Moving Cross Country

[droidus]

I hope this is the right place to post this...
We will be moving cross country. I have 1 cat. He is ~15 lbs, and is a tabby. We are going to be doing ~8.5 hour drive sprints at a time. How should I plan my meals/water/bathroom breaks for him? Has anyone done this before? If so, how did you handle it? I don't want him going to the bathroom in his pen. I was wondering also if there is a time that they must not eat/drink for, so that they don't have to use the bathroom?

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi - there's an article embedded in this one that may address the actual driving part of things.
How To Move With Your Cat To A New Home In A Safe Way

 

[lalagimp]

We did it with four cats in the back of a MINI cooper. We would alternate which cats got to come out of their carrier based on how often we were taking breaks or stopping for gas. We made sure we had their most recent vaccinations in the glove box. We put up a barrier between the front two seats to deter exploration into the driving zone of the car. There was a disposable litter box out. We used Nature's Miracle boxes. It's pretty big. I think there was water out, too, and we offered treats. After driving for the day, we'd stayed at Best Western in Oklahoma City and Indianapolis. We were driving from Phoenix to D.C. Just let the pets loose all over the room with their regular food and water out and the disposable litter box.

That wasn't my car. That was just the boyfriend's. My car had three guinea pig cages and the parrots' travel cage. There were 5 guinea pigs and three little conures. The birds loved to talk to me while I was pumping gas because that's about all we saw of each other.

 

[sabrinah]

My cat has been on a fair number of road trips in her time. I always feed her a couple hours before leaving to make sure she has time to go to the bathroom. She's not the kind that has any interest in leaving her carrier during breaks and she refuses to eat or drink. Essentially she just curls up in a ball and grumbles for hours. I wrap the bed I keep in her carrier up in a puppy pad that I replace as soon as possible if she goes to the bathroom since there's zero hope of her coming out to use a litter box. Even though she never eats or drinks I always offer food and water during breaks and give her lots of love. If your cat is more relaxed than mine and you have a car big enough to allow it you could set up a crate with a small litter box.

 

[droidus]

Unfortunately we will have a moving truck, so it won't be possible to allow him to roam around.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hopefully he's able to sleep for most of it, oh say that reminds me there's a calming 'treat' called Composure by vetriscience that takes a different approach to their ingredients, if you're interested in trying it.

 

[sabrinah]

Another calming aid I've used with great success is Rescue Remedy (the pet version, not the people one)

 

[Cathrine]

I accidentally have purchased the baby version instead of pet version. Is it safe to give it to my cats? Thank you(^^)/

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi - your vet could tell you for sure...

 

[jen]

I just moved from Cleveland Ohio to Los Angeles California and I had 3 cats in the car. I used one large dog crate that could hold a litterbox, and 2 small carriers. I rotated them amongst the large crate to eat and use the bathroom. I also would sometimes have my cat out on her leash on my lap, she loved looking out the window and walking around outside when we stopped. I also had Gabepentin for the two of them who hate to travel and they were quiet, content, and perfect. We made the trip in 3ish days.