Long car journey with 2 cats

[Flowerfairy101]

Seeking advice on transporting my two adorable cats! We are going to be relocating a 5 hour drive away and thinking how best to transport the girls with minimal distress. I'm going to buy a big dog cage for them to go in together, blanket over it for hiding but wondering if it would be kind to get them mildly sedated before we leave? Has anyone done this? One of them is a car yowler and tries to escape the carrier, the other seems fine when we take her to the vet but I think she's more of a 'play dead and nothing bad will happen' type. Ultimately they'll have to get on with it but don't want them traumatised.

We’ve just relocated 200 miles away and took our ex-stray rescue cat in the car, together with an elderly guinea pig (not in the same carrier!).

I spoke to the vet beforehand and she said they don’t generally recommend sedation. She suggested a Feliway plug-in several days before the move, as well as Feliway “on the move” spray for the carrier.

None of it worked! She yowled for half an hour non-stop, then did a poo while we were stuck in a queue 17 miles from the nearest services. We did a quick turn around of bedding when we could and she slept the rest of the way.

As an aside, I wouldn’t put two in together unless you normally transport them in the safe carrier. It’s very stressful and there’s nowhere for them to go if they don’t like it.

More experienced posters will come shortly, but this is what I did with mine:

Get the cat used to a leash. She doesn't have to walk to heel like a well trained dog, but it was great to put dcat safely in a green area while we fueled up and rested.

I'm not sure you will have time or interest to do it, though. Gabapentin might be an option you could discuss with your vet regarding your yowling cat. I'd also try and take shorter car trips to get them used to the feeling.

I've always taken mine with me to visit family (250 miles).

I started as kittens getting them used to car journeys by taking them out for 20 mins in the car a couple of times a week (we're known at the starbucks drivethrough!) And now have a big case meant for dogs on the back seat.

www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/pet_brands/trixie/transport_carriers/46459

I have size 6 for 2 chunky boys. I pack this with their cushion, some blankets spritzed with catnip spray and a couple of their toys. I make sure we leave no earlier than 1pm because I know that's when they start to snooze and will have used the litter tray.

I don't feed them anything a couple of hours before we leave and generally they're asleep within the first 30 mins and only wake up the other end when being manhandled the other end.

I do have a small litter tray, smaller carrier case and food and water in case of emergencies, but so far no need. They're brothers and always choose to be together, so very happy to share.

To add, a previous cat was a yowler but would quieten down if you sang to him, but I'm not sure that's very standard advice

Do not under any circumstances let them out on the journey. You’d be surprised how many cats are lost on motorways.

Zylkene calms them down. You can use professional cat taxis.

We relocated 1500km with our 2 including an overnight ferry where they slept in the carrier in the car.

We bought a giant dog carrier that was able to fit the 2 smaller cat carriers inside (they need space to hide). We put a disposable aluminium baking tray in with cat litter so it was easy to change and a bowl for water and some dried food. It’s unlikely they will eat or drink much but offer occasionally.

We sprayed everything liberally with Feliway journey and kept the carrier covered the whole time. They yowled for the first hour or so then settled down. They ate and drank on the overnight ferry because they were in the quiet car deck. We were allowed two welfare visits but they were asleep both times so we didn’t disturb them.

Whatever you do don’t take them out anywhere. It’s not worth the risk. Good luck!

Great suggestions, thanks all. Definitely won't let them out at all.
@OodleLoodle I usually stick my fingers through into the carrier but her carry on definitely distracts me from driving. Will get DP to drive so I can sit with them/stress safely.

Our cats go into dog carrier that is almost as large as a baby travel cot. It is padded too. Plenty of room for litter tray at one end and water and a few dry cat crunchies at other end. Large dog thick padded bed on bottom of carrier. Ours quite happily snooze most of journey. Make sure whatever carrier you put them in has a zipped up lid. Don't let them out at service station even on a leach. Don't give a meal before you go or you will have to drive along with stinky cat poo smell.

5 hours isn't very long, they'll be fine honestly. I've done this and I'm mostly thinking of your sanity, I wanted to kill mine after hour 3 of continual yowling.

I roughly know what time of day my cat will poo, so I’d time the journey to avoid it. Keep them as far from the engine as possible. My freaks out if too close. Covering the carrier certainly helps.

Make sure you have spare plastic bags, towels, kitchen roll, water, wet wipes to clean them and you if one is sick or poos. Mine are unlikely to drink en route but I take a sealable bowl of water for any stops.

I'd put them in harnesses that you can clip a lead to easily if they need to come out of their basket/crate to allow cleaning. I've got normal harnesses and ones which clip into a car seat belt (but I don't trust them so much).

Check your route to see if you can go the least windy/hilly route. I used to travel regularly Scotch Corner to Edinburgh and could tell within 5 miles where my cat would be sick if I went cross country instead of the longer A1 route where we never had any problems.

You might have a yowler but they usually settle themselves on longer journeys. I often yowl back to my current yowler and it seems to shock him into submission

You might want to consider puppy pads to protect the car interior from accidents.