Cat Tranquiliser

[MissFoodie]

Moving home in 3 weeks, dreading the actual day as cat hates going in box and has never been in a car....I have feliway spray and am going to put feliway plug ins in new property 2 weeks beforehand, but wondering if anyone has tried a tranquiliser? any brand?

Has anyone tried M&C Serene-UM Calm Drops?

Any ideas appreciated!

Don't use a tranquilizer MissFoodie. They're unnecessary and potentially dangerous. Sorry.

I moved my cat 300 miles by train (6.5 hours) last December only using feliway spray. I did ask the vet about tranquillisers and she said that she didn't recommend them as the animal still feels panic but can't show it.
He wasn't happy to start off with, but settled fairly quickly. Hope this helps and good luck.

yes, I am not keen on the idea of a tranquiliser, so, what about the drops? they're supposed to be "herbal"?

I've never used them, I'm afraid - although there might be a poster who has and there are vets who post here who might have an informed view.

I've just always taken the view (over many, many journeys with cats) that they grouch and moan to get a reaction; and that when you don't give them that reaction but stay calm and controlled 9 and only give them the occasional response - they'll settle down with the occasional yip to let you know they're around.

This has worked with all my cats, including some who other people would have sworn would have a coronary through travelling because they were so namby. Cats are pretty tough souls, really.

Zylkene is very useful it is a milk protein that binds to the same receptor as diazepam, but without all the addictive stuff. It works very well for anxiety in cats I find in house moving situations it is useful to start it a week before moving and continue for a week afterwards. If you use with Feliway they have a synergistic effect and give even more anxiety relief. Talk to your vet about them.

Dotty our cat emigrated to Australia, back to the UK & back to Australia again. We used Feliway spray & it really helped.

I asked a similar question of my vet - we were moving 300 miles in the car and cat1 doesn't like travelling. She advised us against it due to cats not tranquilising well, and, as said upthread, sometimes causing themselves injury because they are still stressed but can't get their bodies to react.

In the end, we packed him safely in the back of the car, in quite a small cat carrier lined with towels and vetbed. I put a towel over the carrier so that it wasn't as light, and disguised some of the sounds. He protested noisily for the first 20 minutes and then chilled out and kept quiet for the 5 hour journey.

I found that being quite matter of fact worked best. He just got out in the carrier, so cuddles or strokes or me talking, and then we didn't move him until we got him out at the other end. He then got put in a small room with the litter tray as we unpacked the car.

Just remembered, the vet did recommend a cat carrier that's more wire than 'filled in' IYKWIM. I got something like this

Also helped that I could drop him in, rather than cram him in through the door