NTTCALR: Moving long distance with fur babies.

EIsieMae

Anybody have any tips when it comes to moving long distance with a cat and 2 dogs?

The trip is about 10 hours. The dogs seem like they will be relatively calm about it. They enjoy car rides and we will just stop every few hours for potty breaks.

Our cat is my main concern. He really dislikes car rides. And I'm not sure how to handle his potty requirements while traveling. Any advice?

EIsieMae

sarcaztic10 said:

Your cat will most likely be too stressed out to go to the bathroom, eat, or drink. When we moved from IL to SC we took our two cats and they didn't really require anything. We provided them with a little water and food but they didn't touch any of it. If you are worried about him being really nervous or having a lot of anxiety talk to your vet and they may be able to prescribe a mild sedative. 

The sedative is a really good idea! I'll have to get a call in to our vet.

I just feel really bad for him. He's an older cat, and I feel like he's going to hate us after this trip:/

Nikolie93

I would definitely call the vet and get some sort of sedative. I did that once and put a comfy blanket in cat carrier. He had no clue what was going on! 

Good luck with your move! 

mflowers929

If you don't have a crate, get one. Line it with newspaper and a blanket you don't care about.

Our cats were luckily pretty good about traveling, but then again I used to take them on really short car rides to "pick up daddy" sometimes, so they were pretty used to the car

MrsG80inTN

I'm with @sarcaztic10 on this... your cat will be too stressed out to go - she/he will be fine though - just try to have a litter box ready to go when you get where you're heading.  Mine travels best outside of her crate but that can be risky(I have the scars to prove risk).  My dog does just fine though.  I've moved dogs from AZ to NC so a 3 day trip and dogs were fine because they get to go out... Good luck!!!!

Nikolie93

Very good point @petrastonegirl. I had given my cat a mild sedative a couple of times so he didn't freak out. I didn't think about the effects of giving it to a cat for the first time. 

EIsieMae

PetraStonegirl said:

Be aware that sedatives can have bad side effects with individual animals. Be sure to get an extra dose to test a few weeks early at home, when the cat is comfortable. I didn't test before a move from CA to UT. My cat pulled two claws out at the quick before I could get her out of her carrier. After I got her wrapped up, she spent the first half of the trip under my front seat. The second half I was able to coax her into the carrier with the door still open, by packing the outside of it in ice. It was summer and the cool drew her out. But, she'd have been better off if she had not been stoned, which frightened her.

That is horrible! Thanks for the heads up. I'll see if I can get an extra dose to test out before the trip.

MrsPhD83

I agree that sedatives are very useful, but also agree with Petra that you should test a dose at home first with all animals. I did a 21 hour car trip (broken up over 2 days) with 2 cats and 2 dogs...it was interesting! Everyone had a half dose of sedative on board and all were fine. We folded down our back seat of my hatchback and put a large-ish dog crate with blankets back there for the cats so they were contained but could see everyone. The dogs had free roam of the car but are small, so they prefer to sit in our laps. We did 11 hours the first day and 10 hours the second day. We stopped every 2 hours to let the dogs pee and give everyone some water. We stopped around their usual feeding times too to keep things normal. The dogs ate outside, and I offered food, water, and litterbox to the cats at that time. The cats ate a little kibble, but neither used the litter box. We spent the night in a pet friendly hotel and did the whole thing again on Day 2. It's not so bad if you have a tentative game plan down and roll with the punches. Good luck!!

eliida

I recently moved internationally with my car and probably was a little annoying to my vet about it. (I was pretty panicked about the whole thing.) The others are right on point regarding the sedative. My vet recommends zanax.

As the others have said, she will be too scared to eat or use the box. She may, though, get upset and have an accident. You'll want to confirm this with your vet, but you can pull her food and water 4-6 hours (or more) before you leave to make her more comfortable-prevent accidents, stave off nausea. If she does get sick, family bathrooms are a life saver. Bring wetwipes and a soft towel. A quick bath will make everyone feel better.

Also, when you reach your destination, she may be too stressed to eat for 24 hours or more. This is normal and she will eventually forgive you. Good luck!

eliida

One more thought... I know the instinct may be to give the animals more space, but some felines prefer cozy confines. During a long car ride my kitty seemed to calm down when we placed a blanket over her carrier, creating a cave of sorts.

Nikolie93

Oh, a friend of mine uses this stuff call rescue remedy, I guess it's a natural substance that calms animals. She swears by it but I've never tried it.

As for college hunks I'm pretty sure my expectations would be pretty damn high for the eye candy if I hired them!

EIsieMae

agpjt413 said:

Good luck on your move! We have a ton of furbabies but haven't had to move (yet, anyways). A friend of mine moved from the DC area to Seattle w/ four cats. He & his wife stopped and overnighted visiting family members & friends along the way but I don't know the logistics of the trip in detail.

PS - So did you decide to do the college hunks thing?!

No, we are still going to be doing it without movers:/ we are trying to save a few extra bucks. But the college hunk idea was pretty genius

buggirl72

I've moved a few times with animals now and I think trying to make the animal as comfortable as possible is important. I also agree with the PPs that your animals are going to be so stressed out that normal eating and going to the bathroom things just may not happen.

When I moved from very northern California to Las Vegas, I had just my lab, Jasper. He rode in the back seat of my bug (where my SN came from for those who have wondered).  I put a lot of pillows down so he ended up with a big area to lay down and stretch out. He spent a lot of the trip sleeping with his head on my arm rest which allowed me to pet him while I drove. He refused to go to the bathroom the entire trip. He did drink water but would not eat either.

This is Jasper as we were pulling out of town (drive through at the Starbucks by my old job). He was still excited at the thought of a car ride at this point.



He was stressed out on arrival at the new place and really just wanted to get back in the car (he did) and go back home (we did not).




For our move from AZ to TN (1600+ miles), we had the two dogs (Jasper and Archie) and one cat (Mavis). Mr. Bug and I each had a vehicle to drive and the back of my car was loaded with everything we would need for the first few days while we waited for our truckload of stuff to catch up with us. I ended up having Archie and Mavis while Mr. Bug had Jasper (and a fish).  Jasper did great! He had a nice nest made up in the extended cab part of our truck (massive amounts of pillows and blankets underneath his dog bed) and, probably more importantly, Mr. Bug giving him lots of Mr. Bug's food. Apparently, Jasper got over his inability to eat on long road trips.

Overall, Mavis and Archie did really well. I did not give any of the animals sedatives.  The cat is the only animal that we had a carrier for and we made sure she was in her carrier whenever we opened the car door. She also had a harness and leash on the entire time when out of the carrier. The carrier was on the passenger floorboard. It was a soft sided one that allowed me to open the top all of the way. I placed her bed in that in case she decided on her own to lay in it. I also had the carrier out with her bed in it at our house for about a week before the move so she could get used to it.

Archie was on the passenger seat above her.


Here is Mavis on day one. She handled her stress by sleeping. It was awesome. She's actually on the arm rest which was very relaxing for me. You can also see part of her harness and leash I kept on her whenever she was out of her carrier.



Day two was less relaxing for me but Mavis was in her groove! She decided exploring the car was awesome! Because I kept the end of the leash near me, I was able to reign her back in. At one point she settled in one of the baskets of household stuff somewhere in the back of the car. She then decided she wanted to be closer to me - much closer (my feet - i.e, where the gas pedal and break also were). I kept trying to redirect her nicely away from my lap (as I was driving) but she decided to be really pushy and that the driver's side floorboard was the only place she wanted to be. There is only so much pushing a cat away from you can do. I may or may not have punched her in the face (because that is what you do to sharks and that is actually what I thought when she tried to dive for my feet again) to make her back off from going for my feet while I was driving.

She spent the rest of the trip in her carrier, zipped in tight - though she did try to figure out how to unzip it.

Since it was a long trip, we did make up a travel litter box which she did use - when we were at the hotel.

And here is Archie - he had the front seat, his pillow, and his favorite toy that he obsesses over.


He wanted to spend some of the ride on my lap, but otherwise was wonderful about staying put. he's an awesome travel dog. He pooped, peed, and ate like it was a normal weekend at home.

Nikolie93

@buggirl72 I just wanted to say how very adorable all your furbabies are! 

My pup Gracie goes on our 13-14 hour trip to VA every year. She just curls up on my lap and sleeps the entire time. 

EIsieMae

@buggirl72‌, love all of the furbaby pics!