Road trip with two cats?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Djamila

Djamila

Member Since 2015
Short version: If you don't want to read the whole story, the question is: I tried feliway a long time ago, and it didn't seem to soothe him at all. Does anyone have other recommendations for something that might ease his car stress a bit?

Long version: In the past few months, I've only taken short work trips because of Sam's diabetes and need for care. But it's summer. And summer in Seattle is downright magical (because the sun is actually shining - a very rare thing around here). I am itching to get out for a longer trip and have been scouting airbnb options that will allow cats so I can bring both of them with me.

Camping with two cats sounds like too much to manage, but if I can leave them in a nice safe cabin while I go out hiking, it seems more manageable. And right now I'm thinking to just pick one cabin and stay there for a week, then just do the hikes around there and not move from place to place.

There is a lot of great info around here for taking your cats traveling which is nice to know that others have tried it and I'm not completely crazy to think about doing this.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YvM4QmUfneiSeS0gNd8R9JNc0eqEo5mmLm8GNK6eg-8/edit
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gMwbpx3Lnrq5KDiKk0lhyQIRZylEmhztYhxZCpNcDqM/edit

Sam has typically done well with car travel, so I'm hopeful that he'll be okay on a longer trip. My civvie on the other hand isn't such a lover of the car. He starts out by crying pathetically, and then ends up curled into a tight little ball with his head buried. I tried feliway a long time ago, and it didn't seem to soothe him at all. Does anyone have other recommendations for something that might ease his stress a bit?
 
Turns out my next door neighbor with the hyper black lab had tried Rescue Remedy. It didn't work for her, so she gave me her bottle. I tried it earlier today since I am working at the computer today and could keep an eye on him. About a half hour after he ate it (I put the drops on a treat), he was sitting here hissing at a kitchen chair :eek::smuggrin:, and then at Sam, and then at the ottoman. But about a half hour after that, he was lying in the middle of the floor as relaxed as could be, and even let me put a harness on him - something he has never ever willingly allowed. So I think it helped him.

Next time I'll see if he'll tolerate both the harness and a short car ride, and try to work up from there.

Definitely still open to other recommendations or hints on how to manage a 4.5 hour drive with two cats!
 
China was an awful rider....and she has just enough Siamese in her that people driving by on the highway would look at me like I was kidnapping a child!!

Then my 87 year old mom wanted to go to Branson to see the Christmas shows and lights...about a 3 hour drive

I started by taking her on short trips.....eventually, I found she howled a lot more if she was in a carrier....if she was in a harness/leash and riding in the back seat, she tolerated it really well!!

We've been back to Branson 2 more times since then and China comes every time....riding on the back seat in her harness with the leash tied into the seat belt system in case we were in a crash (to keep her from flying into the front or in case it's a bad accident and they had to cut us out of the car....she couldn't spook and run)

Some cats do better in a carrier....some do better if the carrier is covered and on the floorboard of the car....some do better being left out in the car in a harness/leash....it just takes some time and detective work to find out what works best for your cat
 
That's a great idea to start trying him in some other seating arrangements. Sam always rides with a leash/harness (hooked to the child seat anchor thingy), but Atticus has always freaked out about the harness, so he's never had that option. But if the Rescue Remedy can get him to tolerate that, it will give him a few more options. Honestly, I think he would calm down if he could sit in my lap, but no way I'm having an unpredictable cat in my lap while driving down the highway! :eek::D
 
I totally didn't even think about the harness in the car when it's what Maury prefers :facepalm:. His ideal seat is on my lap though, which is dangerous and makes shifting difficult... so I've had to use the carrier a couple times. Hopefully you can figure something out for Atticus with these experiments :cat:
ETA: I did use a sedative medication for Maury when we drove from AZ back home to MD. 36 hour car drive :blackeye: but he was not diabetic then. If nothing works you could ask about it for Atticus.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top