Car Anxiety

[LSpector]

Hi all -

So I've come to the unfortunate conclusion that my Dillon truly hates car travel, specifically highways (for those of you from Ontario CA, the 401 is the problem). Obviously I don't take him out for joyrides but when I go home for school holidays, there really isn't another option.

My kitty before him was literally the perfect traveler. I even got her a little pet booster seat which she enjoyed quite a bit since she could look out the window. Dillon on the other hand, despises said seat so I've had to start putting him in his carrier. He is generally fine when we are driving in town but once we get to the highway he loses it. I'm guessing this is due to more noise, faster speeds, etc. Our last trip back to school in particular was not good. You would think I was killing him by the amount of noise he was making. Broke my heart

I would like to avoid sedatives (from the vet of course) if possible, just because I don't know if that would hinder more than help and he is quite young (5 months). And like I said, this periodic highway travel isn't really optional. Any suggestions would be much appreciated!

 

[Mamanyt1953]

You can try brewing a cup of chamomile tea, chilling it, and dosing him with that. 1-2 teaspoonsful, via syringe, up to three times a day. Start with 1 tsp at his age. It is very calming to both humans and cats, AND the chilled tea can be used to swab skin irritations on those with both two feet and four.

LOL, sometimes I feel like I should be paid by the growers of commercial chamomile, I recommend it so often!

 

[margd]

You might try covering the carrier with a towel or sheet. The reduced stimulation often calms cats down although I don't know how effective it will be if one of the things that Dillon hates is speed. I'm trying to think of some way you could stabilize or cushion the base of the carrier so that the speed and bumps of driving would be minimized but am drawing a blank at the moment. Still, depending on what you have available you might be able to rig up something that buffers the vibrations.

Covering Dillon's carrier with cloth might block out some of the noise, depending on the type of material that you use. Playing soft music (harp music is good) near him might also help distract him from the noise of the road.

Another trick is to spray the carrier with Feliway which is an anti-anxiety product based on pheromones that cats emit when they are happy. Depending on how long the trip is, you might need to reapply it.

Good luck with your the little guy. I can imagine how nerve wracking it must be to drive long distance with Dillon acting like he's being tortured!

 

[LSpector]

I've never heard of using chamomile for cats, but it makes sense! I am going to look into that more.

I will definitely try covering his carrier as well. It's one of the "open" top ones, with the wire mesh (I'm not totally sure how to explain it) rather than a hard top so it's probably not much better than the booster seat in terms of sheltering. I've tried some music and he seems to like country.

Luckily it's only about a three hour drive so although it's still a considerable difference, it's not like I am driving to the other side of the province! And when we arrive at either destination, he doesn't seem to be any worse for wear and goes back to eating and drinking immediately.

Thanks for the suggestions!