Moving cross country with cats in a sedan

[Kelise]

Hi! I always get great advice here so I am back. Next month I will be moving cross country by myself with all my pets. All I have is a little sedan. I've been debating how I should go about this. I'll be moving with 2 cats, 1 dog, and some reptiles and I only have so much space. The biggest problem I see is litter boxes. I don't think it's plausible to have litter boxes available to them in the car. It will probably spill everywhere and I don't think there is space. How should I handle this? The drive is 19 hours. Ideally I'd like to do it in 2 days but I could maybe do it in 3 instead. Can cats go 6-7 hours without a litter box?

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I think it really depends on their age, but typically, yes they can. You really don't want to feed them while driving, and having water available in the car would also be difficult, so them needing to potty shouldn't really be an issue. We did this once, and put all three cats together in a large dog crate. We did line the bottom of the crate with tons of shredded newspaper just in case, and to make it soft for them, but they never messed it up at all. Then when we stopped for the night (one night stop was all, so we did it in two days) we did naturally give them a litter box in the hotel, and fed and watered them, although they still didn't eat much as they were scared of the strange and scary place that wasn't home .

Here's an article discussing traveling with your cat(s) that may be helpful: Traveling With Cats [Inc. 36 actionable tips] – TheCatSite Articles

 

[rubysmama]

I've never travelled with cats, let alone a dog and reptiles, so can't advise from personal experience, but until others reply, here's some previous threads on travelling with cats, that might be helpful:

14 Hour Road Trip With Two Large Orange Tabbies
Moving Cross Country
Summer Road Trip!!!

Good luck.

 

[GoldyCat]

Up until this year (COVID ) I was driving to cat shows 2-3 times a month. A lot of those drives were 6-8 hours long and my kitties never had issues being without litter boxes for that long. The longest they were ever stuck in the car was 9 hours one time, but that was unintentional. It was supposed to be a 6 hour drive. If you're uncomfortable having just their beds in the carriers, you can put down puppy pads in case of accidents.

When you set up in the hotel make sure you show the kitties where the litter box is.

 

[Kelise]

Thanks, everyone. I think I'll do individual crates as I don't think they would be nice to each smooshed together. Is 9-10 hours too long, do you think? If I don't need to do it in 3 days I'd rather not, I just feel like 10 hours without peeing would be bad for them.

 

[GoldyCat]

Thanks, everyone. I think I'll do individual crates as I don't think they would be nice to each smooshed together. Is 9-10 hours too long, do you think? If I don't need to do it in 3 days I'd rather not, I just feel like 10 hours without peeing would be bad for them.

How often do they normally pee at home? Start watching the litter boxes now. How many clumps are you scooping each day? Many cats only pee once or twice a day, so 9-10 hours is not necessarily too long.

 

[Kelise]

Yeah I suppose it usually is only once or twice. Usually in the morning and then in the evening. I suppose I'm probably overthinking it.

 

[Hannah531]

Yeah I suppose it usually is only once or twice. Usually in the morning and then in the evening. I suppose I'm probably overthinking it.

We're about to be in the same boat (Except we don't know where we're moving or when) and I'm my own worst enemy with overthinking. Something I've noticed about this site is that EVERYONE is so friendly! Even with my 'stupid' questions. The support here is phenomenal and I love it.