Moving my cat 500 miles

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I am moving from NJ to VA. I’ve moved cats before, 3 of them, and it was not fun. I was moving from NYC to Rhode Island, about a 3 1/2 hour drive.

We were not even out of Manhattan when a bad smell permeates the truck. I pick up all their carriers and look in and smell and don’t see any evidence and we drive on. Thought it was just the smell of the city. All the cats keep meowing but I think it’s just because of their imprisonment. But about an hour later there is an unmistaken smell of shit and I pick up Bart’s carrier and yes, he has gone in the carrier. For the second time, I realize he had done it earlier as well.

There is nothing to do except find a gas station, but we can’t find one open and so we stop at a rest area. So I take Bart into the handicapped stall, open up the carrier just a little and reach in with a tissue and try and clean. Then I realize Bart’s whole stomach is yellow and he’s pissed himself as well and I’m feeling so guilty, what have I done to Bart? He’s made it to 22 and now he is going to die of a heart attack on the road to Rhode Island.

I realize he will not try, too hard, to run away and so I take him out of the carrier and hold him with one hand while cleaning out the carrier with another, and then try to clean him up as best I can. I’m using toilet water and toilet paper, flushing constantly. I can’t really put him in the sink, can I? Thank god I thought to bring the catnip, that calmed him a little.

Not enough to get him back in the carrier, that I could not do. So I just pick him up and carry him back to the truck. I think I’m going to have to hold him for the rest of the trip to keep him from interferring with my friend’s driving but I don’t have to. He quickly settles down on my lap and goes to sleep. Rudy and Patty are soon asleep in their carriers, it must have been Bart’s distress that was bothering them.

Of all the cats I thought Bart would make the trip with the least problems, but rest of the ride goes smoothly. I let the cats of the carriers in the new house and Rudy and Patty go hide in the closet. Not Bart. Within 10 minutes he is exploring the basement and the yard. So much for him being tramatized by the trip.

This time I am just moving one cat, but it’s an 8 hour drive. And Mickey is a nervous cat. I cannot leave him in a carrier for 8 hours. He will pee and/or poop in there. So what to do? Well, the simplest thing is to get him in the car in a carrier. He will not let me pick him up and carry him to the car, he’s never been outside, he would freak. So I could get him in the carrier and in the car, and then just let him out. But I am going to have to stop a couple of times on the way, and what then? I really really don’t think he would try to jump over my lap in the front seat and out the door, if anything he would get scared and try to go the other way. But you know how fast cats are, especially when scared. If he gets out of the car, we are both fucked.

So I went online looking for pet barriers that go across the back seats. I found one, a wire mesh thing, but it was $75. But I decided to order it anyway just for the peace of mind. Put him in the back seat with a litter box, no problems.

But then I went to the Home Depot to pick up a couple of moving boxes. The medium size ones, not folded up they are at least a couple of feet in width. So all I have to do is, when I stop, if Mickey is in the passenger seat, stuff the box in between the console and the seat. He is not going to jump over that in the few seconds that is takes me to get out of the car.

I know I am overthinking this. As I said, there is very little chance he would jump out of the car when I open the door. It just occurs to me now, I could just throw a blanket over him when I get out.

We will make it there ok

2

Over thinking a move with cats is never a bad thing and it sounds like your plan is pretty good as far as keeping Mickey in the car. I tend to be a little more paranoid, though and worry about what will happen to a loose roaming pet if we are in an accident. My suggestion would be to keep Mickey in the carrier while you are driving and then to let him roam the back of the car and use the litter box while you are doing the same outside of the car.

Also, I would suggest that before you leave on your journey, you fill his water bowl with the water he’s used to drinking and freeze it. You can put the bowl in the carrier so Mickey can drink the melting water without having a full bowl slosh around and make a mess. Rodent water bottles can work as well.

Final suggestion is to fill several gallon water bottles with what Mickey is used to drinking so you can mix the water to slowly get him used to the new water. It might not be a bad idea to do the same thing for yourself to avoid tummy issues.

3

Mrs J., having driven our rescue kitten something like 400 miles to hand her off to my brother, assures me that almost nothing smells as foul in an enclosed vehicle as cat vomit.

4

Get a harness and leash a snug, no I said SNUG harness, not a collar, and a long leash and put them on the cat before you put the cat in the car. Trust me, I know

I’ve moved cats from Georgia to Kansas to Idaho. I’d suggest getting the harness and leash snd taking the cat for some drives to get him used to riding in a car. I did that with mine and all I ever had to use the carrier for was getting them to and from the car. By the time we moved from KS to ID they were leash trained and didn’t need carriers.

You want the harness and long leash so you can stomp on the leash when your cat makes a break for it.

5

I forgot to mention, Mickey did ride in the car, in the carrier the whole way, when I moved from RI back to NJ. He complained for about half an hour, then went to sleep. And after we got to NJ, left him and Rudy in the carrier in the car while we unloaded for about half an hour and they were both fine. Thought it was better to do that than take them into the new apartment while we we moving stuff in. So I am not worried about him riding, it’s just that this time it is 8 hours. It is quite possible I could leave him in the carrier the whole way and he would hold it. But I don’t want to take the chance that he won’t.

6

But I’d drive my cat 500 miles
And I’d drive my cat 500 more
Just to have a cat that went one thousand miles
While puking on the floor

7

I’d think the major reason for the harness is you were taking the poor animals to Kansas and Idaho. Cats are smart and they’d bolt given the destination. :smiley:

But, yes, before embarking on the journey, be sure to get the cats used to both the carriers and the harnesses. You’ll have enough stress that automatically comes along with such a road trip without having to deal with animals fighting against some new and uncomfortable accouterments.

8

:+1:t3::+1:t3::+1:t3::+1:t3::+1:t3::+1:t3::+1:t3::+1:t3::+1:t3::+1:t3::+1:t3::+1:t3::+1:t3::+1:t3::+1:t3::+1:t3::+1:t3::+1:t3::+1:t3::+1:t3::+1:t3::+1:t3::+1:t3::+1:t3::+1:t3::+1:t3::+1:t3::+1:t3::+1:t3::+1:t3::+1:t3::+1:t3::+1:t3::+1:t3::+1:t3::+1:t3::+1:t3::+1:t3::+1:t3::+1:t3::+1:t3::+1:t3::+1:t3::+1:t3::+1:t3::+1:t3::+1:t3::+1:t3::+1:t3::+1:t3::+1:t3::+1:t3::+1:t3::+1:t3::+1:t3:

9

I’m guessing that flying them to your destination isn’t an option?

10

When I moved down here I got a ginormous pet carrier and put in a teeny litter box. He never used it - he was too traumatized by A) moving and B) moving with my best friend along to help because he was scared of her (she’s not a cat person is all; she’s not violent).

11

When I moved from NYC to Ohio (about 500 miles), I put each of my two cats in its own carrier and stacked them on the passenger seat. I was prepared for all sorts of sounds and smells, neither of which materialized. They were perfectly well-behaved. I just talked to them now and then. They started getting a little antsy toward the end, but were no problem.

12

When I moved to KS I didn’t blame the poor little guy. That was the only time it happened though.

Imagine a Ford Escort zipping down the freeway with tiny uhaul in tow and a ginormous orange tabby stretched from pillar to pillar on the dash happily snoozing in the sun, matched by a tiny tortie in the back window. The little grey tabby female had the back seat to herself as my grey mousey boy(the runner) stayed under the front passenger seat unless we stopped

13

Talk to your vet and ask about getting a tranquilizer for Mickey, assuming you can pill him without too much trouble.

14

I think I love you.

15

I’m afraid what I’m imagining is what would have happened if you’d had to do a panic stop. All those cats hitting the windshield at high speed –

And the other thing I’m imagining is a cat between your foot and the brake pedal when you did need to stop.

There are far, far worse things than cat shit in a cat carrier. Please, please keep him in the carrier. Put a lot of old newspaper in the bottom of the carrier. Bring an extra bag full of more old newspaper, and some plastic trash bags. If he pisses and/or shits in the carrier, toss the old newspaper and put more in. If you haven’t any newspaper, buy some newspapers for the purpose, or just buy a whole huge lot of paper towels, that would probably work.

If you do that, ask for an extra dose, and try it on him while he’s safe at home first. Cats sometimes have odd reactions to tranquilizers and may be the reverse of tranquilized.

16

Oh, that was long ago in the days when my youthful immortality hadn’t fully worn off yet. And, as happens with the passage of time, all of those cats have aged out of existence. I wouldn’t travel with free roaming cats in the car these days. But they’d still be leash trained for walk, water and rest stops every couple of hours.

The one place they never went in the car was the drivers side floor if someone was sitting in the drivers seat. Had smart cats

17

Good to hear. The OP, however, appears to be contemplating doing so now.

18

Come to think of it, in addition to your advice about papers, I’ll add to keep a complete change of clothes in a gym bag easily accessible and some wet wipes (for yourself)and deodorant spray of some sort (for the car). Again, as Sgt. Zimm said, “Trust me, I know”. Walk the cat before embarking and yes, stop for walk, water and rest every couple of hours

19

I read the title and thought, ‘That’s a good start, but that Fucker will find his way back home eventually!’

20

Absolutely not. He’s MINE. (Or she’s mine. Whatever.)