Have to move the family cat out of state by car (16hrs!). Any advice?

I know, I know, all cats are different. This one has never been in a car longer than 15 minutes and it's always a traumatic experience for him.

Should I leave him in the carrier? Do most cats calm down and enjoy the ride like a dog would after awhile? What about tranquilizers?

I'll either be pulling a 16hr marathon drive or two 8 hr legs. Any advice is appreciated!!

I, too, had to move my car hating cat a few years ago. I had the vet give him a traquilizer and a packet of pills and kept him in the carrier. Even with a double dose of traquilizers, he cried and clawed (toes bleeding!) for several hours. He never did calm down while he was awake, but finally did fall asleep after he wore himself out. We never let him out of the carrier except at rest stops. I had a harness and leash that fit him and kept him on this for "bathroom" breaks. He finally went to sleep with the traquilizers. Our drive was 11 hours. Once he got to the new house he toured every inch, smelling all the furniture, and was perfectly happy. Just talk to your vet about a tranquilizer before you leave and some to give the cat during the trip.

A related question: one of our cats get car sick, is anyone aware of a treatment for this?

If I were you I would give the cat a shot of Cuervo, take one yourself, start driving and then hit the heavy stuff. Cats are scary on the road man!

John, I read that a treatment for dog car sickness is to give them a hard candy to eat. However, getting a cat to eat one would probably require more sedatives and bandaids that you can carry! (ask the vet)

Whatever you do, no matter how much the poor little kitty cries, DO NOT let it out of the carrier when you are driving. I felt sorry for ours and thought I could hold her while my husband drove. She went whacko as soon as she got out and nearly caused an accident.

Mr.R5 had very good luck relocating from PHX to LA letting his cat out after an hour of whining. The cat simply crawled onto the back window ledge and was a very happy camper.
I would consider this option only if you have a passenger to assist if things get wiley and a provide a small litter box on the floor of the backseat.Or you might try one of the larger "soft" carriers as an alternative to bloddy toes-one of mine used to rub it's nose on the metal on
the door and get a bloody nose! Put some things he/her has been sleeping on-
blanket,soft towel, your t-shirt into the carrier-this seems to help mine alot! Your vet would be your best advisor on this-Let us know how it goes.
R5

I start mine out in a carrier but let them out after we get going. They yell, use the bathroom (I keep a litterbox filled with newspaper only and they use it), and generally settle down.

I don't like to keep them in the carrier.

Mine would cry and be pitiful until I took him out of the carrier, and held him in my lap. I put a little cat harness on him so he would not get away or jump on my husbands shoulder while he was driving...or under the gas pedal..it worked, he would eventually fall asleep.
For a longer than 2 hour drive, he would go back into the carrier, I would put a towel over it , he would sleep that way.
I was told by our vet not to give tranqs, they can make them vomit and aspirate..they, like us, can just get so bored they will sleep anyway.
16 hours in a car will make me whine too, so just be patient and let him whine

It's been pointed out to me that the only safe place for a cat in a car is in the carrier. If there's an accident, at least you know where the cat is - he can't take off into oncoming traffic, or run away and get lost. And the carrier would afford him some protection.
In terms of carsickness: cats track moving objects. If you've ever seen them watching a mouse or a cat toy, you can see how they focus and move their eyes and their heads to follow it. When they're in a car, their instinct is still to track, but because the car is moving and not the object, they get dizzy and sick. If you put them somewhere where they can't see out the window, there's less chance of them getting sick. Having said that - there are some cats who like looking out the window and don't get sick.
We'll be facing the same dilemma in a few years, but I think we'll end up bringing the cats on the plane with us (there will inevitably be a few trips back and forth before we're settled). I would NOT send them in cargo.
Good luck and let us know how it turns out!

Nothing like a wild yowling ball of fur with claws rocketing around the interior of the car and ending up as a post on Monday's fodors.com US board - "Irate Cat Cause of 20 Car Interstate Pileup."

Take the (very smart) advice of some of the previous posters. Put the cat in a carrier - especially since you already know it hates car rides.

Perhaps you could go for a dry run of an hour or so to see if you think the cat will need to be sedated.

I've done long trips several times with different cats and found that just putting them in the carrier in a back seat and basically just leaving them alone will result in their calming down more quickly.

I had one that used me as a toilet when I thought she would do better on my lap. (I wasn't driving.) Pee-yoo! It was awhile before we could stop and I could clean up.

(I did also have one that liked to ride in the car and would get on the back deck. She got lots of smiles from people in other cars.)

Good luck!

Please don't laugh but this should work. Go to healthfood store and inquire about Bach Flower Essences. Rescue Remedy is a mix of flower essences that helps with trauma or all types. I have used it with success on injured animals, people after 9/11, our elderly golden retriever who was dying and begging me for help with his eyes, a friend who was frightened of an upcoming surgery.
A few drops in water for a day before the move (to get used to the slight taste) and a little on its tongue.

I would also make sure that familiar smelling things were in its crate in the car. Kitty must be in a crate, for your safety and its own.

http://www.preciouspets.org/newslett...icles/bach.htm
http://www.bachflower.com/

I know it sounds bizarre, but I do find them to be very effective. The thing with animals is they can not have expectations and therefore no placebo effect. LMF

Doesn't sound bizarre at all, LilMs! My vet actually mentioned those products to me when I talked with him about transporting the cats to the west coast. My little calico girl has a heart murmur and the big black male has allergies. The vet thought I should learn a bit about Bach remedies (I thought he meant I should play them the Brandenburg Concertos, but they already know those )because he had heard that they were effective and safe. He isn't familiar with the products himself but suggested that as we get closer to departure time, we could both do some reading.

I have moved my cats a few times. I am lucky that the one I have now doesn't cry or freak out. When I put the carrier on the ground, he walks inside and sleeps in it sometimes, so he doesn't associate it with a bad experience. I would get him a roomy carrier which was next to me as I was driving alone, strapped in. This way I could talk to him, etc. Or in the backseat in the middle. When I stopped for lunch I would let him out and had a travel litter box just in case. I was only going about 8-10 hours and I am careful about food & water to avoid him having to go when he can't get out of the carrier. But I do have it handy just in case. When our moving tuck that I was following broke down and we were stuck for longer than expected, he just rolled with it and was calm & collected. I did let him out in the car and he did finally use his box though and I did use my handy food/water stash. I also played soothing music and talked to him often, which seems to work.
Good luck !

lizzard,
We made the trip from Oregon to California with our cat who hated riding in the car. I was very anxious about doing it. Our realtor mentioned that another client moving out of state had given their cat tranquiliziers, which had worked very well for them.

Since we only had a few very busy days until the move, I talked to our vet about getting medication for our cat. The vet wouldn't give her anything until she had done full bloodwork first. We didn't have time for that, so we went to another vet just to get the pills. He gave them to us and we thought all was well.

Well...about 1/2 hour before leaving, I gave her half the recommended dosage, just to be on the safe side and put her in a huge, open-feeling pet cage along with her blankies, fur mice, water, kibble and a small litter box.

She was doing pretty well at first, until the drug really kicked in and then she turned wild -- she seemed to be having a bad panic attack. We were driving through the mountains and there was nothing we could do until we arrived at a town, which had a Petco with a vet. We took her in and the vet told us that while some cats do well with the tranquilizers, other cats have the opposite reaction, like ours did -- they actually get much more anxious. They said the only way you will know how your cat will react is to try the drug out on them a couple of weeks ahead of time. I'm still amazed that neither of the previous vets told us anything about this.

Since our kitty was so stressed, we decided to stop and spend the night at this town, to let her rest. Once into our room, she hid under the bed the entire night and we had to literally pull her out the next morning. On we drove but the 2nd day was considerably better, since we had thrown out the drugs! She still didn't like being in the car, but she tolerated it the rest of the drive.

I have since learned about the Bach Flower Essences. They were developed for people, but they also work on pets. Our holistic vet highly recommends them. Our cat hates the drive to the vet, but, per our vet's recommendation, I give her 4 drops of Rescue Remedy 1/2 hour before going there. I can't say that I see a big difference, as these are very suble and harmless essences, but I think they do help. I like LMFoodie's idea of using them in their water for several days beforehand. I would surely do that if I had another move planned soon (and I don't for just that reason!)

I'd also take time to discuss this fully with your vet. Now you are much better informed about this subject than I was, and I'm sure your cat will be ok. Good luck in your move!

Since we have only moved locally with our cats, can't specifically comment on the car ride - BUT the best advice we ever got for moving with our (indoor) cats is to be extremely careful during the packing, loading moving van, unpacking, etc. The cat will be disoriented and mad - it will be looking to escape the chaos and may merely become lost in a packing carton or actually escape the house. You don't want to be locking up your home only to have the cat be in places unknown. I have heard cats will do this days before the actual departure - ours just slept in every packing acrton they could find.

Also, moving guys (be it friends or professionals) tend to leave doors open to facilitate moving big stuff - another opportunity for the beast to escape.

Same principles apply on arrivial in new home. One of our cats spent 4 days in a closet when we moved into our current house, the other one stayed under the bed for 2 days.

crates for kitties are very important. both during the move and during the packing etc. We have moved with cats and dogs many times. I remember one move our little black kitty had hidden within a boxspring to her owner's (my son} bed. She emerged as the bed was taken out to the van but it would have been just as easy for her to have ended up in the moving van.

There is a Flower Essence recomended for the trauma of big change. For an animal, your move is huge. The essence Walnut is great for transitions...wouldn't hurt to add some to your coffee or tea.

I presently have a Boston Terrier who is very very "enthusiastic". While I find her hyperactivity amusing, not everyone does, so I put a little Vervain in her water before company arrives and she is a perfect (well, almost) little lady.

Back to cat moving: put favorite things in those cat carriers; a towel or pillowcase with your scent, catnip, whatever helps to make kitty happy in confinement. LMF

Pre-move we have boarded our cats at the vet either the evening before or early the same morning and picked them up when it was all over-either driving to their new home or on the way to airport. We do this because it really seems to unerve them if they are shut in a bathroom not being able to figure out what all the comotion is!
Recue Remedy is a great idea as well !
R5

The Bach Flower Essences sound like a wonderful idea, for man and beast alike! I'm going to look for them.
Lizzard, I, too, like other posters have mentioned, now have a soft carrier--I much prefer it to the cage-type I used to have.

Awww Mzfoodie, you got me with that pup begging you with his eyes -weep weep!

I love the idea of the Remedy, while Pup loves going "for a ride"...after a few hours of riding, he is bound to get restless..I do! so for that long drive South we are taking, would it work on a 65 lb pup?
Or how about his mama too! We can hang out in the back seat together, huddled in his favorite blankees and his bunny