Moving with pets?

[binny]

We are moving soon and we need to figure out how to move our 2 cats and a golden retriever.

the company will pay for everything with the move, including transporting our cars but we need to figure out how to get the animals there. Its a 13 hour drive without snow and we are moving to Denver so there is no telling how long it would be this time of year.

What is the best way to do this?

Thanks

 

[louey]

http://petairways.com/

 

[binny]

That would be great except they dont service Boise What a great idea though!

 

[monkeybug]

We moved across country with our two Goldens. It was a four day trip with about 12 hours in the car each day. (they have actually made the trip three times.) We made sure they had a nice comfy space in the back (of our SUV) and we stopped at least twice a day to take them on nice long walks at a park or rest stop (the dogs and kids!) They did great! Our youngest golden gets car sick (not throwing up, just lots and lots of drool and panting) so we give her dramamine.
The cat might be tricky...

 

[jme829]

We moved from Ohio to Wisconsin 2 years ago.

We have 3 kids and a dog...the moving truck took all our stuff including one car (yep, they drove right into the truck after loading our things!)

We loaded kids and dog into our van and off we went..! It too was about 13 hour drive.

Our dog is probably smaller than yours and we didn't have cats with us. Can you crate the cats? We bought a seat belt for our dog at the pet store, it was like a harness that had an attachment that latched right to the seat belt. So she was secure but was able to be right with the kids. When we would stop for potty breaks, we would take the dog over to the pet area for her "break".

Then one of us would stay with the dog and the other would take the kids for food, potty, drinks,,etc..


Whenever we go back to Ohio (usually only at Christmas) we do the same thing.


BTW...a work friend just moved to Denver a couple a weeks ago...she sent pix on her facebook of the 4 inches of snow they got the other day...pretty! lol..but she says it will be gone by the weekend!


Good Luck with your move!!

 

[binny]

I have a crate for the cats but I just don't know if they will make it that long. We moved with our old cat but he is gone now These 2 have only been in the car to go the vets and those are never pretty. I wonder if I need to see about some mild tranquilizers?

the cats are my main worry the dog should be OK. She has made long journeys before and does pretty well.

 

[kwelch10377]

Here is an article about moving with cats

http://cats.about.com/cs/travelwithcats/f/movingcats.htm

I think the dog will be fine in the car. If he is not use to the car, I would take him on a few cars rides to get him use to it. I would also talk to your vet and see if they have any suggestions.

 

[Meriweather]

DD moved from Spokane to AZ with her cat. She got a mild tranqualizer and it worked fine.
She flew though. I drove the same cat for 6 hours with a mild tranq and she slept almost the whole way.

DS moved from WA to CA with a cat. He drove....about 17 hours. The cat was fine.
He also drove from CA to AZ with 2 cats and again it went fine. They didn't mind the car though.

When we finally get to move from WA to AZ, I am going to fly our 1 cat down with tranq.

 

[binny]

Mer did you crate the cat when you drove? Or did you just let them roam? We even debated on renting an RV so we all have more space to move but most of them wont allow pets.

 

[jsmith]

they will be much happier-and safer if you crate them-left to roam in the vehicle you risk one of them getting under something -or behind-or getting out of the car and running away when you stop. They might cry for a bit but they will settle down. Do be aware that they may be somewhat stressed and cranky for a few days when you reach your destination. As for the Dog-give him a comfy place to ride-and stop for a potty stop every two or three hours adn he will be golden-our labs have always adored car travel.
And if you watch the forecasts you should be able to time your travel between storms. Darned weather turned a little early this year-but there should still be some good windows of time.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

We drove with the 2 dogs and I picked out a place halfway because it was me, the kids and the dogs. I just can't do a 12hr drive in a day by myself with that crew.

We stayed in a motel that allowed pets. That was interesting. Esp. since my oldest dd decided to get sick and I have to take her to the ER leaving my youngest in a hotel with the 2 dogs. I felt like the worst mother on the planet.

My oldest had a bad inner ear infection which was causing her extreme dizziness and feeling like she was going to pass out.

Anyway, everything did work out. If my dd did not get sick it would have been smooth sailing.

As far as weather....go and get yourself a weather radio at Radio Shack. We always take it with us when we travel. It roams on its own and will tell you the alerts in the area you are in. I love it.

 

[ZachnElli]

Oh, Binny! 3 dogs, 3 kids, a minivan and a two day moving drive! What were we thinking!? Fortunately, (yes, I said fortunately!!) the dogs had motion sickness and I had to give them pills and that made them sleepy!! I don't know anything about cats except what to put on the hives they cause!

 

[james'mommy]

We moved from DE to NC which is about a 12 hour drive. The company would have paid for us to fly and ship the cars but we didn't want to put the dogs through flying. We drove 2 cars down. I drove the dogs in their crate and DH drove the kid and the turtle. There wasn't enough room for everyone and everything in 1 car. We split the drive and stayed in a pet friendly hotel. My boxer is a little skiddish so we gave the dogs a tranquilizer.

 

[pixiewings71]

I've moved with cats, I had larger crates for them and had food/water/litter in with them, I also had a blanket so I could cover them if they got really annoyed. They did fine.

 

[minkydog]

I think I'd drive the pets down. We moved to South Florida and had our adult Boston Terrier flown down, thinking it would make it easier on him. WRONG! he was very tramatized, started breaking training, became very anxious when we left the house. I would never do that again.

If you are worried about the cats behaving in the car, talk to your vet about it. You can try an anti-anxiety med ahead of time so you can see how they react. I'd carry them in a crate so you don't end up with wild & anxious cats jumping around in the car. If the roads are fairly clear and you're making decent time you can drive on through. but I'd probably take it in 2 days.

 

[funkychunkymonkey]

I love to take the cats in the car with me. I put a litter box in there, NO FOOD (they puke) and water. I keep the heat up and there fine. Let the dog out to go potty. I would reccomend you take them for a trial ride to see if you need tranqulizers. I would also be sure to have a list of pet freindly hotels... Just in case!

 

[binny]

Well I just dropped the dog off to be groomed (same building as the vets) and they said they would just give us something to calm them. I will go ahead and crate the 2 cats in the big crate and the dog can just ride up front with us.

That should work ok I think.

Thanks for all the help!