Long Distance Drive/Move

sonnyvincent

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Hi, I'm planning a long distance move that would mean a drive of close to 22 hours. I've read many articles with suggestions on hotels, the environment for the cat, etc, but none of them really specified what an appropriate stopping time is each day after driving.... 5 hours? 6? 7? Would it be more stressful to go to a new hotel 4 times during the trip than trying to get there with just one overnight stay? Seems to me 11 hours is too long. 7? 6? I just don't know. I've never moved my cats long distances or even moved a long distance. My cats are 8 and 15. Both have asthma,although one has very mild symptoms and they are both pretty well other control (the 15 year old has an attack maybe once a month) but I know stress could put them both at risk of having issues. I have no problem stopping at as many hotels as we need to, if that's what's best for them. Thank you for any advice or experiences.
 

donutte

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I think it really depends on the individual cat. I know in my case, my cat freaks out after an hour in the car. I thought he was going to bust out of his carrier. Now once he is at his destination he's much better. So if I were to go by my experience with my cats, I'd say shorter trips with more hotel stays would be better.

However, I think some have talked about how well their cats travel. I just can't relate. My cats hate the journey to the vet, but not the vet itself. And the vet is right next door! :)

PS - your cats are absolutely adorable!
 
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mrsgreenjeens

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I agree that you may have to just wait and see how well your cats adjust to the trip.  When we moved, we got a large dog crate and put our 3 cats all together in the crate so they could all be together.  WE tossed in lots of shredded newspaper for "accidents" and also for softness.  NOW I would first line it with puppy pads, but that was 20 something years ago and I'm not even sure if they made them
.   When we first started driving, they meowed a little bit, then they calmed down as we went down the road.  Of course I talked to them, then I plugged in an audio book rather than have the radio blaring with rock and roll.  They seemed perfectly content for the entire day of driving.  I think we probably went about 8 or 10 hours the first day, then stopped and did the same the next day until we got to our new home.  We only had one hotel stay.

I'm pretty sure each time we stopped for gas or potty breaks, we would offer the furkids water and a snack, but don't think they really wanted any.  But if you do that, remember to keep all doors and windows closed when/if  you open the carrier doors.  As you know, they are great escape artists.

Have you seen this article?  It has some great tips on traveling with cats:  http://www.thecatsite.com/a/36-awesome-tips-for-road-tripping-with-your-cat

One more thing, harp music is supposed to be very calming for cats.  Worse case scenario, play that for them via whatever your music system is. 
 
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