We will be moving to NC from NJ next year and am wondering how we travel with a cat in the car.We are most interested as to how you stop for meals.What do ypou do?
Thanks
melissa

Melissa,

Be sure your cat is in its carrier at all times! How long of a trip will it be? What time of year will you be moving?
Be sure your cat is wearing some ID in case it should get loose. As added insurance get an ID tag and a microchip implanted. The ID tag should have both your old and new address,phone numbers and info on it.
How does your cat do while riding in the car for short trips?
Start now by leaving the cat carrier out all the time. If your cat associates the carrier you have with vet visits, get a new carrier and leave it out with the door open. Toss toys, treats, catnip, etc into the carrier at different times so she doesn't associate the carrier with bad things.
You can take her for short rides around the block and gradually lengthen the trips.
Your veterinarian can prescribe a mild tranquilizer if necessary.
Most cats meow a lot at first, but eventually settle down.
Be sure you pad the bottom of her carrier with "piddle pads" or a similar product so if she does urinate she will stay dry.
Cats are really good at "holding it" for long periods of time if they have to. But you can have a litter pan available in the car for her, but only let her out to use it if all the windows and doors are closed tight!
She probably won't want to eat so I wouldn't worry about that.
I personally wouldn't be able to go into a restaurant and eat a leisurely meal knowing my cat was in the car. It certainly depends on the time of year. If the weather is cold, but not bitterly cold, she should be fine in an enclosed vehicle. I wouldn't consider leaving her in the car if the weather is warm enought that you feel you need to leave the windows open even a little bit. Cats can be real escape artists if they panic.
Let me know if you have any other questions or concerns. I'm a Vet Tech and my specialty is cats! I'm known as the Cat Lady, or the Cat Whisperer!
Lily

Very good info from Lillipets. I would also add that stopping for meals (as in sit down type) would be my very last priority under the circumstances. My husband and I once moved 450 miles with our two cats and drove with them in the car. We had carriers for them and they were able to stay in them or come out on the back seat if they wanted to. Also had litter pan on floor of back seat and a water dish and a small bowl of dry food. Cats did not eat "enroute" but at least it was there if they wanted to nibble.

We stopped at McDonald's to eat, first making sure the cats were in their carriers (locked) and then we got out of the car. Weather was good, the car was parked right next to an outdoor table and once of us sat there while the other got the food. We NEVER left the cats alone in the car without one of us being right next to the car, and that included bathroom stops too.

The cats did yowl the first 40 miles or so but settled down after that. No it was not fun, but we put our cats interests before ours and we all coped fine.

Melissa,
We have a carrier for our cat that looks like a small black soft-sided suitcase. We got it at Petsmart and I think the brand is actually Samsonite! It is rather small so we usually only use it for quick car trips, but our cat also traveled from Detroit to Germany in it on an airplane. You could use one in addition to a larger carrier for the car. My parents have one for their Pomeranians. We have both brought our pets into restaurants in these bags and usually people think it is just a suitcase! (As long as the pet is not noisy, of course, and noisy/casual restaurants are the best.)

Also, no matter how badly you feel about your cat being cooped up in a carrier, I would advise against letting it loose in the car. I did that once thinking my cat might like to climb around; the poor guy got scared and had quite an accident all over some clothes.

We had to transport two just across town. One did very well. The other one was so frightened that....well...let's just say her bathroom manners failed. I didn't know a cat could hold that much crap. (it can turn to liquid, I think!) The odor lingered on and on. Terrible!!!

So if I had to do it over, I would have gotten them used to riding in the car in carriers qradually. Maybe just around the block at first to see how they handled being confined in the moving car.

As for meals....plan on stopping at Drive Ins or at places that have take- outs. Then eat in the car. I know that's a big pain but you aren't planning to do this often.

I moved my then 3 cats back to NYC from Chicago a few years ago, and my oldest cat would have nothing to do with the carrier, so he sat on the passenger seat all the way home. It was adorable as other drivers would wave to him and he would meow hello. He sat or slept beside me all the way and loved being able to see out the windows. The other two cats were happy in the carrier, and slept most of the way. For food I mostly got food to go, and ate in the car, and slept overnight once I think and brought the cats in and they all slept on the bed after a few minutes of looking around. I had a litter box and food and water available and it was an easy trip.

HOpe yours goes as well.

This is just a thought, but I saw cats in 2'x3' dog carriers this weekend.
They had added a carpeted shelf 1/2 way up, it was simply attached with hooks to the bars of the cage. Under the shelf, on the floor of the cage was a small litter box and one of those round cat beds. There was a large hamster type water bottle hooked to the side.
If you have room, it seems this would be a great way to go.
And with this set-up, if the weather is not hot, why in the world couldn't you stop and eat? People do it all the time with dogs. The cage is 3'x2'x2' and they would have everything they need... including room to move around.
The cats I saw this weekend in the big cage were playing with balls they had tied from the ceiling.

Thanks for all of your advice.
We will be moving in June .
Melissa

I would not leave the cats unattended in a car in June. I believe NC has serious fines for doing so when the outdoor temps are over 80 degrees.

If you do a search under tranquilizers you will find a lot of useful info on traveling with cats with and without drugs (your cat, not you!!)

I only did one relatively long trip with my cats (who both had motion sickness)and found that what helped them most were the following:

Take side roads rather than the highway (speeds under 35 or so bothered them much less than highway driving for some reason)

Stop at least every 2 hours to give them a little break - to drink some water and use their litter box (we did not offer food) (Indoor cats seem to want their litter box - and don;t want to just use the ground like dogs.)

Make sure they wear a harness - along with their regular collar with tag - to which you can attach a leash so they can have a little walk on the various stops

When they're in the car be sure they stay in their carriers (I actually sat in the back with the cats so they could see me - rather than just the inside of the car - and that seemed to make them more confortable

But it was still 5 hours of yodeling and meowing - esp from Max - who was convinced everyone would do what he wanted as soon as he made it clear enough

Where have you decided to move to? I know you were looking at several places.

June can be very hot in NC (same with NJ). For the cat's safety, please keep him/her in a carrier. Get a collar with your cell phone number on it or the contact number while on the road.

I too was going to suggest an extra-large carrier (with litter box, dry food only, and water). If you stop at all to get air or whatever, put a leash and halter on the cat before you open any doors. Buy some kitty downs.

We just bought a piece of property in Alexander county.It is north of Hickory NC.We are building a house
Melissa

It really depends on how well the cat travels. I had one cat who always took road trips with me. I just threw her into the car, and off we went, no special precautions. She answered to her name when I called her.

I would take your cat on a few "test drives" to see how he/she likes riding in the car (if you don't already know).

My best suggestion is using a carrier sized for a small dog. The cat never comes out of the carrier (if it is skittish about traveling). Cats can 'hold it' for a long time, and you can set up food, litter, etc. in each hotel room when you stop.

If it is hot, I would not stop and go into restaurants for a meal, rather use to-go food places where you could stay near the car (picnic rest-stops, hamburger stands).

I have never had a cat that needed to be drugged, but I'm not against it if that seems necessary for their comfort. Talk to your vet.

I drove with my cat from RI to TX few years ago. Spent 3 nights enroute.

For brunches/lunches, I do not go into restaurants. Just buy stuff at fast-food place and eat in car with cat.

I also bought a harness so I can "walk" her during lunch time and other breaks.

For dinner, I got my cat into hotel room first and fed her. Then I go out for short dinner.

When we moved from So Calif to Las Vegas we had my cat with us. I had taken him in the car before (to the vet, between apt moves, etc) and knew he HATED it, so the vet gave me some mild tranquilizers. They just made him seem like he was in la-la-land or something, they didn't knock him out. I gave him one in the morning before we started loading the moving truck so he would let me put him in the over-sized (for him, anyway) carrier and not get scared and run and hide somewhere. He cried a few times during the ride but after we gave him another pill (according to the directions) he was still pretty "out there" and didn't "voice" his displeasure too loudly.

We stopped once - about midnight - and he was sound asleep so we left the windows down a bit and grabbed a quick bite in a coffee shop on I15 - but in June on the east coast I don't think that would be an option - it will be too hot & humid to leave yours in the car. It was early November in Victorville for us so it was pretty nippy outside and in the car while we were in the restaurant.

Once we arrived at our new apartment in Las Vegas, I took the carrier into our walk-in closet and set it down way in the back, opening the door (carrier) and let him come out on his own. I put a dish of his food and one of water, and a litter pan, near the carrier.

We just did a move from Minneapolis to Atlanta this past July with two cats that hate car rides. We did the small rides around the neighborhood followed by treats a few times prior to moving so they wouldn't associate the car with the vet.

We just stopped at fast food restaurants for meals and ate in the car with them. We also let them out of the carriers to walk around the car every few hours. I thought it would be good for them to stretch their legs.

It was a long two days but we got through it. They didn't want to eat or drink in the car at rest stops so we had an eye dropper to put water into their mouths to keep them hydrated. That was a lifesaver since it was 90+ degrees outside both days and the car got warm by the end of the day.

Good luck!

Another thought...if you do have space for a dog carrier, if you borrow one, it's going to smell doggy unless you do some major cleaning and spraying. Your cat would be very uneasy in a doggy smell crate.

A dog crate would be ideal if you could manage it as you would have room to put her old familiar bed and toys in it.

For the humans I think it might be worth it to pack a small cooler and ice for food along the way. So you wouldn't have to leave the cat in a hot car in the summertime.

Cat carriers are not expensive and I think they are a good idea to keep in easy reach around the house all the time, in case of emergencies. My cat likes to sleep in his sometimes. I just leave it open in the bedroom, has a carpet sample on the bottom he used to 'claw'.