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SHAVING the cat would be LESS traumatizing? This wasn’t meant seriously, right? 
So I talked to my brother’s gf (she of the 5 cats,) and she insists that it’s fine to bring the cat cross-country in the summer. (Also, her parents won’t take the cat for 6 months until he could be flown back.) If, and ONLY if, the AC in the van can be fixed, I really think I will bring the cat that way after all. It would be JUST for the cat, because I can’t imagine ever using it in Portland (again, I don’t even want to have it here!) (pets cat) Starbuck, you had better appreciate this…
We had our cat in the car for a six hour road trip over Christmas - well, it was eight back because we drove through a blizzard. Obviously, no overheating issues. But she did get sick once (on the way up) and poop in the kennel once (on the way back). Make sure you are prepared to clean up any on the road messes.
She was very well behaved and with the exception of the messes, spent most of her time sleeping. She is a good cat though, one of those really tolerant ones. And her buddy, The Dog, was back there with her excited about “CAR TRIP!” So I think she sort of figured if it was OK with him, it would be ok.
You don’t. You drive cross-country with a car.
That’s a very long trip, so make sure you take turns driving.
You want the cat to drive while Anise is in the carrier?
If I had to drive for a couple of days with my cat, I think I would use a large dog crate for transport. Lots of room to stretch out and I could put food and water and a litter box in there. I think that in a large well ventilated crate, if the temperature is comfortable for the humans, it’s probably ok for the cats. My cats always seem to be heat seeking missiles…lying in the sun on a hot summer day, sleeping under the woodstove in the winter…
Of course not, that would be ridiculous. Anise would never fit in the cat carrier. She can lay the passenger seat back and sleep while the cat drives.
Oh, please, now you’re getting just silly. Shaving a cat is in no way traumatizing. If it’s a long hair in hot weather, he’ll probably be much happier. We have a cat with very long, extremely thick fur, and we routinely get her shaved every summer. She is rather clearly happier after the shaving than before.
Personally, I think the worry in this thread is getting out of hand. My step-daughter drove with a cat from California to Chicago, and then back again, with no trouble at all. Shave your cat, give him an ice bottle as suggested, keep an eye on him, and he’ll be just fine.
How about a set of four suction cup booties and you stick the cat to the window?
Based on the news today, there is an upper limit to the number of cats that can be transported.
To be fair, Anise should be howling constantly as the cat drives.
Seriously, I really do think that tranks for the cat and proper cooling of some sort is the way to go. Cats enjoy heat, but they can suffer from extreme heat, too.
Only practical if the car has mews control.
We drove from Madison, Wisconsin to Payson, Arizonia in a Ford F150 in July with two cats. We put them in a large dog carrier in the bed of the truck, with water, shade and a portable fan. They were ok until Missouri when it reached 100 degrees, brought them inside the cab. Tell you that was fun:rolleyes:. We had the kitty chorus all the time!
Stayed at Motel 6 or Super 8 both don’t care about cats. If we stopped during the drive to eat, then would go in the big carrier and we’d grab a sandwich.
They survived!!
La Quinta is another motel/hotel chain that is fine with you having a pet in the room; I think their website said that only 3-4 of their nationwide (US) locations don’t allow pets.
They also say that of course you have to bring the pet with you if you leave the room to go out for some reason. Yeah, sure, I promise I will! 
Hi
Your kitty is lucky to have someone who cares so much for his welfare. I hope you do post a photo, so we can ooh and aah over how cute he is 
Anyway, I don’t want you to be too anxious about this. You can travel safely with your cat using common sense a few precautions. A few thoughts:
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If you can get the A/C fixed, that’s great - I think you will appreciate having it yourself while you are on the road. But I wouldn’t drive yourself crazy (haha) over this. Since A/C could break down on the road anyway, this shouldn’t be a deciding fact in whether to take your cat on the road with you.
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Rules about allowing pets in restaurants vary, but I would assume that most don’t. Use drive through, or just buy some sandwiches at a deli and go to a nice park to eat lunch. Put your cat in a harness and let him stretch his legs and roll around on the grass. It will be a nice break for him.
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When you do take your cat out, just make sure you keep him away from other animals to avoid a confrontation and minimize transmittal of disease. You never know what another animal might have.
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Make sure your cat has a collar with a name tag with up-to-date contact information on it in case you get separated from your cat. Put your cell phone number on the tag so someone can call you while your on the road if they find your cat. I strongly recommend having your cat microchipped!
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Keep your cat in a crate or carrier while you’re driving and secure the carrier with the seatbelt - some carriers come with special straps for this. I see posts on-line where people talk about driving with their cats loose in the car, but this is a very bad idea, even if the cat is just snoozing in the back seat. If god forbid you have an accident, your cat could be injured or worse. Also, it might be illegal in some states and you could get a ticket.
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Have plenty of drinking water available for your cat - there are special travel bowls that reduce spilling that you might want to get. Put ice cubes in the water to keep it cool - you can replenish these at hotels and rest stops along the way.
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Use a crate or carrier that has a lot of ventilation and pick one that is as large as you can fit in your truck. It should have some comfy bedding, food and water bowls, some favorite cat toys, and a small litter box (you can get disposable ones that are convenient and come with their own litter - just through the whole thing into a garbage bag and toss it when you’re done with it).
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Try to jerry-rig some kind of shade to cover the crate. Maybe a tarp or open umbrella fastened securely and tilted in the direction of the sun. I also like someone’s suggestion of getting a slab of stone or marble for your cat to lie on to keep cool and sticking it into the hotel refrigerator at night.
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Stay in pet-friendly hotels. In addition to the suggestions above, Red Roof Inns generally allow pets. I’ve stayed in one with my cat and had a good experience. You’re not supposed to leave the room while your cat is there, but I did, and it was no problem. I just stuck a do not disturb sign on the door whenever I left, and took care of cleaning the room myself, rather than risking housekeeping accidently letting my cat loose.
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Always put a harness on if you are taking the cat out of the carrier. You might want to just keep it on him while he’s in the carrier for extra security.
I have a blog on traveling with cats, so please check it out anytime. I’m happy to answer any questions or discuss with you further so just leave me a comment on my blog. Also, would love to get updates from you on the road on how things are going and, with your permission, post them on my blog.
Drive at night.