO, is better for just
'taking the edge off' without making them so dopey they have no idea
what's going on.

If there's room in the carrier, put a small plastic container in there
for litter. You won't have to worry about your vehicle getting too
warm inside, else I'd suggest a cage fan from Drs Foster and Smith.

Your cats probably would not eat and drink in the carrier, even if you
provide stuff. Meep is an experienced traveller, and will only drink
when we're stopped (and only if it's warm or hot out). She won't eat
at all, unless we're stopped for a long time.

Hit the bookstore and get a book on travelling with pets, so you can
find accomodation easily. It's no fun stopping at multiple no-pet
hotels.

If possible, pick a hotel with doors that face into corridors - not
motels with doors that face outside. A chain is best because the
rooms are all pretty much the same, and your cats will know what to
expect.

Bring your cat's absolute favorite treats, because if they can get
under the bed, you'll be trying to coax them out in the morning. You
may find yourself using an umbrella or stick to persuade them to come
out if the treats don't work ...

Never, ever let the cats loose in the vehicle while you are driving.
It's very dangerous, even assuming they behave and don't try to crawl
under the gas pedal, and if you were to be involved in an accident,
they'd become furry projectiles and could be injured or killed in even
a minor accident. Make sure their boxes are tied down, for the same
reason.

When you get to your hotel, use this routine: Leave the cats in the
cage. Carefully inspect the room for places the cats may try to hide
( under the bed, in the bedframe, inside or under the couch, a hole
behind the sink in the bathroom). Look very, very carefully, and
think like a cat! Block up any possible problems if you can. If you
can't, you have two choices: Ask for another room, or make the cats
sleep in the bathroom (if that's been determined cat-safe).

Set out the food, water, and litterbox, and a bed if you're using one.
Always set them out in as close to the same spots each night as
possible. Meep knows to expect the litterbox in the bathroom,
possibly in the tub if there's no room on the floor.

Pick up one cat at a time from the carrier, show them where their
things are, then let them explore. Leave the carrier open, and
available, they may find it a safe haven compared to the new, scary
hotel room. Make sure your demeanor is calm and quiet, "this is
perfectly normal, there's nothing to be afraid of".

With my cat, I find it best to "ignore" her while she finds the safest
place and cowers there for a while. Once she's sure it's safe, she
comes out and joins us on the bed.

I think the trick to successfully travelling with a cat is routine. I
try to do things pretty much the same way every time. Meep's
travelled all over Scotland with us, and travelled cross-country from
Seattle to NY to WDC during a very hot summer, with no ill effects.
We don't travel with her as much now, as places in Britain are
becoming increasingly pet-unfriendly (no pets, or large non-refundable
pet deposits), and it's now less expensive to put her up in the local
very good cattery, rather than take her with us.

Good luck!

jmc
usenet [at] jodi [dit] ws
Any day you learn something isn't a total waste.

On 2005-01-05, jmc penned:

Bring your cat's absolute favorite treats, because if they can get under the
bed, you'll be trying to coax them out in the morning. You may find
yourself using an umbrella or stick to persuade them to come out if the
treats don't work ...


I'll never forget "losing" Oscar at a motel. We couldn't figure out where
she'd gone till my husband lifted the mattress and bedsprings off the frame.
Sure enough, she'd managed to crawl underneath, despite the frame being
mounted to the floor. Eric held it all up while I managed to pick up a
hissing, writhing cat and somehow get her into the carrier. It wasn't fun,
and of course I felt like the meanest person in the world.

Some cats adapt well to change. And then there's Oscar.

--
monique, roommate of Oscar the (female) grouch
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eros was adopted! Eros has a home now! *cheer!*

"Monique Y. Mudama" wrote in message
...
On 2005-01-05, jmc penned:

Bring your cat's absolute favorite treats, because if they can get under
the
bed, you'll be trying to coax them out in the morning. You may find
yourself using an umbrella or stick to persuade them to come out if the
treats don't work ...


I'll never forget "losing" Oscar at a motel. We couldn't figure out where
she'd gone till my husband lifted the mattress and bedsprings off the
frame.
Sure enough, she'd managed to crawl underneath, despite the frame being
mounted to the floor. Eric held it all up while I managed to pick up a
hissing, writhing cat and somehow get her into the carrier. It wasn't
fun,
and of course I felt like the meanest person in the world.

Some cats adapt well to change. And then there's Oscar.

--
monique, roommate of Oscar the (female) grouch
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eros was adopted! Eros has a home now! *cheer!*

I had something similar happen with my first cat, except that he had found a
hole *in* the mattress and was happily ensconsed inside the thing. LOL!

MaryL

On 2005-01-06, MaryL penned:

I had something similar happen with my first cat, except that he had found a
hole *in* the mattress and was happily ensconsed inside the thing. LOL!


Eek! How'd you get him out of there? Or did you just pay the hotel for the
mattress and load it up? *grin*

--
monique, roommate of Oscar the (female) grouch
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eros was adopted! Eros has a home now! *cheer!*

"Monique Y. Mudama" wrote in message
...
On 2005-01-06, MaryL penned:

I had something similar happen with my first cat, except that he had
found a
hole *in* the mattress and was happily ensconsed inside the thing. LOL!


Eek! How'd you get him out of there? Or did you just pay the hotel for
the
mattress and load it up? *grin*

--
monique, roommate of Oscar the (female) grouch
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eros was adopted! Eros has a home now! *cheer!*

I had to play a waiting game...sat around watching TV until he decided to
come out, then *carefully* covered the hole so he couldn't decide to "nest"
again.

MaryL

On 2005-01-06, MaryL penned:

I had to play a waiting game...sat around watching TV until he decided to
come out, then *carefully* covered the hole so he couldn't decide to "nest"
again.

Sounds like great fun =P

--
monique, roommate of Oscar the (female) grouch
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eros was adopted! Eros has a home now! *cheer!*

"Monique Y. Mudama" wrote in message
...
On 2005-01-06, MaryL penned:

I had to play a waiting game...sat around watching TV until he decided to
come out, then *carefully* covered the hole so he couldn't decide to
"nest"
again.

Sounds like great fun =P

--
monique, roommate of Oscar the (female) grouch
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eros was adopted! Eros has a home now! *cheer!*


Well, I have to admit that I didn't "suffer" much. That's basically what I
did in the evenings, anyway, when I traveled with my cats. Once I located
him and knew he was safe, I just waited until he came out -- and knew it
wouldn't be long because he always wanted to curl up beside me. I truly did
enjoy traveling with each of my cats. They were great company (but I also
think my present system is better for them; that is, I hire a professional
pet sitter to come into my home and take care of Holly and Duffy so they can
stay in their accustomed environment).

MaryL