Big House Move - Long Trip

biscuity

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We have sold our house & will be moving next month. It's a long trip & looking after Coojee is our number 1 priority. Please read through my planning & let me know if there is anything I have forgotten or could improve.

Coojee is a spayed British Blue Shorthair female indoor-only cat, just over 1 year old. She will be getting her annual vaccination booster a week & a half before we travel.

We will have a small dog cage on the back seat of the car. The cage will contain Coojee, small litter tray, scratch "post", a dish of water & a fleece blanket. We will also have a fold-up small cat carrier for transfers & emergencies. We will have spare water, spare litter & a scoop.

On the day of the move, we have to leave our house at midday. We will be travelling by ferry but the ferry doesn't leave until 7pm. We are arranging to stay for 4-5 hours at a friends pet free home, where we will be in a small room with Coojee, her litter tray, water, scratch post. We will keep her company all the time. I will offer her kibble lunch but try not to feed her before we leave. If she asks for food, I will offer her maybe 1/3 of her wet food.
We then head to the ferry terminal & drive onto the ferry. We have booked a pet cabin. We will decant Coojee into the carrier & take her to the cabin along with litter tray, scratch post, water. The ferry trip is 4 hours & we will try to get some sleep. I will offer her 1/3 of her wet food.
After we arrive, we decant Coojee in the carrier & take her to the car along with all her stuff. We then have a 6 hour drive through the night + stops. I will offer the other 1/3 wet food unless she is asleep.
We expect to arrive at our new house approximately 9am. It is possible that we won't be able to get access to the house until 12 midday, so may have to wait 3 hours. Once we have access, we will decant Coojee into a room & stay with her until she is comfortable.

Coojee usually gets fed wet food 8am & 8pm with dry kibbles at lunch time. Coojee has a strong personality & we hope that she won't get scared. We will use treats to encourage her in the carrier for instance. We have a large hard plastic carrier which would be more comfortable for Coojee, but it is too big to put next to the cage in the car for decanting.

I think that Coojee will be fine going into the carrier the first few times, but she may get wary after a while. She is generally fine with carriers.

About the feeding. Coojee likes her food & may get stressed if she is not fed. I feel that she should travel on the ferry with a fairly empty tummy as the movement will be unusual for her. She has travelled in this way before (but not in a pet cabin) - when we first got her at 3 months. I'm not sure if she will remember that trip & not be happy, or whether now that she knows us as her family, she will trust us to keep her safe.

Anything I've missed or any suggestions please? If we know that the weather will be bad, we will not eat anything before the trip, so Coojee will have her kibble lunch, but nothing else.
 

verna davies

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It sounds as if your have put a great deal of thought into the arrangement and have step by step plans. Two things that come to mind, have you considered using a a calming spray such as Feliway, it works well for my cats on vets visits or maybe your vet could give you medication incase Coojee should get a little stressed at some point. Good luck with the trip and I hope your all happy in your new home. Let us know how it goes.
 
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biscuity

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Thanks, I appreciate your advice.

Calming spray sounds interesting, it can be something we bring to use just as an option. I will also speak to the vet about the trip. I know that when I've brought up this with vets in the past, they have told me that a cat is often happier with all it's senses working & that if they are made drowsy, it can increase the stress. We are with a new vet now, so I will ask again.
 

kittyluv387

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Feliway is calming. I highly recommend. I used it after a short move and it really helped my cats get comfortable and settle down at the new place. Don't think it should make her drowsy. It's not like gabapentin.
 
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biscuity

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Thanks for your reply

I meant drowsy if the vet gave her something.
 

She's a witch

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Personally I would consider changing the vaccination booster date; the vaccination can weaken the immune system and to be on a safe side, I’d probably do it 3 or 4 weeks earlier or later before/after possible stress.

In the pet cabin I would check for all possible holes and cracks before releasing her.
Good luck, you seem to be very prepared!
 
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biscuity

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Thanks, I was a little concerned about the booster. I'll call the vet tomorrow.

The pet cabins are designed like a wet room. I will check before releasing her though.
 

susanm9006

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If you can bring her from place to place in her cage rather than taking her out you will eliminate the risk of her getting loose. She may also feel safe there and prefer to stay in it.
 
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biscuity

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Good point, however the cage is pretty big. It's a dog size. We have to flatten the cage to get it in & out of the car. It has a fold flat feature.
 
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