Traveling with cat

[Timbo ba jimbo]

I am moving out of state the drive will be about 8 hours I have a cat carrier for my cat I have taken her on a couple of test drives to see how she'll do in the car it didn't go well she howeled the whole time meowed loudly My Hope is that she'll calm down once I get on the road the move has already stressed me out I'm really worried that I won't be able to concentrate on driving with her howling in the background does anyone have any advice on what I could do to make this less traumatic for my cat please also I don't want the drive to traumatize her .

 

[FeebysOwner]

If you can, do some more test drives with the carrier covered to see if that helps any. You might keep one small section uncovered so she can see you as another test. Also, buy some of the cat calming products and see if they help. Bach Rescue Remedy is one that are drops you can apply to her inner ear, but there are others. Do an internet search on 'cat calming products' to see which ones you might want to try - not all work on all cats, so there is likely some experimentation to be done.

It might cause you to howl ( ), but there is cat music that you could play in the car too, such as Alexa cat music, also Relax My Cat .com, Spotify, and David Teie’s Music for Cats.

You can also ask the vet about gabapentin, which is often used to help calm a cat down before a vet visit. You can even test this at home to see how she reacts.

I presume you are all set otherwise - litter box and frequent stops to see if she needs to use it, as well as some food/water/treats, favorite blanket and toy, clean up items in case she has an accident in the carrier; perhaps a collar/harness/leash to use so that she doesn't bolt from the car if you have her out of the carrier and a door is open.

 

[lunch]

I know this doesn't address your main concern, but I wanted to chime in and mention something I had success with when traveling with my cat. If you have the cargo space and means (I know it's expensive) this set up was a dream to use and really helped ease my worries with keeping kitty cooped up away from food bowls and litter access for too long if we hit traffic (which we always did ).

2-in-1 Double Pet Kennel

That's the one I have, there are less expensive ones too that look quite similar. I put a small litter box on one side and covered the whole thing in a large blanket, and the whole apparatus buckled into my backseat well. I still heard cries now and then, but it helped me feel more confident that I was making him as comfortable as possible and that he wasn't screaming because he was about to pee on himself.

 

[rubysmama]

Here's the TCS article on Traveling With Cats [Inc. 36 actionable tips] - TheCatSite Articles that might be helpful.

Plus here's an older thread, which includes a followup on how the trip went.
14 Hour Road Trip With Two Large Orange Tabbies

 

[Margot Lane]

I know this doesn't address your main concern, but I wanted to chime in and mention something I had success with when traveling with my cat. If you have the cargo space and means (I know it's expensive) this set up was a dream to use and really helped ease my worries with keeping kitty cooped up away from food bowls and litter access for too long if we hit traffic (which we always did ).

2-in-1 Double Pet Kennel

That's the one I have, there are less expensive ones too that look quite similar. I put a small litter box on one side and covered the whole thing in a large blanket, and the whole apparatus buckled into my backseat well. I still heard cries now and then, but it helped me feel more confident that I was making him as comfortable as possible and that he wasn't screaming because he was about to pee on himself.

Did your cat use the litter tray? Genius, if so. I just always assumed the cat’d be too stressed to used a litter box in a car, so, always carried 2 kennels.

 

[lunch]

Did your cat use the litter tray? Genius, if so. I just always assumed the cat’d be too stressed to used a litter box in a car, so, always carried 2 kennels.

He did! I used the largest size/lowest sided one I could find. My thinking was to try to give him the easiest time getting in and out, and that if he had ample room then he wouldn't try perching on the edge and either miss or tip the pan over, and that's based on my particular cat's idiosyncrasies. It ended up working out.