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I am moving from Colorado to Washington State and I have a female cat who hates to ride in a car and just hates being in her carrier. she makes it very apparent that she hates the carrier and she has done this since she was a kitten. this is going to be a 17 hr drive and I don't want to make her sick or loose her voice. she gets very stressed and I am wondering how o keep her calm with out having to give her a shot to sleep or something. It brakes my heart to see her so stressed.
How long until you move? You can get her used to the carrier and take short - like one-minute trips once a day, and then up to 5 minutes, and gradually work your way up. Cats can become accustomed to car rides, it just takes time and patience.
You can also check with the vet on a cat valium sort of thing, which may be necessary this one time.
we leave on the 17th of June. she knows something is up and is hiding in my room most of the time right now she has moved but not from one state to another it has just been from apartment to another apartment.Quote:
Originally Posted by Karen
I have never given her one before and I can afford that right now plus it is a very long drive for her to have to be on something like that. I don't like that idea.Quote:
Originally Posted by Freedom
Aww, give her some extra loving, and leave the carrier out and open near where she is hanging out. Start feeding her in her carrier, or at least leave some treats in there, and when she starts going in there, if she happens to be in there when you are nearby, reach in and pet her, give her some love, so she associates the carrier with good things. You do have time, so do try to give her a car ride tomorrow, just out and around, then home, and start the acclimatization process. I know some cats who travelled from California to upstate New York once, and their human had no problems with them, and she started giving them all car rides a month or so before.
Thank you I will try that thank you. She has always loudly complained from day one. we have had her since she was 3 months and she just hates her carrier and the car I have no idea why all the other cats I have ever had have never had a problem with either.Quote:
Originally Posted by Karen
Good luck, and keep us updated on how it goes!Quote:
Originally Posted by jjhudson09
If you are just going to leave the carrier open, pop a couple of treats near the door or even some catnip now and then so she associates it with good things. :)
Another option is to fly her out to Oregon. While it is more expensive it is faster
Valerian root extract works wonders on cats and it's not terribly expensive. You can get some at a health food store and drop a few drops on her coat for her to lick off. When I moved from Nevada to Oregon with Spook, a few drops kept her calm for most of the trip.
Karen's suggestion of getting her used to the carrier is a good idea too. Try to make getting her in and out of it as calm of a process as possible. The calmer you are, the calmer she'll be.
Edit: I will warn you that some cats react to valerian as if it were a stimulant (similar to catnip.) Test to see how your cat reacts before committing to a long trip with a high cat. ;-) Spook is calmed by valerian and catnip. Not sure if I'm lucky or if my cat is just unusual.
I moved my cats three times in a year, three different states. The first move, I got a sedative, which just made one of them vomit a lot. After that, I just put them in their carriers and made them deal with it. It actually went fine once they got over their initial freak out. Start keeping the carrier out where it's visible and accessible now. Make her eat her meals out of it so that it's not a stressful thing anymore. Then when moving day comes just put her in and go. The longest move I did with my two wound up being about an 18 hour drive and it was fine.