Road trip with a cat?

My husband just got orders (he's in the US Air Force) and we're to
report to (we think, so far) S. Carolina (from Arizona) by August
10th. I've never had to take a cat cross-country before. I'm gonna
do the obvious and go talk to the vet, but I just wanted to check in
here first and see if any of you had any tips for me, or things I
should do. I'm not looking forward to this trip at all!

- Winter

Hi,

It's an adventure. Years ago I drove my then young son and 2 Siamese cats
to Florida from NY and back for a vacation. No meds. The first day they
were a little upset but at night when they realized we had beds and they
could sleep with us they settled right in. Some of the trip they were
contained and some they roamed around the car. I know, if you have an
accident you could lose them but my son played with them and they also liked
to stand with their front paws on the arm rest and look out the window. Our
rule: We never opened the car door until they were contained.

Lots of luck!
Barb
Of course I don't look busy,
I did it right the first time.

On 16 Apr, 15:07, "
wrote:
My husband just got orders (he's in the US Air Force) and we're to
report to (we think, so far) S. Carolina (from Arizona) by August
10th. I've never had to take a cat cross-country before. I'm gonna
do the obvious and go talk to the vet, but I just wanted to check in
here first and see if any of you had any tips for me, or things I
should do. I'm not looking forward to this trip at all!

- Winter

don't let it drive

wrote in message
ps.com...
My husband just got orders (he's in the US Air Force) and we're to
report to (we think, so far) S. Carolina (from Arizona) by August
10th. I've never had to take a cat cross-country before. I'm gonna
do the obvious and go talk to the vet, but I just wanted to check in
here first and see if any of you had any tips for me, or things I
should do. I'm not looking forward to this trip at all!

- Winter

Depends on the cat. I drove with two cats
from Pittsburgh PA to San Antonio TX. I
have a large metal cage (dog crate) I put in
the back of my station wagon, added a
covered litter box and water. Gave them
food sparingly. A third cat was in a large
cat carrier in my husband's car. She got
fed and watered and littered several times
per day. IIRC (that was 15 years ago) it
worked fine. No tranks or anything. A bit
of meowing, but we ignored that. Oh, add
something you've worn for a few days, like
a t-shirt or sweatshirt. The smell seems to
help keep them calm (relatively).

I've seen suggestions to bottle water from
home so they have familiar water to drink.

Check on hotels and motels ahead of
time that accept cats. There should be
plenty along the way. Make sure you
put the DO NOT DISTURB sign on
the door when you're away from the room
(food, etc.) so they cat doesn't get out
of the room when a maid enters.

Gail F.

On Tue, 17 Apr 2007 01:53:32 GMT, Gail Futoran wrote:


Depends on the cat. I drove with two cats
from Pittsburgh PA to San Antonio TX. I
have a large metal cage (dog crate) I put in
the back of my station wagon, added a
covered litter box and water. Gave them
food sparingly. A third cat was in a large
cat carrier in my husband's car. She got
fed and watered and littered several times
per day. IIRC (that was 15 years ago) it
worked fine. No tranks or anything. A bit
of meowing, but we ignored that. Oh, add
something you've worn for a few days, like
a t-shirt or sweatshirt. The smell seems to
help keep them calm (relatively).


I drove my cat from CA to ND... and then from ND to OR on a move.

This advice is good, I also used a large metal crate in the back of my
wagon with a small litter box. The cat rode in his carrier, which was
buckled into the front seat beside me. (I always buy carriers I can
secure with a seatbelt.) I did not let him roam around the car.

I did ask my vet about meds, but he rather laughed, and said don't
bother, as my cat was a pretty mellow sort and had always been good in
the car for short trips.

Anyway, Gray had not ridden for such a long time in the car before,
and while we made stops at rest areas the first day to offer him his
*bathroom*, he did NOT make use of it. Instead, while we were in a bad
place for pulling over, he suddenly started to howl just outside of
Reno and I *knew* what he wanted.

Fortunately, we made our hotel parking lot, where I didn't bother
waiting for our room, I quickly decanted him from his carrier to his
potty cage and let him do both jobs. THEN we found a room, LOL!

By the next day though, he understood what was what, and shortly after
we hit the road, he howled, I found an exit, offered him his potty and
he used it. Then he was good for most of the day. If he was peaceful
and sleeping, I wouldn't bother him at rest stops, but if he was up or
acting agitated, he got a chance to use his box.

I fed before leaving the hotel and on arrival at the next hotel.

The only real trouble I had was that it was HOT going through Nevada
and he simply refused to drink while on the road, even at rest stops.
I had to force water into him with an eyedropper that one day, because
I could see he was getting dehydrated. Otherwise, he drank morning and
night at the hotel, which was his usual pattern.

Anyway, it was a 5 day road trip to ND and he was a trooper after the
first day! Next time we moved, he remembered the entire drill.


I've seen suggestions to bottle water from
home so they have familiar water to drink.

Check on hotels and motels ahead of
time that accept cats. There should be
plenty along the way. Make sure you
put the DO NOT DISTURB sign on
the door when you're away from the room
(food, etc.) so they cat doesn't get out
of the room when a maid enters.


Yes, this is a good idea. We actually had to live in a hotel for about
a month, while we searched for a house to buy on our last move. I had
brought a piece of berber fleece that Gray liked, and we laid that
over the end of the bed so he had something familiar. I had also made
sure to bring his own cat bed and some toys.

I put him in his metal crate for when we needed to let a maid in to
vaccum/tidy. I also had his harness and leash along, so that I could
walk him once a day out back of the hotel on a quiet grassy stretch,
so he could get a little extra exercise and not be too bored. Whether
you go this route or not would depend on the cat!

It is also a good idea to have things like vaccination certificates
along with you just in case. And if this is a move, get your cat's
records from the vet... your new vet may like to have a copy.


--
Cynthia