So my BF Randall and I have been thinking of moving out of the Bay Area for awhile - we want to go someplace with more space and less expensive. I just got a new job offer in the Denver area, and we will probably move at the end of March with our two fuzzies, Olive and Gohan. And we are debating if it would be best to drive them out there or fly.
I know this subject has been covered many times, but usually there is a very compelling reason against flying, such as a cat that pees in the carrier. I wondered what people thought about this particular situation. The intent is to have a vet give us sedatives in either situation.
Cats:
Olive has never moved before. She was adopted as a kitten by the renters before us and was kicked out of the house and became an outdoor cat before she was abandoned. We took her last year and she is solely indoor now. She does ok on vet trips (about 20 min max), meows a bit during the drive and recovers almost immediately coming home.
Gohan has moved a few times - he even flew from Florida to San Francisco while sedated. He is very stressed in the carrier, but he hunkers down like a stone, so in that regard he is well behaved. During vet visits and local moves he tends to just sit still, and it takes him a few hours before he will leave the carrier once we arrive. He also is used to traveling with his buddy Trin, who probably gave him a measure of comfort. With Trin gone, he will likely be more stressed.
Driving:
Pros: as frequent as we want breaks, more control, less peak stress
Cons: longer - probably 20 hours of driving over either two or three days, concern over hotel room fiascos, multiple territories for them to stay in
Flying:
Pros: short - 2.5 hour flight with 2-3 hours at the airport, more stress but a shorter period of time, no overnights
Cons: at mercy of airlines, security complications, of a cat freaks or makes a mess hard to address
Right now we are leaning toward flying, but i didn’t know if there would be a compelling reason against. Randall flew with Gohan and Trin from Florida and he said it went pretty good. Any advice?
I know this subject has been covered many times, but usually there is a very compelling reason against flying, such as a cat that pees in the carrier. I wondered what people thought about this particular situation. The intent is to have a vet give us sedatives in either situation.
Cats:
Olive has never moved before. She was adopted as a kitten by the renters before us and was kicked out of the house and became an outdoor cat before she was abandoned. We took her last year and she is solely indoor now. She does ok on vet trips (about 20 min max), meows a bit during the drive and recovers almost immediately coming home.
Gohan has moved a few times - he even flew from Florida to San Francisco while sedated. He is very stressed in the carrier, but he hunkers down like a stone, so in that regard he is well behaved. During vet visits and local moves he tends to just sit still, and it takes him a few hours before he will leave the carrier once we arrive. He also is used to traveling with his buddy Trin, who probably gave him a measure of comfort. With Trin gone, he will likely be more stressed.
Driving:
Pros: as frequent as we want breaks, more control, less peak stress
Cons: longer - probably 20 hours of driving over either two or three days, concern over hotel room fiascos, multiple territories for them to stay in
Flying:
Pros: short - 2.5 hour flight with 2-3 hours at the airport, more stress but a shorter period of time, no overnights
Cons: at mercy of airlines, security complications, of a cat freaks or makes a mess hard to address
Right now we are leaning toward flying, but i didn’t know if there would be a compelling reason against. Randall flew with Gohan and Trin from Florida and he said it went pretty good. Any advice?
