Anyone Have Advice On Traveling 660 Miles With 6 Cats???

Michigan here we come!!! Only 46 more days and we're outta here!

I would just like to ask if anyone has any advice or tips on traveling with 6 cats (11 1/2 hours). This is the first time any of my cats have traveled for more than 4 hours (I used to show 2 of my cats). So far, someone told me that when I feed them the morning that I leave, to pour a little Cammomile tea leaves in wet food. It's supposed to calm them down. I also have Bach's Rescue Remedy (although it doesn't affect the bald dude MooShoo).

Has anyone moved with cats?? HELLLLLLLLLPPPPP!!!!!!!:rolleyes: :eek: :eek: :eek:

I have only travelled an hour or so with cats. I would have no idea what needs done for 11 1/2 hours. Do you feed your cats at specific times, or free feed? Can your cats go outside to do their "business" or do you need to provide litter boxes with ways to clean them?

I'm sorry but I am of no help at all except to wish you good luck. :) My cats have never been in the car longer than 15 min. (a typical trip to the vet). Judging from the loud meowing they do in their carriers I would probably be deaf at the end of 660 miles. I wish you a safe trip and much success in this big change in your life! ;)

Are they used to the car? I would try several shorter trips.. even a couple 4-5 hour day trips with them to try and break them in. That way you can know ahead of time what problems might come up. Also, you don't have to take all six at once this way at first. Are you going to have six separate kennels? Are you going in a car? That's a very long way!! :eek: I have no problems with Bassett in the car, and I've taken Tilly on a couple short trips in the car to try and break her in too. I'm leaving on Tuesday for central Oregon, which is a 9 1/2 hour trip :D I will let you know if I have any new tips after that! :D

All I can say is good luck!
Let us all know how it goes.

LOAD UP ON THE PROZAC:D :D :D

My three cats do nicely in the car and are no trouble. I have had a couple in the past that were horrible. I got a few pills from the Vet to knock them out for a few hours....didn't put them out, just put them in a state of total relaxation. I would get at least three containers big enough to handle two cats each, with a litter -Pan. Attach a food bowl and water bowl.... Make sure there is A/C on all the time. Make sure your car radio works and turn the volume up if they get really noisey. They need lots of air, water and they need to stay in the containers. Once you get them out, they may be difficult to put back in. If your cats don't mind their containers and/or the car, then you will have no problems. I have gone as long as 10 hours at a time, keeping them contained. I would also travel at night, if you can and then the heat shouldn't be that much of an issue.

I have traveled from Burlington Vermont to Cape May New Jersey, with two cats, round trip, with not a peep out of them. Then just recently traveled from Phila. PA to Burlington with Gabe, the monster kitty, and not a peep out of him (he was given a little sedative first though).......

I would go with sedatives, litter, water, food and containers for sure!

Good luck. Keep us posted.

P. S. My cats like certain kinds of music better than others. They rather like opera - tenor stuff.

Thanks Sasvermont! This is the first time I have ever traveled that far with any of them. It should prove to be interesting. I wonder if the vet will give ME something! :D

When I was a kid, my family moved from Pittsburgh to St. Louis. We had two cats, a 10 month old golden retriever, and two kids (7 and 10). It was pretty hectic.

Our cats hated the car! They would meow, hiss, claw, etc. etc. This may sound mean, but our vet gave us a mild tranquilizer to calm the cats during their car ride. It didn't completely knock them out, but they pretty much just slept and sat there quietly in their carriers. A few meows of protest were still heard. I know the word tranquilizer is a bit scary, but what we had was safe and a mild dose. I would definately ask your vet about the options.

Moosmom,

Hey, I forgot about your nerves. Since you will be "in charge" you had better not take anything....and save it for when you arrive. Maybe a little scotch on the rocks when you get there! You may want to invest in some new music....and a couple of carriers.... AND TURN UP THE VOLUME WHEN AND IF THEY GET TOOOOO LOUD.:cool:

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Originally posted by sasvermont
Then just recently traveled from Phila. PA to Burlington with Gabe, the monster kitty, and not a peep out of him (he was given a little sedative first though).......

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Gee SAS do you realize that was only a little over a month ago? (June 10th) It seems like Gabe has been a Vermont kitty for ages. :)

We just moved down the street from where we are now..so we haven't traveled that far with our babies..but my husband's parents travel with their cat sometimes in the travel trailer and they give her some kind of shot that calms her down...you may want to check into that with your vet :)

Wow, you are brave. All that I can say is I wish you the very best of luck!

Such great advice....I'll be remembering this thread for when we move in a few months....thanks!! :)

I've gotten alot of great advice for traveling so far. My sister-in-law and I decided to break up the trip with a stay at a cat friendly hotel. This way it'll cut down on the stress all around.

I've been told that Camomile Tea leaves in wet food will help calm them down. I also have Bach's Rescue Remedy just in case. I'm going to do it cold turkey at first to see how it goes. Who knows??? They might just sleep the whole way (yeah right).

I just wish I could beam me and my furbabies there. It would make life SOOOOOOOO much easier.:rolleyes:

Let each cat drive 100 miles and you are left with 60 miles! :D

Ok, bad joke, didn't help you at all....

I re-read my original post. Gosh, it sounded as though drugs were what I was recommending but that is not what I was really getting at.

I think your idea about splitting up the cats and staying over one night is a good idea. I have found that two cats in one carrier usually keeps them quieter than if they are by themselves.

What I have done in the past is hook two carriers together, in the back seat of the car, and put the cats' sleep blankets in one carrier and the litter box in the other.

Let us know when you are doing the big move and we will all worry for / about you for that time. We'll try and send you some positive thoughts.....it may just help you out!
:D

Toonces, the Saturday night live cat can help out too! Too funny Niina! It made me laugh aloud!

:cool:

Hi Donna

We just found out we'll be moving back to Melbourne in November - approx 600 miles from Sydney so we're in the same boat. We spoke to our vet who said to think carefully about sedation because the cat/s might become dehydrated over such a long trip (I think he said they become too dopey to drink if not dosed correctly) which can cause a new set of problems. He also said the sedative wears off after a few hours as cats metabolise them fairly quickly, not like humans at all :) And, for dog owners, apparently dogs can overcome the effects of sedatives in less than an hour.

We have no idea what to do as we'll have to drive our houseplants and other things that aren't covered by removalists anyway. We are leaning towards driving with them rather than flying them, talking them for a walk in their harnesses every couple of hours and having a litter tray as well so we can try and keep their functions as regular as possible. And plenty of music to soften the yowling!

Good luck :)

Good luck to you if you haven't moved already! My husband and I drove with our 2 cats from Colorado to Indianapolis this past week. I lucked out because my cats slept most of the time - sedatives have the exact opposite effect on them. Good luck!

Casper & Kitty,

I WISH my cats could drive!! Then I could enjoy the scenery! :D

SAS,

That is a great idea!! I might just invest in a couple of bigger carriers just for that purpose. I'm going to try and do the Cammomile Tea method first to see if that at least keeps them calm.

Miss Meow,

I will let you know how I make out and see if I can give you any tips once I get to my destination.

Oh well, now back to packing UGH!!!! :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

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Originally posted by moosmom

Oh well, now back to packing UGH!!!! :rolleyes: :rolleyes: [/B]

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Surely the trip can't be any WORSE than the packing!!!

Have you thought about having them shipped with an animal courier service? These companies will actually take care of everything and the cats will probably arrive in better shape than you (after driving 660 miles). Even if you send the "most active" cats this way it might make it easier for the other kitties.

I've never heard of a cat courier service. I'd rather have my babies with me. Call me skeptical but I just don't trust anyone with my furbabies.

Good morning,

These companies specialize in transporting pets (not just cats) and they are very useful when moving between countries (because they help with all the paperwork etc). I don't blame you for wanting to have your babies near by, I know that I am the same way.

Good luck with the move:) :)

Having recently driven from Ohio To Toronto with my two cats (and having spent over an hour and a half in customs and immigration!), I feel your pain :)

It sounds like your cats are habituated to car trips, albeit somewhat shorter ones. That's good. My cates *hate* getting in the car, even for ten minutes. And boy do they let me know it. I was pretty worried about the drive since I would be alone in the car and hence would have no one to calm the cats. My vet assured me that they would end up sleeping most of the way. This did not really occur. They did, however, calm down after about an hour or so....

Driving down to Ohio from Toronto, some three years ago, I had tried sedating one of my cats. I don't recommend this. It took hours and hours to kick in, and then my cat was so distressed that I was freaking out. He was falling over, third eyelid rolling over, drooling -- the works.

My vet warned me that the real worry is dehydration. She recommended mixing some Gerber's chicken flavour baby food with water, and giving that to the cats when they arrived. I can't say that either seemed in the least bit interested, but she swore up and down that her cats lapped it up, and were thereby hydrated. So it is worth a shot.

In the end, though, everyone survived. It wasn't fun, but no one was scarred for life. Courage!

Thanks Nicolette! I'm sure the trip will be fine. We do plan on staying overnight on Saturday, 8/31 to give me a rest from driving (found out my sister-in-law DOESN'T drive a standard :eek: which means I'll be doing all the driving) and will give the cats a chance to stretch and run around. Whatever happens happens. There's really not much I can do about it except hope for the best. :rolleyes:

Moosmom, I thought we had agreed in earlier posts, that the cats would drive too! That would really help since s-i-l doesn't drive a stick shift!

Good luck with this major league project and let us know how you make out!

Paws crossed for your trip!;) ;)

Thanks SAS,

I talked it over with the cats and none of THEM knows how to drive a stick shift either. Besides, I don't think their feet would reach the pedals. :D I'm signing them all up for driving school once I get there. This is ridiculous!!!!:p

My best friend told me to avoid the George Washington Bridge at all costs on a Saturday cuz I'll be stuck in bumper to bumper traffic (Great! I knew there was a reason why I hated standard transmission. Push the clutch in, let the clutch out, clutch in, clutch out. UGH!:eek: ) And to add to the matter, it's Labor Day Weekend traffic we're traveling in. Let's hope everyone leaves for their destinations on FRIDAY!!!

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Originally posted by moosmom
I knew there was a reason why I hated standard transmission. Push the clutch in, let the clutch out, clutch in, clutch out.

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Just think of the exercise you'll be getting. :D

Ok, everybody now, clutch in, clutch out, feel the burn! Ok, try the right foot now, clutch in, clutch out, come on, keep moving, we're almost there, clutch in, clutch out. Ok, whew! take a breather now and shake those legs out. ;) Now for the arms, turn that steering wheel, turn it further, ok back to center then turn it the other way, rreeeaacchhh for that turn. Ok, twist and check on the cats, back to front and twist again..... :D

Hey!! Driving aerobics! What a novel idea :eek: (NOT!!)

When I took an internship last summer, Amber has to come with us (even though it involved a 12 hour trip!). I was really unsure how she would make it, as she would urinate, defecate, and vomit in her carrier if the trip was longer than 20 minutes.

I asked the vet for tranquilizers. Would you believe he had the nerve to say, "you know these do not work on humans?" The pills were most effective on an empty stomach. When we made the trip, since it was very cold and we were traveling during the night, we decided to put her carrier in the car being towed. At first, I really threw up a fight, but it turned out to be for the best. As we were 3 in a pickup there was only 2 choices for her: 1) the closed pickup bed with no air flow or 2) the car with the air. In the towed car she also was far enough from us to not her our voices and therefore she did not get upset more. I know this because she would not mew until after she saw me open the door whenever we stopped for gas.

Amber made the trip fantastically. She was not sick either way (and believe me the ride was bumpy at times). I feel bad to put her through all that, but it was take her with us or risk never seeing her again.