Moving with cats

[namechangerequiredforthis]

Hoping someone can give me some advice. I am moving overseas and will be taking a long car journey (6 hours) and an overnight ferry that will be 8 hours. I have two cats and very large carriers but I am worried about how they will be. I know you can rent a kennel on the ferry but I thought this would be more stressful for them, being around noise, dogs, people etc. But I know I can't visit them during the 8 hours and that also worries me. What can I do to make sure they will be ok. My boy particularly is very nervous cat.

Can you book a cabin and have them with you (not sure if that's allowed). My old girl regularly did trips of 4 or 5 hours without a problem, despite being cantankerous by nature, but never tried leaving her for 8 hours in the car.

Talk to your vet about tranquilizers. We used one when we moved and we had to bring the cat in a cat carrier across London using the tube. She managed the whole thing without any problems thanks to the drugs. Normally she yowled as soon as you put her in the cat carrier.

Be careful with tranquillisers! For flights, they are certainly not allowed (I case you are hiding something/ or could be misconstrued as the cat being ill and refused travel).

I hope you find an answer you are happy with.