Travelling cat for 4 hours.....

[GlamourDol]

Hi all, just wandered if anyone had any advise on the best way to travel killer cat on a long journey?

She has flown before which she was okay with but every vet trip in the car tends to end with her getting upset and pooing. Obviously this is easily dealt with on a short trip but four hours with the runs is not going to be pleasant for her.

Is sedation an option? Was also considering harness training her (dont laugh!! ) so at least i can swap her into a different carrier without her going awol.

Horses and dogs are so much easier!

 

[s4sugar]

Sedation can make them worse. Have you got space to travel her in a crate bigger than a carrier?
Put cardboard boxes so she can move from one to the other and lots of newspaper.

 

[hayley.t]

S4sugar, that is very good advice, I will remember that.

You could also try feliway spray, some people really rate it but others not so much but may be worth a try?

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

Hi all, just wandered if anyone had any advise on the best way to travel killer cat on a long journey?

She has flown before which she was okay with but every vet trip in the car tends to end with her getting upset and pooing. Obviously this is easily dealt with on a short trip but four hours with the runs is not going to be pleasant for her.

Is sedation an option? Was also considering harness training her (dont laugh!! ) so at least i can swap her into a different carrier without her going awol.

Horses and dogs are so much easier!

I presume in this country????

• Get some feliway spray and dose her blanket in in her carrier it is one option.
• I would speak to your vet there might be some calmers you can administer by mouth prior to the journey.
  
• Also Prior to your leaving I would feed her before 4pm on the night before and don't give her breakfast that morning so hopefully she won't need to poo.

 

[GlamourDol]

Thanks for all the advice, previously shes travelled in my car, but thinking now we may put her in the O/h's vehicle so she can have a crate and some more room. Will her not eating from 4 do her any harm? But then I suppose it will help her settle the other end when she can have some food.

I worry about her far too much!

 

[autumn7]

Another recommendation for Feliway spray. So easy to use and our cats travel calmly with it sprayed on their blankets within their cat carriers.
Don't buy from Pets at Home though. Found same stuff online is £££ cheaper.

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

Thanks for all the advice, previously shes travelled in my car, but thinking now we may put her in the O/h's vehicle so she can have a crate and some more room. Will her not eating from 4 do her any harm? But then I suppose it will help her settle the other end when she can have some food.

I worry about her far too much!

No it wont hurt, if your really worried then feed her at 6pm

Remember when then are neutered or operations. Cats must not eat after 8pm the night before. So she will be fine

 

[E13]

Feliway should be used from a few weeks beforehand, put it in the house so she gets used to it then it should work really well

 

[Honeylight]

I used to have a very difficult (tortoiseshell) cat. I found a solution was to travel her in a wire crate so she could see all that was going on. This worked, I took her on train journeys longer than 4 hours & she used to watch other passengers & out of the window,
My vet advised against a sedative, he also said a cat will not get upset to have a heart attack or anything. This cat used to become hysterical in a closed crate & called so much she lost her voice!

 

[Lego]

If your cat is amenable, then harness training may be worth a go... I got lots of giggles when I trained my cats to walk on leads when I got them as rescues at 6 months... Makes visiting friends/family so much easier - they can come with me, but don't have to stay shut in as can be taken out for walks. Ok - so they don't 'walk' in quite the same way as a dog will, but one of them follows, the other you just have to either carry or follow!

I travel them 'loose' too - they are big enough for mini dog harnesses, and they sit on the passenger seat, with harnesses clipped into the seatbelt plug. They can't go anywhere, but can look out of the window, move to make themselves comfy, and if I out them on the backseat, they can have a longer lead, and choose whether to sit looking out the window, in front of the air con, or hide on the floor.

I find that mine travel happily like this - but biggest thing is keeping the car cool. One of mine gets a bit worried and pants, but if he sits on the floor in front of the air con foot vent, he's perfectly happy and will go to sleep.

My friends neurotic pedigrees are the same - in boxes they shout and cry and stress, on the seat on their blanket, you could forget they were there. Converted my parents too - their nervous pooer is fine if you put her on towel on floor in harness. Think they just don't realise they're restrained until/unless they try to do a runner

It does take practice though - you have to teach them not to try to sit on your lap! And a cat looking out the window always get a double take and a giggle