I need all of your help with traveling

Hi,

My parents live 2 hours away and I was going to visit them next weekend and I was wondering what is the best way to travel with my 12 week old kittens. The PACT people who I am in constant contact with says that it is ok at such a young age. They want to see them and said that I could bring them. I will be driving and depending on when I leave it takes 1.5-2 hours to get there.

I need some feedback on the following questions:

1. I have one of these top and front door hard plastic carriers, will they both be ok in ther or should I go out and get a couple soft carriers for them .
2. What about them having to use the litter box?
3. What should I do about them having food and water while in the car?
4. Should I buy an extra litter box to take up with me instead of moving the one they use in the condo?

Thanks,

Jason

Hi Jason - with that short of a trip - it doesn't sound like you will have to buy anything special. I would take up their food and water the night before the trip (or part of the day if you are not leaving in the morning) and don't feed them in the car either. This will help them not to get carsick (or need to *go*) while in the car. Just take the litter pan they use already and offer that to them along with food and water as soon as you arrive. Have all these things in the car in case you do get delayed though. For safety, strap the hard carrier into seat belt and have a nice trip!!

sirrahbed,

Actually I am leaving right after work, so taking anything up ahead of time won't work. I am sure they would be more comfy in a soft type carrier then both being in a hard plastic carrier.

I am Mom... I have 2 legged kids and 4 legged kids and I say....Keep them in a kennel and ALWAYS belt the kennel in!! ..

Just last week, my boss at the shelter got a call about a hour before we closed. Her niece had just been a bad wreck and had her small dog in the car. BOTH were ejected from the car, the neice went in a ambulance to the hopsital and the dog went to the vets as soon as it was located.. ALWAYS wear your seat belt and ALWAYS belt your animals in, in a kennel!!

Now, Mom has spoken and don't Mom know best? Have a nice trip and enjoy your visit.

Laura's Babies,

Thanks for the help. The reason that I want to get this type of carrier, is one that it is much more softer and two you can bucklet it into the set belts in the backseat of the car which I can't do with my plastic carrier. I will make sure that they are very cumfy and very very secure before we leave.

We just moved with our kitten. We took her food & water up about 12 hours before we left. I highly recommend that you do this. Josie would have thrown up if she would have had anything in her belly. She was making the motions but nothing was coming out. Maybe you could feed them the night before, and take it up before you go to work. And for just a two hour ride, you don't need to worry about feeding them & watering them during the ride. Most cats won't eat or drink for a couple of hours after they've arrived anyway. Too much excitement.

By the way, how old are they? I would think that if they're small enough and used to being together, they'd rather be together in one kennel. They'll be scared if they haven't ridden much. They'd probably be better off snuggling together in one carrier. That's just my opinion though.

Hi there...may I offer my take on road trips?
My tribe of 5 plus our late great golden, Fiona, made a 5 day road trip from Connecticut to Seattle, WA last fall. We were on the road 10 hrs per day for 5 days. Guess what? Everybody slept all day after the first day.

We fed and watered on normal schedule and the cats just adjusted their routine to the travel routine.
We made sure there was good ventilation for everyone, and took breaks every 2 hours so they weren't in constant motion all the time. We used regular plastic cat carriers with their favorite blankies inside so it smelled like home.
Everyone made it safe and sound and only one accident (Day 1 - our most nervous cat, Norm) the whole trip.
We humans were a little crazy by the end of the trip though....

Just a thought - we kept our two youngest ones in one large kennel together so they could snuggle with each other. :)

Have a safe trip!

christa

Thanks for the advice. I wasn't sure about the food, but they would have eaten all day anyways, so I am sure that as long as I show them the kitty box before we leave they will be ok. I am probably going to leave Friday night 7-8 pm that way, it will be getting darker and maybe I will get lucky and they will sleep all the way. That is way I want to get as reasonable priced, but yet as comfy carriers as I can for them.

rkidsrcats

I am trying to find the biggest soft carrier I can so I might fit both in and yet have room for them to move around if they want, but am having no luck. They are pretty small, so a large soft carrier should allow for two kittens a blanket and a few toys.

Jason

I think most of your questions have been answered already, but the one I didn't see answered was about the litter box when in the car. We have moved/traveled with our cats quite a bit, and I don't think the litter box has ever been necessary in the car. We even made a 9 hour move with Saphirah, and she didn't relieve herself until after we had arrived at our destination. (She had opportunity, but she didn't.)

Actually that is fairly young ,and you might be able to get themused to travelling,but I definitelywoul have them contau=ined,in a Carrier,as I ahve heard Horror stories,about cat,who roam, the Car,while it is in motion!

Hi Jason, and welcome to PT! I saw your introduction post but I've been out of town and am catching up so only replying to certain threads. Anyway, as for traveling, I think it's great that you want to take your two little sweeties with you. When Tubby was very young I lived 1/2 hour to 45 minutes from my parents, and we went home on a regular basis. Unfortunately Tubby was never one for crates, so I just left him on his leash roaming the car - but like Laura says, I wouldn't recommend that at all. I think a soft sided carrier that they can both fit in would be great and they will feel more comfortable since they seem to be really close siblings. For this duration of a trip I don't really think you'll need a litter box - unless they seem prone to car sickness. One thing I've noticed that helps with Peanut in the car is I make sure she can see me. This seems to comfort her and then I can look her in the eye and tell her it's ok.

But my point is that since they are still so young, if you start visiting regulary with them now, they will become familiar with car travel and familiar with the different surroundings of your parents' house, and they will actually start enjoying visiting "Grandma and Grandpa" because you may not know but grandparents spoil their furry grand kids as much as they spoil their skin grand kids. ;)

Good luck and let us know how it goes! :D