? Travel stress - anyone used benadryl?

[Elizabeth20]

Hi

We're going away for 3 days here in the UK in June (fingers crossed no changes in lockdown level!). I can't afford to board Lily and it's too much to put on my usual cat sitter to inject, let alone be around to test, so we're taking her with us. We're going out to the countryside so I'm hoping she'll enjoy the change in surroundings.

She's not a happy traveler. We go up to my partner's house every other weekend which is about 25 minutes each way, and in her previous hard plastic carrier she used to cut her nose and gums trying to chew her way out. She has a soft carrier now with mesh and doesn't do herself any damage, and we put her in the back seat to be further from the engine which is the main upset for her, but she does scratch and yowl and also produces some fun smells which are always a worry!! June's journey will be about 2.5 hours and I'm worried the stress will be too much for her and will produce toilet issues, as well as the potential to increase her BG. She hates the Feliway spray and doesn't respond to Zylkene, and I'm really not keen to give her something like gabapentin. I'm wondering about giving her a quarter of a 25mg Benadryl as I've read that can help. Also considering a dog style cage guard so she can go in the boot with a blanket in her open carrier, so that she can access her litter tray and not feel so trapped.

Really the only alternative option is to leave her at home without insulin for 3 days - I really would rather not do this but it's a 'least worst' kind of situation.

 

[Noah & me (GA)]

Noah was beyond nervous, lived in our walk-in closet for 3 or 4 years. We gave him a 50/50 chance that one day he would die in the car so I really know what you mean.
If he had to go out we wrapped him in piddle pads and cocooned him in a big towel, then my wife held him tight, covered his head and we made a mad dash to the vet.
Our neurotic Border Collie was so terrified of thunder and fireworks she would try and dig a hole behind the furnace. That was so extreme we gave her a vet approved low dose of Valium. Try everything else before you drug her.

 

[Karen & Smokey(GA)]

Hi

We're going away for 3 days here in the UK in June (fingers crossed no changes in lockdown level!). I can't afford to board Lily and it's too much to put on my usual cat sitter to inject, let alone be around to test, so we're taking her with us. We're going out to the countryside so I'm hoping she'll enjoy the change in surroundings.

She's not a happy traveler. We go up to my partner's house every other weekend which is about 25 minutes each way, and in her previous hard plastic carrier she used to cut her nose and gums trying to chew her way out. She has a soft carrier now with mesh and doesn't do herself any damage, and we put her in the back seat to be further from the engine which is the main upset for her, but she does scratch and yowl and also produces some fun smells which are always a worry!! June's journey will be about 2.5 hours and I'm worried the stress will be too much for her and will produce toilet issues, as well as the potential to increase her BG. She hates the Feliway spray and doesn't respond to Zylkene, and I'm really not keen to give her something like gabapentin. I'm wondering about giving her a quarter of a 25mg Benadryl as I've read that can help. Also considering a dog style cage guard so she can go in the boot with a blanket in her open carrier, so that she can access her litter tray and not feel so trapped.

Really the only alternative option is to leave her at home without insulin for 3 days - I really would rather not do this but it's a 'least worst' kind of situation.

Tommy was a poor traveler, so say the least. He had to travel for 4 days in the car to get to
our winter home. (Seattle to Yuma, AZ)

He would hyperventilate, cry piteously, vomit, evacuate his bowels.

Finally, after trying many things, this was relieved with a combination of two meds:

Cerenia, anti-nausea.
Alprazolam, anti-anxiety.

Both are Rx from the vet. Check with your vet for dosage amounts.

Combined both in one small gel-cap (Size 3--the smallest) and given 2 hours before travel.

I have a barricade for behind the front seats of my car (Subaru wagon). Put cat in carrier in the
cargo area behind the front seats (large open area). After everyone is in the car, I would open the carrier
for both him and Sophie. Litter box, food, water all available in that area.

Absolutely do not put cat in the "boot" if that means what we here in the US would call the "trunk".
I'm hoping you mean an open area behind the front seat, not an enclosed area for luggage/cargo which
has a lid over it.

Keep a harness on kitty at all times---gives you something to grab if she makes a break for it.

Feliway: spray in area and LET IT DRY before cat is exposed to it. Never spray on the cat.

 

[Noah & me (GA)]

Tommy was a poor traveler

I feel your pain Karen I don't know if it's a myth that cats feel safer or more in control in smaller spaces. I had two big Toms with me when I rented a house on a tree farm, 160 acres of freedom. They went from that to a tiny apartment and adapted quite well. Later in life they moved with me, connecting flights and together in a crate for six hours without any drama. The confined space idea was the only thing that worked for Jasper. He was a howler in the car until we tried a smaller crate, problem solved.

 

[Julia Rae]

Magellan is also a poor traveler and to keep him calm I get him stoned with 420 that with potty pads in his carrier and we also stick his sister in with him.. it seems to help both of them as with others we put a blanket in with them that smells of us and we cover the whole thing up with another blanket.... hope that this works.. As the others said DO NOT put in the trunk I am not big on benadryl for cats or humans too many side affects and it dries the cats out.. not good for diabetics hope pot/420 is legal in the uk...

 

[Wendy&Neko]

Can you get Rescue Remedy for Pets there? If not and you want to try meds, I would talk to your vet first.

Neko hated trips too. Yowled, peed on towels. Note: take puppy pee pads and spares and spare towels and wipes. We took her to Colorado State University by car and back. Three days each way, strange hotels each night until we got back. Though at least the middle part was the same hotel. One of our members wrote this document on travelling with diabetic kitties. She had to take her kitty to another city each week for her job away from home. He too hated travel.

 

[Dyana]

I have traveled with my cats a lot.

Make sure your kitty is micro-chipped before you go, if she isn't already.

I keep them in snug fitting harnesses with leashes attached for the entire trip.

I have them sitting on lots of puppy pads, and inside of medium (dog) sized hard plastic carriers seat belted in.

They get Bach's Rescue Remedy for Pets, to calm them.
A blanket or light sheet on top of the carrier is a good idea too. I think it can help with motion sickness if they can't see out.

I have a small litter box on the floor behind the front passenger seat.

I stop along the way, and I get into the back seat MAKING SURE ALL DOORS AND WINDOWS ARE CLOSED COMPLETELY and then let the kitty out of the carrier for a few minutes to offer food and water and see if they want to use the litter box.
Since you are only going 2.5 hours, I would try to do it all in one trip without stopping.

 

[JanetNJ]

You could ask abut Gabapentin as well.

 

[Purrberry]

I'm totally with you on this, so I, too, feel your pain with travel.

He would hyperventilate, cry piteously, vomit, evacuate his bowels.

Add in panting like a dog/hyperventilating (which I had never even seen a cat DO!), and you've got Fred. We do two "big" trips a year, back and forth to my shore house for the summer. That's about an hour and a half ride each way, and each time, I'm pretty sure he's going to die. (and this was before the diabetes) Once we get to the house, he's happily checking out the seagulls, and I'm downing two glasses of wine to calm MY nerves....lol! His vet is also 20 minutes away, so it's always a trauma as well. I think he suffers from both extreme stress and motion sickness.

Each trip, I "hazmat" the car. He's got pee pads in the carrier, and I tape them up all around the area of the car he's in so that when he decides to pee straight out the front of the carrier, the car is not ruined. I also put a garbage bag over the seat, topped with a towel to absorb anything else.

You could ask about Gabapentin as well.

Most importantly, we do this...gabapentin. We used to just give him 100mg before each car ride, but it barely made a dent. My vet then told me about a technique she had heard from another vet, and it was this:
Two days before travel: 100 mg gabapentin
Day before travel: 100 mg gabapentin
Day of travel: 100 mg of gaba 2 hours or so before travel

Much to my amazement, it worked! Well, at least for the ride down last year. The ride home, not as well. And although I hate to stupify him for days before, I feel it is necessary for his own sake to keep him as calm as possible for the ride. I know you said you weren't keen on gabapentin, but by all veterinary accounts, it is very safe, and it really did help.

Best of luck!

 

[Elizabeth20]

Thank you all and every sympathy for your very nervous cats!

Wendy that link is brilliant, thanks so much. Lots of good pointers.

First, when I say the boot of the car I mean an open area behind the backseat, i.e. the trunk but with the parcel shelf removed so not completely enclosed, so that she doesn't feel too confined and can hear me, and a pet barrier to stop her having the run of the car if she panics - the only trouble being that the only way to get to her (in the event of a mishap) will be to open the boot. She has made a break for it before. It seems to be the engine and the confinement that bother her.

I'm now considering a dog cage big enough for the litter tray and her blanket, maybe in an enclosed bed, and with pads everywhere as people have suggested and wipes in case of incident. The prospect of not having access to the tray often makes Lily even more nervous and we get the mousse variety of poop so an ideal situation would be for her to feel she has all mod cons. I will do a trial run next time we go up to my partner's house if I can borrow a crate.

This weekend we discovered that what calms Lily best is being able to see my face and be talked to, so it may be that me in the back seat with her in the carrier is the way to go. I think a harness would also be a good idea if I can persuade her to wear one, as she is normally quite fast to settle if not trapped, and if I can have her out to use the litter tray and receive fuss she may be OK. Another one to try.

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

Gabby was not a happy traveller either. In fact, even on a short trip, she would lose either bowel or bladder control. Puppy pads were a necessity. I moved from Chicago to Columbus, OH. It's a 6 hour drive and that was with a friend driving who likes to drive fast! What helped enormously was that I was in the back seat with Gabby. Her carrier opened both from the front and the top. I sat (for 6 hours) with my arm around her through the top of the carrier. She could sit up with her head poking out and was more secure given that we were in constant contact.