Automatic Litterbox Central

Hi all. Unfortunatly after moving me accross country (Illinois to Arizona) my husband and i are seperating. I get to have custody of the "kids" (2 cats ) The problem is that I am going to move to NJ to be near my family. That is at least a 4 day drive. Anyone have any tips on traveling that distance with cats? When we traveled from IL, it took 2 days and they were pretty good. But 4 days, hotel stays, and new people (my mom and dad) with us won't go over well with one cat. She is terrified of anyone other than me. If we ever have a guest at the house, she lives under my bed for days (and comes out at night to do her business and eat). I don't want her to have a heart attack during this already stressful time! (Needless to say that I'll be staying w/my parents for a bit and they have 2 kittens and 3 dogs! If the trip doesn't give her a heart attack that might! but i want to tackle one obstacle at a time!)

Anyone have any suggestions? Thanks!!!

Usually people give the animals valium for a trip like that.

really? well my aunt is a vet tech so i'll talk to her. When i moved from il to az my vet was like..."oh they will be fine". and they were i guess until the 10hr mark everyday (but hey so was i!!) they mostly slept, but would never eat or drink when we stopped. Valium....i'll look into it!

Of course, you should take your vet's suggestion. When my friend moved to PA, that's what his vet suggested. See what the vet says.

My cats had usually been pretty good about traveling and my oldest had moved a couple of times with me through school. I get alot of request for pet sedatives when traveling (I'm a vet). When asked about sedatives for cats, I would tell people that "they'll be fine" referring to my own cats experience with travel... especially for short trips. I had dealt with the "constant meowing which eventually subsides" and "stress of the carrier episodes". Recently though, 2 of my good cats "freaked out" in the car and stressed and panted (not a good sign) even on a trip just over an hour. The current heat probably played a role but should not have caused the entire event (mild heat combined with stress can be dangerous). I would definitely try traveling with your pets more at night if you can (especially housecats who are used to a/c). Even though cars are air-conditioned, it's not the same environment. Also, as a vet (now with more personal experience with traveling cats), I definitely consider using sedatives when owners tell me their pets get stressed. Sometimes "better living through pharmacology" is appropriate if the animal is otherwise healthy and the vet approves. I know people who can't travel without help- why should our pets be any different...

thanks for the reply...i pretty much got the "they will be fine" line from the vet too. I have a SUV and my mother suggested instead of putting them in their separate carriers to buy a large cage and put it behind the seat in the back. Then lay blankets down, food, water, etc... big enough for them to stretch and walk around might help? who knows! it will be an unforgetable trip none the less i'm sure!

I had a cat that hated traveling and screamed the whole trip. My vet prescribed a "kitty tranquilizer". It seemed to work pretty well except for almost 24 hours her third eyelid was halfway closed. That made her look really weird.

I know it's not recommended, but I leave mine loose in the SUV when I travel with them. They usually end up crawling under the third row of seats that I keep in the down position. Occasionally I see a head popping up in my rear view mirror. I had one cat that sat on the center console and put his head in my lap. They are usually whopping mad if I put them in the carriers. I guess they think they are going to the vet. If I'm going on a long trip, I put one of those disposable cat pans on the floor of the backseat--just in case. They only used it once and that was when I got stuck in traffic for hours.

My family moved the whole zoo (3 cats, 3 kids, 1 pug) from the midwest to the east coast last winter. The two adult cats and the pug rode together in a nice big dog crate that could hold them all comfortably, which was wrapped in blankets and wedged securely in the back of a Jeep riding on a car trailer (the kind that keeps all four wheels off the road, so it's level.) The kitten rode by himself in his own carrier in the cab of one of our U-Haul trucks.

The big boys were famous for nonstop meowing in cars, so riding in the otherwise unoccupied Jeep-in-tow saved everyone's ears. Actually, they traveled quite calmly. It seems that if they have no one to complain to, they just sit tight and wait. The pug was a little confused, because they tended to lay on top of him, which wasn't typical. I doubt if it was due to cold; every time I checked them it was nice and cozy warm back there. I think they just decided he wiggled too much and held him down...

Seriously, you have to consider their environment carefully on long trips. A closed vehicle in warm weather can get dangerously hot. A comfortably heated car in winter for us humans can still be too hot for the furry ones, especially with travel stress. The Jeep was a convertible, so it tended to stay cool but not cold in the sun in winter. With blankets around the carrier, the animals had a nice 50-60 degree temperature all the time, plus they didn't have to deal with the noisy, unfamiliar-smelling truck cabs. that would have caused more stress. We made frequent stops to check on them (besides, the kids had to pee!) and the cats were frequently napping, and were only marginally interested in what was going on when we let the pug out to do his business. So, we never needed any tranquilizers; they settled into the trip just fine as long as they were comfortable.

Hotels were the real adventure. Pet-friendly hotels are not always available, so checking in and out was interesting. Basically, the animal crates were kept covered, and the "fuzzy children" were kept calm and quiet. (Kitty and doggy treats are a good thing...) and they were quickly wheeled in underneath a mountain of luggage past the unsuspecting desk clerk. The litter box (an Omega-Paw self cleaning one) was kept in a big plastic trash bag, and also buried under other luggage on the cart, so it was just another nondescript package.

In hotel rooms, the pug was quiet as always, and good about slipping outside to do his business without any fuss. The Omega-Paw box is easy to clean out, and the pull-out waste tray dumps into small plastic bags easily. No one ever knew we were traveling with pets unless we said something.

Bathroom stops weren't much of an issue. The pug went out on his leash at rest stops while the kids went to the restrooms, too. The cats would "hold it" because they're not completely sure of their surroundings on the road. As soon as we got them in the hotel room and brought out their familiar litter box,though, they lined up and took turns. Kind of funny to watch, really, because they looked just like people waiting semi-patiently in a long restroom line!