Long move w/ 2 cats...helpful hints?

17 years ago

Hi all,

In a few days we are moving from PA to SC with our 2 cats.

Any helpful hints? We have already took them for a few short rides in their cage. They aren't crazy about it, as one meows and the other one just hunkers down with his ears back. We are stopping overnight in VA. We aren't going to medicate them, as we don't have a local vet. I'm going to take a cardboard box and line it with plastic as a disposable litter box, letting them out about once an hour. Any other advice or useful tips? Thanks ever so much!

Emma in PA (soon to be SC)

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Comments (7)

cnvh
17 years ago
I think letting them out once an hour might be a bit much... especially considering, WHERE will you be letting them out? Don't even THINK about doing it in your vehicle, with you standing outside, reaching in through an open car door... as soon as you open that cage door, your kitties are likely to bolt straight out of the vehicle. Under no uncertain terms should you be opening their cage unless you AND the cage are in an enclosed environment.

If you aren't able to open their cage from inside the closed car, just leave them alone until you reach a hotel or something similar. (Make sure they have water available on a regular basis, though-- food, they can wait for.)

Short of medicating them (which I wouldn't suggest unless ABSOLUTELY necessary), there's really not a whole lot you can do other than to make the trip as short and as calm as possible for them... They're not going to cheerful on the ride down no matter WHAT you do, but the less time you waste on the trip, the sooner they can be back in their own (new) house, and the sooner they can get back to their normal routine.
rivkadr
17 years ago
I would NOT recommend letting them out during the daily drive -- I've heard way too many horror stories about people losing pets doing things like that, as cnvh said. Cats can hold it for a pretty long while, if they need to. Personally, I would just stick them in their carriers, and leave them alone -- don't be pestering them constantly asking how they are or anything. Let them sleep, and it'll be over quicker for them.

I moved from Michigan to California 6 years ago. It took 3 days, with about 8-9 hours of driving each day. We left the cats in their carriers the whole day as we drove, and they were fine. With the distance you're going, which really, is not that far, especially split over two days -- you should be fine.

One piece of advice about the hotel: might want to confine them to the bathroom overnight, depending on how squirrelly they are. Our one cat, who is very neurotic, and was very stressed about the whole thing, crawled into the back of the nightstand at one of the hotels. We had to disassemble it to get him out. There's generally not much in a bathroom that a cat can crawl into that can get him into trouble, I would think. It also prevents them from taking a straight shot out the hotel room door, depending on if they're the type to do that.
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Here is a link that might be useful: The use of Rescue Remedy in Dogs & Cats
quasifish
17 years ago
When we've had to move with our kitties, they seem to like it best when they are in their carriers with a heavy blanket draped over the top- not covering the front, just over the top to block out a lot of distractions that can be distressing. Since the weather is cooling now, heat shouldn't be too much of a problem.

The best advice I have for you is to line their carriers with old towels, take a few extras along, and have a clean-up kit that consists of paper towels, cleaner (vinegar/water works well), plastic grocery bags for garbage or sealing up a soiled towel, and an extra jug of clean water in case a kitty needs to be cleaned up on the road. As responsible as my cats are, we've had a few travelling episodes that involved cleaning up both ends of a cat. It helps to prepare for that in advance and hope you don't need it!

Like the others have said, just make sure the car is well sealed before you let them out of their carriers. I had one cat that we use to take everywhere with us; she travelled in a harness with a leash. She could slip her harness if she really wanted to, but only did so when we left her alone in the car. It was nerve wracking to come back to the car, find her unharnessed and sitting contentedly on the front seat, and know that we had to open the door and grab her for fear she would slip out. She was an old cat who didn't travel well in a carrier :)

Good luck.

Q
alaskanatheart
17 years ago
You may already be on the road, but we moved from Florida to Alaska with two cats. We used the rabbit harness/leash combos on them, and did not take them off except in hotel rooms.

We stopped about every 3 hours of the trip (traveled for 2 weeks, with 2 3-day stops) and let the kids and animals (2 cats, 1 dog) out to stretch.

We inquired with our vet about medicating the cats, as she was packaging the medication, she said, "Please only give this if you absolutely have to, it can cause kidney damage". I thanked her, and said I'd changed my mind about the medication.

One cat clawed through 2 soft carriers and a box, necessitating the purcahse of a hard carrier in a remote area of Canada for about $150USD.....it would have cost less than $20 in the US, LOL, so I do recommend you use a hard carrier for transporting. Our other cat vomited the first 12 hours of driving and after that was fine.

Best of luck with your move!
bowdoin514
Original Author
17 years ago
Hi all,
Well, the move with the 2 cats went well, thanks in part to all of you who posted. We ended up getting a small cage-like carrier, after finding out the plastic pet carrier was 2" too wide to fit in the back seat of the truck. Ended up getting that at Tractor supply, of all places. We didn't have to medicate either cat, didn't let them out, as they seemed to want to stay in their cage. The overnight at the hotel went well, and they are adjusting to their new home. I appreciate all your input, here at the pet forum. Now, does anyone have advice for me to find the enthusiasm to unpack 60+ boxes, in a much smaller house? Ha ha, let Buddy & Scooter do it all!
Emma in SC
rexcat
17 years ago
I moved from Oregon to Fl. with 4 cats and a dog in a Van. The cats had their own kennels, and the dog was loose in the van. The cats stayed in the kennels during the trip. My husband said we were getting 26 meows per mile. We would get them out once we were in the motel room. Make sure the motel allows animals. I would set up a litter box, food and water. They would be loose all night to do whatever they wanted. It really worked out well. It took
us 4 days to make the trip and we all arrived safely and happy. Good Luck
Lois

Long move w/ 2 cats...helpful hints?

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cnvh

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Long move w/ 2 cats...helpful hints?

Comments (7)

cnvh

rivkadr

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ojoy

quasifish

alaskanatheart

bowdoin514Original Author

rexcat

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