Best way to move a cat?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I’m moving halfway across the country in the next few months. And I have a cat who’s going with me. What’s the best way to get her from here to there? As I see it the best two alternatives probably are

  • once all my stuff is moved, fly from here to there with her in a small carrier under the seat. At least one airline that flies the route would allow that. I’d get a sedative for her in this case. Probably the more expensive option, but might be less stressful on both of us.

  • drive her when I move all my stuff. Maybe buy (or try to borrow) a large cage that I could put a litterbox and some water in in the back seat of the car. It’s a two day trip though, and she’s not a very happy traveler. I’m not too keen on the idea of two days of yowling cat. One of us would probably end up causing the other serious bodily injury. But it’d probably be cheaper to do this since the car needs to get moved too and while it’s going, why not take the cat with it?

Which option sounds better? If anyone’s moved pets before, what were your experiences? What would you recommend? What would you do differently if you had to do it again?

2

A drop-kick is usually very effective.

3

My sister-in-law flew her cat in the passenger compartment. She drugged the little guy so he wouldn’t freak. Paid for a seat. Not sure how she handled the car situation. I think they may have towed it.

4

Well, I wasn’t going that far, but I was thinking that you just heave 'em off of where they’re lying. :smiley:

You know, cats like dark, enclosed spaces. If you put kitty in a box with airholes and one of your smelly old shirts (I mean, it smells like you - I’m not commenting on how smelly you are personally) and put him in the car, he’d probably fall asleep and sleep away most of the journey. Jeeze, that sounds terrible, but cats are weird, which I’m sure you know, since you have one. Have him on a halter and leash so he can’t bolt as soon as you open the box for feeding and scritchies, and Bob’s your uncle. Maybe. Anybody tried this method?

5

Tie the cat to the car’s tire and just drive.

6

This is the purpose the catapult was originally designed for.

7

My husband and I have traveled with our two cats half way across the country twice: from Austin, TX to Seattle, WA and then Seattle, WA to Austin, TX. The first time we gave our cats a sedative and placed them in the car. Unfortunately, the sedative only made the poor things freak out more because they became very disoriented and had difficulty focusing and they cried most of the first day. After that, we omitted the sedative and just drove with them. They did pretty well without the sedative, but then again our cats are leash trained and we were able to let them out periodically for a brief walk.

We did the later again for our second trip and they took it pretty well. We don’t put them in carriers because one of our cats is claustrophobic and completely freaks out when he’s placed into a carrier so we just place them in the back seat with a bunch of blankets, their litter, water and food. They sleep most of the time and occasionally come up into the front seat and sit next to us for some loving.

8

There is no good way to move a cat. That being said, I would go with one of these two options:

  1. Fly the cat with you in the passenger compartment, under sedation prescribed by a vet. Those tablets you get in pet stores are useless and a yowling cat is at least as bad as a shrieking infant. The advantage of this is that while it is stressful, it is quick. Not all airlines will allow you to fly with pets, and I especially don’t recommend flying them in the luggage compartment.

  2. Drive your cat with you. If you want to do this you should start getting kitty used to riding in the car. This will not be fun, but if you prepare her she might not totally freak out and be sick and crazed the entire drive. Use your regular carrier, not a large one. This is safer because kitty can’t be thrown around if you have to break or turn suddenly, and she’ll feel safer in a dark, closed-in space. Buy a harness for her and make sure she can’t slip out of it. Get her used to wearing it to go outdoors for short periods on a leash. Put the carrier out in the open and let kitty get used to seeing it. With luck she’ll decide to nap in it regularly. Give her treats in it, or catnip. Take her for short drives when you can, like if you have an errand to run that won’t require you to leave her in the car alone for more than a few minutes.

My advice is to try getting her used to short car trips in her carrier and see if she seems to calm down and get used to it. That should give you a good idea about whether or not you want to try it on a very long trip. Good luck!

9

We (my wife and I) have flown our cats across the country before. The airline would not allow us to take them (we moved three cats) in the cabin with us, so they had to go in the baggage hold. But they arrived safely, I’m glad to say. Still, if we could have had them in the cabin with us, we would have preferred that.

Anyway, if you do go for the flying option, I would recommend checking with your vet first. We asked our vet about sedation; he said he would not recommend it for our cats. For some, yes; but not ours. Apparently, ours are fairly calm and even-tempered to begin with, so he didn’t think sedation would help.

The other reason you may want to check with your vet before flying is to make sure that such things as vaccinations are up to date. IIRC, the airline we flew asked that animals be vaccinated within the past six months or so. While it did not ask for vaccination certificates when we checked in, we certainly had them with us, just in case.

Whichever option you choose, good luck–it is not easy!

10

We moved 2 cats on an 8 hour drive.

They. hate. travelling.

I repeat.

They. Hate. Travelling.

They were very angry with us, but the cat carrier in the front seat of the car with food and water worked fine. They yowled a lot, but that’s what they do. We brought them while towing the car.

Now, in a pinch, you COULD put them in the towed car so you don’t have to listen to them yell, but I suggest putting something in the carrier that smells like you to give them some comfort. Just remember, once they get “home”, anything you own that smells like you might get peed on. They get that way.

I have never done the “sedated flying of cat from one place to the other” thing. That might be better. But in my experience, no matter what you do, they’re going to be mad at you, but they get over it after a fashion. The goal is to get them to the new place as comfortably as you possibly can, and quite franky? They’re cats. Their idea of comfort and yours don’t always mesh. :slight_smile:

Good luck to you. And let me know if you go the flying route, and if it works better, cause I may very well do that in the future.

11

BTW, you can drug a cat for a car ride as easy as for a plane ride. The tablets you get from the vet (usually acepromazine) lasts 8-10 hours.

You’ll know they’re wearing off when the yowling starts. :slight_smile:

I drove my cats cross-country (10 hours) a couple years ago. Since my Smokie yowls continuously and without ceasing whenever he is in the car, drugging was the only way to go. I also listened to an audiobook (The Kite Runner) for most of the trip. He seemed to like that – whenever I had to change a CD, the (drugged up) yowling began anew, only to quiet down when the story started up again.

Call ahead and make reservations at hotels that accept pets for each night. The cats can come down off the drugs and get something to eat (AFAIK, animals under the influence of Ace should not be fed).

Another thing to consider about flying, when my pal Phatlewt flew with his cat, they made him take her out of the carrier for security/x-ray! Luckily his cat is very cute and passive. If you plan to fly, figure out some arrangement for restraining a possibly-panicked cat outside of its carrier through security.

12

As far as driving with a cat, it depends on the cat. The cat that lived with me for many years LOVED riding in the car. Of course that was usually short trips, but he really seemed to enjoy it.

It may just be better to stay where you are and let the cat decide if/when you should move. :wink:

Russell

13

Tele-cat-nesis
I’m sorry.

14

We had to move our five cats from Indianapolis to Seattle a few years ago when my company transferred me. That’s a 4-day trip.

We ended up renting a Ford Explorer and buying three travelling cages - two large, one small. Each cage was large enough to hold a small litter box and a little bowl of food and water. We also purchased a large plastic storage container (the kind that fits under a bed with a snap-down lid) and put kitty litter in it for when we stopped at night. We folded the seats down and covered the entire back with plastic dropcloths (we knew we’d need them when we got to our new house - painting, you know) and put the cages and litterbox on top of the dropcloths.

Mrs. Runestar drove the SUV and I drove my car - which was filled with our luggage as well as anything that the movers wouldn’t transport (plants, etc.) We used trip-planning software to find hotels that accepted pets on our route. Every night when we stopped we’d have to unload the three cages and the litter tray and carry them into the hotel. Once inside the room, we’d let the cats out so they could roam around the room. The next day, back in the cages they’d go.

All of them handled the trip rather well - in fact, towards the end they seemed to get used to the routine. My wife made the same discovery as Hello Again - as long as she was playing a CD, the cats kept fairly quiet. Whenever a CD ended, the mewing and yowling started again. They seemed particularly fond of Carly Simon and other ‘easy listening’ favorites.

We did not try drugging the cats - as others have noted earlier, the disorientation they feel seems to freak them out even more.

I will add that there are professional pet-moving services available. My brother used them when he moved from Pennsylvania to California (and then again when he moved back). However, they are expensive - around $500 a cat was the going rate when we checked into them.

15

I have heard terrible things about pets in airplane cargo getting lost or killed.

If it was my cats, I would either bring them on with me and put them under the seat, or drive them cross country.

ASPCA Pet Care Tips

Many motels have policies will allow you to bring your pets inside. You just have to ask first. I would prefer crabby cross-country pets whose care I can be directly responsible for, than the mystery and anxiety about others handling them in cargo.

16

We’re planning on moving three cats and a dog from Kansas to Oregon this summer. We’re driving, cats in my car, dog in the truck, lots of stops. Our cats are mostly leash trained, so we’re planning on leaving their harnesses on 24/7 while travelling, and getting hotel reservations for each night at places we know take pets.

I’m really not looking forward to being the cat wrangler on this trip. We may have to switch off.

17

I put my cat in a carrier with some water that she never drank and food that she never ate. She #1 and #2 twice each in the carrier. Upon arrival I put her in what was to be my bedroom with her litter, food and water and let her out of the carrier with the bedroom door closed. Then my friends and I proceeded to unload the truck.

If I were faced with your situation, I would get a sedative from my vet and take my cat on the flight with me. The less stress on you and your furry child during a very stressful time anyway is better for both of you.

Make sure you take all precautions to keep kitty away from doors to the outside. Your cat may be so overwhelmed and scared that he/she may bolt, get lost and not return.

18

My kitty is a seasoned traveller and these observations are my cat specific.

She hates travelling in her cage. She is happier in a harness tied to the passenger side door or in a passenger’s lap. If unrestrained, she tries to steer, which she is not good at since she gets distracted.
She doesn’t like loud trucks or stop and go traffic, so I avoid those for both our sake.
Don’t bother with food, water, or litter, because she won’t use them anyway.
Music is good, but loud music is not good.
Petting is good, and should be done whenever driving does not absolutely require two hands.
A blanket or towel to lay on or hide under is very nice.
My dad found that she quiets down if she is refrigerated, so one time he moved her under strong air-conditioning. Be careful that your cat is not too hot.
Once she arrives, she would rather be allowed to chill in a quiet room than to visit the relatives.
She wants to be woken up whenever I go towards a toll booth or a drive-through because she wants to bask in the inevitable “what a cute kitty! Awwwwww! Hi sweetie! You’re so pretty!”
Keep your beverage straw away from her, she will eat it.

19

I’ve written about this here a couple of times, and I usually make a gigantic post, so I’m just going to copy and paste my reply to another thread here, if you don’t mind. :slight_smile:

This was just my personal experience (and personal opinion, as well, I notice I was vehement about certain things - at the time, there was a news story from back home where a dog had escaped and killed a cat in the luggage, and I was quite freaked out, needless to say), I hope it helps save money, time, or stress! I travelled 3000 miles with mine! :eek: Every cat is different, of course. Good luck to you, I hope you both make the trip with as little fuss as possible.

20

What would you do if you had no choice? Certainly, we did not have a choice (we live in Canada, where airlines go out of business with amazing regularity, unless they are government-owned, so we had little competition to choose from), and it was either the airline’s rules that pets go as baggage or four days in a car with three unhappy cats.

I’m just curious–what would you do if you had to cross 2000 miles with three cats and the airlines laid down rules against pets in the cabin?