Travelling with diabetic cat

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AmandaJane

AmandaJane

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Hi there, my name is Amanda and my 10 year old cat Drizzy was diagnosed with diabetes in April 2024. After a short bout in remission (about 4 months), his diabetes came back. With his twice daily insulin treatment, we want to start bringing him (and his sister) with us when we visit family out of town.

Our first attempt this past weekend wasn't terrible, we drove about an hour away. He was pretty anxious on the drive there (meowing, panting), and quite anxious at my parent's place. We used a phermone calming spray for the drive, kept the cats in their own space (the basement) with food, litter, toys, heated blanket etc. and my partner spent the night down there with them. The drive home was much better, though he was still pretty anxious (his sister was mostly fine).

My question is, has anyone else started travelling with their anxious diabetic cat and if so, any tips, products etc. would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Amanda
 
Thirty years ago I drove cross country from Las Vegas to DC in 4 days with a cat diagnosed the week before leaving. And of course no way to test. Not ideal but he survived.

how about gabapentin for trip and maybe even while there?
 
A former member would routinely travel from NYC to upstate NY with their cat. A lot can depend on the amount of time your cat's in the car. How much space you have can also be a factor. There are a few fairly obvious issues. Make sure your cat is always restrained -- in a cage or carrier, on a harness, etc. If you're in an accident or have to make a pit stop, you do not want your cat to bolt out of the car. Make sure your cat has identification and preferably is microchipped. Should your cat escape, any vet or rescue automatically checks for a chip. If you have a large enough car and are going to be in the car for more than a few hours, a crate may be a good option. You can easily put a litter box and food in a crate vs a carrier.

My kitty, Gabby, was miserable in the car. Even on a short trip (e.g., 20 min to the vet), she would poop in the carrier. I would spray Feliway in her carrier and it was only minimally helpful. I always lined her carrier with puppy pee pads so clean up was easy. When I had a 6 hour drive when I moved, someone else was driving. Gabby did fine because she was in her carrier which also had a way to open it from the top and I had my arm wrapped around her the entire time.

Most cats associate car travel with going to the vet. It may help to plan a few car trips where you're just taking your cat for a drive so it's not a matter of going somewhere and your cat's getting poked and prodded and generally stressed out.

There is a new drug that is a precursor to gabapentin (which is primarily used for pain management) -- it's a form of pregabalin and its trade name is Bonqat. It was developed for fear and anxiety related to travel. It is supposed to take less time to be effective than gabapentin
 
AmandaJane said:
Hi there, my name is Amanda and my 10 year old cat Drizzy was diagnosed with diabetes in April 2024. After a short bout in remission (about 4 months), his diabetes came back. With his twice daily insulin treatment, we want to start bringing him (and his sister) with us when we visit family out of town.

Our first attempt this past weekend wasn't terrible, we drove about an hour away. He was pretty anxious on the drive there (meowing, panting), and quite anxious at my parent's place. We used a phermone calming spray for the drive, kept the cats in their own space (the basement) with food, litter, toys, heated blanket etc. and my partner spent the night down there with them. The drive home was much better, though he was still pretty anxious (his sister was mostly fine).

My question is, has anyone else started travelling with their anxious diabetic cat and if so, any tips, products etc. would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Amanda
Click to expand...

My first thought is to test his BG to see the actual impact of the stress.

My cat Petey is much more calm when my BF is there or the one taking him... probably cause he knows I'm the push over and he can sense my anxiety.

Petey started taking 45min trips to our lake cabin this summer... and I've wondered if the stress of the drive sent him over the edge to eventually a diagnosis... but he seemed to adjust quickly and loved it there. I'd open the crate and he'd jump out and run right to the front door.

So I think he'll adjust as long as what's on the other side is a good experience -he'd much rather be with you! I never met a cat that loved car rides.

Sunrise with Petey
view
 
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Here's the file from a member who travelled to work in a different city each week with her cat: Travelling with Diabetic Kitties. Lisa compiled information from a number of us who had travelled. I did 3 days of 8-9 hours driving each way with Neko, to get her SRT in Fort Collins CO. She used to complain on the 10 minute trip to the vet - wasn't sure we'd be sane at the end when we started out. :p. Feliway spray in the carrier and Rescue Remedy for pets before we left in the morning seemed to help. Best part, after that she was used to travel with us and did a few short trips with us. I also did a fly to Denver followed by drive to Fort Collins trip with her later for a repeat visit to Colorado State University. Note to self, don't travel the weekend before US Thanksgiving with a cat, or at all really. :banghead:
 
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