Moving across country with a cat...

[monkeybug]

Any one ever done this?
We are driving, and have done the drive multiple times with our dogs, but a cat? How does that work??? Can't exactly take her on a walk every few hours (she just freezes and freaks when we put a leash on her) for a potty break.
I know we will take her to get tranquilizers beforehand (or we will arrive in Ca. with no eyeballs) but 6 days driving and staying in hotels with a cat...we might need tranquilizers too!
Any cat traveling tips?

 

[amarberry]

We moved cross country with 3 cats and 2 dogs. I was pretty stressed about how we would move the cats. I didn't want them stuck in a small carrier and I didn't want them loose in the car either. Here is what we did...we set up two dog crates in the back of the minivan with litter boxes, cat beds, food/water, and cat toys. I put two cats in one crate and one in another. They weren't happy, but they did better than I thought they would.

 

[Stephanie218]

We drove from CT to CA, and my two cats actually did great. I didn't have to give them any drugs, although we did use some kind of herbal mix in their water that was supposed to relax them a little.

We kept them in their carriers for the first hour or so each day to let them get used to driving again, and then let them out. Most of the time, they'd just curl up in the back seat and stay there, but they were just happier not being confined to the kennel. They usually did not eat or drink in the car, nor use the litterbox - so all of that had to be done in the hotel. We made a makeshift litter box out of a big shoebox, and brought a mini dustpan to sweep up the litter they kicked out.

 

[MichelleVW]

We moved cross country with 3 cats and 2 dogs. I was pretty stressed about how we would move the cats. I didn't want them stuck in a small carrier and I didn't want them loose in the car either. Here is what we did...we set up two dog crates in the back of the minivan with litter boxes, cat beds, food/water, and cat toys. I put two cats in one crate and one in another. They weren't happy, but they did better than I thought they would.

I've moved twice (North Carolina to North Dakota, and then ND to Texas) with cats and the bolded is what I did. But I had the dog crates in the dressing room of the horse trailer I was pulling. The cats weren't happy, but they survived. They hid for 3 days when we got to Texas but after that they were fine.

If you are staying in a hotel, don't let the cats out to roam, they will probably be freaked out and try to hide, and you would be amazed at the places they find to hid in a hotel room...just trust me on that one!

 

[monkeybug]

Great tips! Thank you!!!

 

[bitohoney]

I drove from CA to MA 10 years ago with my 8 year old DD, 2 cats and a bird. The bird loved it. The cats handled it better than I thought. We drove about 8 hours a day. One cat did ok out of her carrier, the other I didn't want to chance letting her out. It was an 8 day drive, stopping at a hotel each night. Petco has calming treats you may want to try, or Rescue Remedy Pet you can find online. It's all natural stuff, no drugs, and all it does is calm them down a bit. I recommend something like that.
My cats also held their potty breaks until we got in the hotel.

 

[akcire]

Not sure what type of car you have. Both times we have done extended road trips with the cats we have had SUV's or station wagons. We bought disposable litter boxes and put them in the "way back"; and showed him where it was located.

Like others, we put the cat in the carrier each morning but let him out after about an hour. He had a small dish of water in his regular carrier in the backseat and a towel or cushion, and we gave him food on his regular schedule. He would jump to the front and ride with the passenger, or jump to the backseat and lay in his carrier.

Any time he used the box for a solid--we quickly pulled over and scooped--it was completely foul in the confined space of a car.

We also brought a new disposable box into the hotel rooms.

The only "problem" was when he decided to go under the drivers side seat, when we stopped to get some people food-it took us like 15 minutes to extract him (husband was afraid he would get tangled in drivers feet or go behind the brake pedal). After that we just placed objects under the front seats that prevented him from being able to fit under the seats.

Good luck--our cat is ridiculous and loudly meows the first 45 minutes of every car ride, then he settles into a nice kitty.

 

[Zandy595]

We drove from Western NY to south FL with a cat and a parakeet when I was 6 months pregnant. Thinking back I probably should have had a bigger carrier for the cat. She could stand up, but that was about it. We stayed 2 nights in hotels and set up her litter box there. I guess it all worked out because I don't remember much of the trip (it was 15 years ago).

 

[RadioNate]

Seriously, fly them if you can. I moved one from Oregon to South Carolina, then the Tennessee, then to Texas. And THEN 2 from Texas to Florida and then from Florida to Colorado.

A cat on a plane is 100x better than a cat in a car. Mine have to be together. I have a big dog crate that I put them both in. I've never put food or water for them because they wouldn't touch it. I do leave water if we go in a restaurant, etc. Cars get very hot so we only do fast food.

I didn't do litter in the car, never had an accident. The do go immediately at the hotel once the litter is set up.

I lock them in the bathroom at the hotel. Trust me, you don't want to be digging a cat out from behind a hotel bed when you are trying to leave in an am.