Tips for helping kitten in car trips

[BNE]

Hi all,

I was just wondering if anyone had any tips about a helping a kitten to be more relaxed and not so noisy during car trips. I have looked online and have had very little success. I just use a regular carrier and she is fine with the carrier, but as soon as we start driving she starts constantly meowing and trying to get out of the carrier.

If you could share your tips and tricks that would be much appreciated!

Thanks!

 

[nurseangel]

Hi,
Sometimes, unfortunately, this is the way it goes and will always go. We try to make the carrier as comfortable as possible, adding towels to cover the bottom. One of our cats is a really good rider. Even if he is in pain, he barely meows on the way to the vet. The others are like riding with a siren. I will sometimes ride in the back with DH driving. I put my hands in the carrier to pet them, but it doesn't help much. I hope that someone comes along with good advice. Thank you for posting the question. It is something I would love to know.

BTW, it's nice to meet you!

 

[danteshuman]

Hmmmmm 2 things. Make sure they travel on empty tummies. I pull Jackie’s wet food 3-4 hours ahead of travel time (he does fine with dry food) Some cats get so carsick that you need to keep them off dry food 1-2 hours ahead of travel. Soft music and blasting air helps a bit. Along with giving them a towel on the bottom of the carrier.

All that said I sorta failed with Jackie. He travels on my lap or his head/front paws on my shoulder as my arm supports his back feet. He has to the air blowing on him and me petting him behinds his ears helps pop his ears as we go up & down the hill to his brother’s house every weekend.

You might try taking your cat for weekly drives (not to the vet) & see if that helps. I noticed that my cats would try every meow they can on the way to the vet but are silent on the drive home!

 

[mittens23]

Hi all,

I was just wondering if anyone had any tips about a helping a kitten to be more relaxed and not so noisy during car trips. I have looked online and have had very little success. I just use a regular carrier and she is fine with the carrier, but as soon as we start driving she starts constantly meowing and trying to get out of the carrier.

If you could share your tips and tricks that would be much appreciated!

Thanks!

I put a towel or a blanket after she goes in the carrier over the carrier. She crys but she is not as spooked. I do it with all my cats. You may have already tried this

 

[daftcat75]

Some ideas I have:

1.. Soft carrier with a top opening or even an extra side opening so that you can reach across and give scritches and treats during the ride.
2. Practice rides. If not every car ride ends up at the vet, maybe she won't be so anxious about car rides. Another advantage of practice car rides is that you will get to learn about your cat's travel style in a less stressful situation than, "omg my cat is sick and I need to get her to the vet." You can use these rides to determine if your cat gets car sick or might prefer a different carrier without the pressure of being on a clock with an unhappy cat and an anxious guardian.
3. Treats! Lots of them. Treat for getting in the carrier (even if you had to drop her in yourself), treat when you get in the car, treat when you get where you're going. Treat on the way home. And very importantly, a treat when you let her out at home.
4. Keep the carrier in her environment. Don't pack it away until the next vet trip (or practice car ride!) This is why I like a soft carrier, preferably one with expandable sides. They look rather inviting even when they aren't being used for transportation. Put treats in her carrier for no good reason other than letting her associate the carrier with treats.

This is the carrier I used with Krista. The sides can be folded up and zipped into a more traditional/transportable rectangular shape. And that's Krista going in there voluntarily for the treats I left in there.

5. Choose freeze-dried meat treats over franken-treats like Temptations that have a lot of carby nonsense ingredients. My Krista loved bonito fish flakes. And since they were very thin and light, they didn't load her up before some "don't feed your cat after midnight" vet appointment.

 

[susanm9006]

Sometimes cats will pee poor poop in their carriers so it’s a good idea to set a puppy pad on the bottom. It will soak up the urine and keep them drier than a towel. I have always talked to my screaming cat Or kitten in an attempt to soothe them but it doesnt really do much.

 

[daftcat75]

I also loaded an iPod with Music For Cats. I placed the iPod in her carrier pocket. I would tell the vet staff that she's probably their only patient who comes with her own soundtrack. For those times she needed to stay overnight, I would connect the iPod to a battery pack. Then if she had to stay multiple nights, I would come in the morning and swap out the battery packs. This way she had continuous music (that she liked!) and the staff never needed to fuss with the iPod except to swap out the battery pack.

Home | Music for Cats | David Teie

On more than a few rides, I would stream it through the car radio using bluetooth. I still have home automation to turn off my TV at 10am and turn on the "cat rock" on the soundbar (even though I haven't had a cat to enjoy it in months. ) I like it, though. Better than silence in the front room.

 

[BNE]

Thank you guys for your responses!

We do take her on 'practice' as such car rides as she visits her home away from home (a friends where I take her when I go away) fortnightly. The carrier is lined with newspaper at the bottom and a soft blanket on top. I do like the idea of putting the carrier in her environment and associating it with treats!

 

[danteshuman]

The soft carrier can be a problem if your cats figure out how to escape. So a removable loop clip that you can ‘lock’ your zippers with helps. Nick upped his game and broke one zipper off the soft crate! So I bought a small cheap plastic hard crate to take Jackie into the vet’s office in. You can buy cheap cardboard crates at many pet shops.

I love the puppy pad idea Susanm9006 !!!