Moving 11 cats

16 years ago

We will be selling our house this year and we are moving with our 2 dogs and 11 cats. We are moving 1250km away....which represent about 12hour drive or 1hour and a half by plane (not counting the time to drive to the airport).

When we moved here 5 years ago we moved our 7 cats by plane. 4 strays came to us one every year almost and we became their family, Those 4 go out because they were used to go out but the 7 others are indoor cats only. All this to say I would prefer to bring them with us by car instead of putting them in a plane. Problem is the car cannot accomodate 2 dogs and 11 pet carriers and 2 adults.

I was thinking of renting a small U-Haul truck. Is this a good idea to move the cats? The trip is a 12 hour one.

Thank you!

AnicÃ©e

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Comments (14)

lexie1397
16 years ago
I love your dedication to your animals!!

I'm worried that a moving truck might be very frightening to your animals. Obviously you would be stopping frequently to check on them, but during travel it would be dark, loud, and possibly cold depending on your location.

I wonder if you could work something out with a shelter to help transport, or at least hold a few animals and move them in batches. A car rental company might have a van or SUV large enough to accomodate everyone...

Good luck with your move and be sure to let us know how it goes!
annzgw
16 years ago
Can one of you take your car and the other rent a SUV or van? It will definitely be cheaper than shipping them by air!

One car can take the dogs and the other the cats. That's how we moved (12 hr trip) with 2 dogs and 13 birds!
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laurief_gw
16 years ago
A UHaul is a BAD idea because the interior of a UHaul is not climate controlled. Depending on the weather conditions when you move, the UHaul can either become dangerously hot or dangerously cold. You need to be able to keep the cats and dogs in a well-ventilated situation with consistent and comfortable temp. Of course it wouldn't hurt to ask UHaul if they have any vehicles with climate controlled and ventilated boxes.

An SUV wouldn't be large enough to accommodate 11 cats, I don't think. For a trip that long, the cats should be in crates large enough to accommodate litterboxes and food and water dishes. I don't know that any vehicle short of a bus would be large enough to accommodate that many large crates.

Air travel may be your best and safest bet for the cats, but it certainly won't be cheap.

Laurie
irishdancersgram
16 years ago
WOW, And I'm worried about traveling with 4 cats...I think using 2 vehicles, your's and renting the biggest van you can get, would be the best bet...If you fly them, where do they put them, in the luggage compartment? I don't know if that would be a good place....
Have you ever seen the TV show, "Jon and Kate + 8"? They have a van and travel with 8 kids.....
Good luck with your move and your new home....
anicee
Original Author
16 years ago
Thank you for your input. This is what I thought for the Uhaul but was not sure...the 'no air circulation..no light" but I was not sure.

Probably the plane will be the best bet. Like I said we did fly 7 when we moved here. They did not leave all in the same plane. They could only put 4 in a plane at a certain time and the 3 others left a little later. It represents several hours also...the driving to the airport, the wait at the airport, the flight itself and then someone at the other end picking them up and bringing them to the new house. I do believe they put them in the luggage compartment. But you know what....in 2002 when we moved here the cats arrived 2 days before us and a friend of ours was taking care of them and had put them in the sunporch and when we arrived by car with our dogs, we had 3 at that time...we were tired, hungry....and the cats were just there quite relaxed and enjoying the sun. In 2002 moving 7 cats with Air Canada cost me if I remember well 385.00$ which is not bad at all.

To tell you the truth I did not want to have so many cats. They are all cats that we have rescued. I love them and feel responsible for them. My vet cannot believe I am bringing them all she said maybe the people who will be buying your house will take a few. My mother also told me...why don't you take just 4 or 5 and try to have the others adopted. Remarks like that blow my mind...

Thanks again!

AnicÃ©e
anicee
Original Author
16 years ago
I was just checking the Air Canada site and they have to leave by Air Cargo and it would cost me 1045.00$ plus the taxes....
This is why when you mention things like that to people and if they happen not to love animals, they regard you as if you were insane to spend so much money on flying cats.

AnicÃ©e
nadadustbunny
16 years ago
Can you put two cats per crate? It might help them feel more secure along with having 6 crates instead of 11 crates.Bless you for loving your pets enough to think of them and not thinking of getting rid of them because of the move.
laurief_gw
16 years ago
When traveling by air, pets are placed in a special section of the cargo area that is pressurized and climate controlled for the animals' safety and comfort. Even so, airlines have restricted ship dates for animals traveling in cargo. They will not accept animals for cargo transport if the temp is too cold or too hot.

I, too, commend you for being so loving and responsible with your animal companions. The people who don't "get it" are the people whose sanity I would question.

Laurie
texaswoman
16 years ago
Well you've gotten plenty of advice on moving the cats so I just want to say, "You are my HERO". lol

To think I ever worried about moving 3 cats across town!!
anicee
Original Author
16 years ago
Laurie...you are absolutely right. I have read some more and it all depends on the weather and they would not accept 11 cats on the same plane. Of course you have to reserve but if on the day some are scheduled to leave and it's too cold or too hot...they stay here...and it's a 2 hour drive to the airport from where we are.

I will have to think of something else.

Thanks again everyone!

AnicÃ©e
rivkadr
16 years ago
Can't you rent a van? Uhaul rents them, and unlike a regular Uhaul, I would think it would be climate controlled (same cabin space that you would be in). You should be able to fit all the necessary crates into a van. Or, if you're willing to spend the money, rent an RV.
sammycat
16 years ago
There are some services that specialize in pet transport, I did a google search "pet transport canada" and got several hits including: http://www.petflightinc.com/home.htm

Since you have some time to plan it might be worth checking into something like this as well. Good Luck!
Lily316
16 years ago
I would think you could rent an RV cheaper than air flight. I commend you for doing this. Too many people move to the next town and leave their pet(s) behind. Once I fed a stray feral cat when I was very young. He was a huge orange guy who wasn't very friendly . But when I moved four hours away, I took kitty with me altho he wasn't a happy camper . But I thought..what if no one feeds him when I'm gone. The people who don't get it are the ones who never really get attached.
daisyadair
16 years ago
Anicee, I would SO have 11 cats if I could get away with it. I think I would probably rent a big suv with seats that could all fold down and assign cages.

Moving 11 cats

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