Cross country move with anxious cat who poops/pees during any sort of travel. Fly or drive?

[vanessar89]

My boyfriend and I are moving across the country for work (Toronto to Vancouver), and we need to figure out how to get our two cats there. 

The one cat is perfectly fine during travel, we are not worried about him at all. The other cat, however, is a nightmare to travel with. She is about 7 years old, and absolutely hates the entire process. She responds to the stress by relieving herself, pooping and peeing multiple times during the process. A one hour car ride typically causes her to go 5-6 times. She will even poop when she realizes she's about to be put in the carrier. However, one time we spent the weekend driving to various family functions in different cities with the cats, and by the last ride she did not relieve herself at all.

We need to relocate her across the country and are extremely weary of taking her on a flight. We are nervous we wouldn't be able to clean her up (she tries to dash out the minute we open the cage door) and the smell would cause problems on the flight. We are also really worried the process of flying would cause her a fatal amount of stress. She's at lease experienced car travel numerous times before.

We are debating doing the drive, (about a 4 day drive) and hoping this process would be less stressful for her than the flight/airport. We are also hoping that like the one weekend she spent in the car with us, she would eventually become accustomed to the environment and experience less stress/shock.

Has anyone had an experience like this, or could anyone offer advice on the best course of action?

Thank you!

 

[vanessar89]

I should also mention that we have tried sedation and calming products in the past with no success. It has just made it worse and messier.

 

[detroitcatlady]

I wouldn't recommend flying with a cat who is very stressed during travel, especially if sedation is not an option. While  it will be a longer trip you will be able to stop along the way and be able accommodate their needs better. There were times when my cats were getting used to traveling or car rides that I had to stop and clean out a cat carrier when they pooped in it. Since this would be very difficult to do when flying, driving would probably be a better option for you since this seems to be the biggest issue. You might want to consdier using puppy pads or something similar on the bottom of the cat carrier so that if she does poop in the carrier it will be easier to clean up. I would suggest that you prepare her for a trip like this, getting her used to being in the car more, in my experience this usually helps, for some cats it will be a very challenging experience no matter what but I still think air travel is much more risky and stressful in this situation.

 

[sirentist]

I agree that flying sounds like a last resort.

This may be impossible due to lack of space, but I would think that maybe a larger crate would help. Like, one big enough to hold her as well as a small litter pan -- sort of along the lines of the small enclosures they have at the vet's for recovery and such. You'd want to make sure it was stable, so she doesn't get thrown around as the car maneuvers, and you might even want to cover it with a blanket so she can't see the world passing by through the windows, as well.

Again, devoting that much space in the car would be a hassle, especially for a cross-country drive, but it's the first thing that comes to mind.