Moving with kitties

[CathyBogart]

I'm not sayin' much yet, but it looks like sometime soon my hubby and I may be moving several states away. It will be about a three day road trip. The first night, we'll be staying with his grandmother, who lives on the way. The second night, in a hotel.

I need to figure out how we're going to make this work. I have food/water dishes to mount in their carriers, but what about using the litterbox? And what do I do with them overnight in the hotel? Do we shut them in the bathroom with their litterbox?

Does anyone have any other suggestions for making this as easy for Charlie and Sherpa (and me and hubby!) as possible? Should I try to get mild sedatives, especially since they're skittish? I know I need to update the information in Sherpa's microchip and make him wear a collar and ID tag for at least a few days.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

[Scooter's Mom]

When I moved with Scooter Bug from Texas to Arizona, we broke it into 2 days. Scooter had water in his carrier, and a small pan with litter just in case, also in the carrier... I was a bad mommie and he rode on my lap most of the way though. He had free roam, it made him more comfy.

At the hotel the night we stayed, I had one of the disposable litter trays for him in the room with us. I put out food and water and let him have free roam. He was MUCH happier than being cooped up in the bathroom all night.

I did have him updated on all of his vaccinations before we left Houston.

[CathyBogart]

Thank you. :) It helps to hear from people who have done it before.

I'm thinking now that they might prefer to be together for the ride, so I could set them up in Jasper's big crate instead of two little ones. That way I can have a litterbox in there for them.

[Nomilynn]

I used to take my cats to central Oregon from Vancouver, BC every summer. It was about a 8-9hr drive. They were SO good in the car, and when we did stop at a hotel (sometimes we broke the trip into two days) I also had a disposable litter pan for the hotel room and they were very happy to be allowed to sleep near me. I would let them have the choice of crate or lap in the car and always had a litter box in there (they usually ended up in the crates anyway, but I didn't have a big crate and I knew that sometimes they wanted to be near me. I wasn't driving when they sat with me). Tilly always pukes in the car but she usually wants to do it in the litter box (I wish she would do that at home!). If we had to stop anywhere I would crate them again before anyone was allowed to open the car door.

[Karen]

You can start getting them used to car rides (that don't end at the vet's office) now. Take them for a short drive, and back home - time it, and increase the length of the drive by a few minutes each time, so they get used to being in a moving vehicle. Do it once a week between now and the big move and you should have more relaxed kitties!

[Zippy]

I have moved with cats many times.Including form FL to NM.
Into the cat carrier every few hours we offer them food and water and set up a litter box at each hotel/rest house.

[moosmom]

When I moved back to CT from MI, my cats slept all the way. I broke up the trip into two days as well. Having experience in the cat show circuit, I traveled with my cats alot. I kept a litterbox on the floor of the backseat of the car, just in case they needed to go. Cats can travel for quite some time without food. I would always feed them a couple of hours before leaving for their bellies were full. They would have access to water.

I'm a bad meowmie too. MooShoo was my co-pilot during the trip back (for good) to CT, and was very content to sleep in the front seat, as long as meowmie was by his side. The trip went very well.

Good luck with your move!!! I'm sure it will be a move for the better.

[catmandu]

I only had to move Mr Scrappy , My Purrfect Princess and Michael The Dream Cat when i first moved here and I left them overnight in the spare bedroom with food and the litter box!!!
We hope your move goes smoothly , I have no idea of how The Animal Angels will take to being moved after my One Fine Day!!!
:eek::eek::eek:

[Edwina's Secretary]

We moved from Chicago to SoCal with Edwina and Eddie. I did, as Karen suggests above, take Edwina in the car with me when I would go to the airport to pick up my husband every other week (he moved to SoCal six months before I did) to get her more comfortable in the car.

I also had sedation for Edwina (I was most worried about her.) I gave her some the first day and that was it. She is too hard to pill and didn't need it.

I had food and water and a disposable litter pan in the truck. They did not eat, drink or use the pan until we would take them into the hotel room.

Eddie rode in his carrier (renamed Fort McFarland) while in motion. He would come out and check the scenery when we stopped. Edwina rode either on my lap or in her car seat. She enjoyed looking out the window and watching things go by.

The had their harnesses and leashes on -- just in case we need extra help to catch them.

We were three nights on the road and then in a hotel for another couple nights.

They were such good travelers!

[P.J.s mommy]

To Cathy Bogart: I work in a 4 star hotel and we often have guests who travel with their pets. Cats seem to do very well. The guests usually place the litterbox in a corner or the bathroom and there is no need to shut them in at nite. Most cats sleep on the bed with their people or in the open travel cage. Some of my furry guests actually like to travel and people dont have a problem with them.

[kb2yjx]

When we took the cats on the 8 hour trek to Cape Cod, they did BEST if they did NOT eat before leaving. When we stopped, I would offer some dry food, and the use of the litterbox. Once we arrived at our place on the Cape, the very FIRST thing we set up was the litterboxes!!! After we brought the cats in, and they sniffed around a bit, they were ready to eat. NO problem with NINE cats!!! Keeping them food free while traveling eliminated any tummy problems, that might have resulted in vomiting and then having them traveling in a messy carrier....GOOD LUCK!!!

The photos are from one our of Cape Cod adventures!!! Barry took the photos because no one believed we actually took NINE cats on vacation....

[phesina]

When I moved from Providence to Ann Arbor in 2002, I rented a cargo van from U-Haul and had the six carriers of cats on the flat floor on the back. The trip was about 14 hours, which I broke up midway with a stay in a motel in mid-Pennsylvania which I found out about from a "pet-friendly hotels and motels" web site.

As it turned out, the cats did fine staying overnight in their carriers in the van, so I didn't have to try and shift all six carriers (and perhaps find that the motel wasn't quite THAT pet-friendly :eek:..). Each was in a larger-than-life carrier with a tiny litterbox in it and food and water holders attached to the doors.

I don't exactly recommend this as a way to move them, because I was a nervous wreck driving that huge monstrosity of a van, but we all got here just fine.

[CathyBogart]

I wish it was as easy as moving the snakes is going to be....plonk each of them in a tupperware with holes for air and make sure they don't come open during the trip! Three days in a tupperware will be fine for my lil snakes.