Boy, this is where a kitty stroller might come in handy! Do you have leashes
and harnesses? Separate carriers?

Karen

I would not leave the cats loose in the car with the windows open because
they can squeeze through the smallest places. Same for the tent.  They can
easily get out the hole at the bottom of the zipper.
If you can't  get travel crates big enough for them to have room for a
litter box, food and water, I strongly suggest that you find some way to pay
for a motel room. While underway, keep them confined in some kind of carrier
and make sure they are secure in them before you open any doors or windows.
When you stop for gas, or any other reason, you can open the windows as
long as the cats are secure in the carriers. Do not leave them in the car in
the heat, even for a short time.  You can buy food at drive-through windows
or one of you can stay with the car & cats while the other one buys food to
eat while under way.
We moved from Washington State to Texas with three cats. They traveled in
dog-size hard-side travel crates. We had an old Suburban at that time, so
had room for the travel crates.  We stopped at one park and brought them out
with harness and leashes, but they did the belly to the ground crawl and let
us know they were not happy being out of the crates.
We found that Mom & Pop motels let us have a room for us and the cats.  Then
we could let them out for a little exercise in the room. You could also
check to see what lower priced motel chains would allow pets in the room.
Bring a baggie and a litter scoop and a whisk broom to clean up after your
cats.
We did not sedate the cats.  The vet did not recommend it.  After the first
day, they settled into the routine and were fine.
As a precaution, we put collars on them and wrote the phone number of a
person at our destination on a strip of cloth and sewed it to the collar.
If you have a cell phone, you could use that number.
We found that the cats were really good sports during our move, which took
about five days.
Good luck with your move.
Annie

Hard to say, since they all react so differently. Of my three, Rocky
HATES it, LB hates it, and Sammy likes it (after a little getting used
to it). Way back when I saw a PSA on Animal Planet about getting pets
to not stress in the car, and that's pretty much what I did with
Sammy. We started out just sitting in the truck for a few minutes in
the parking lot each day, gradually increasing the time as she got
used to it. Then came starting up the engine to get used to the sound
and virbation for a couple days, followed by short trips. I've never
tried taking her cross country, but don't imagine she'd have any
problem, since after 20 minutes or so she naps anyway.

A couple things that seemed to help. First, she likes to be able to
stand and look out the window, but also wants a safe place to hide if
she sees something scary - like a semi passing by. I have a carrier
that has an extra door on the top, so I can use the seatbelt to secure
the carrier and then tie her leash so that she can stand and watch the
scenery, but not get out of the carrier. I also bring along some of
her favorite food (Fancy Feast), which she no longer gets here at home
since we switched to Iams. Another thing with Sammy, when she's
nervous she likes to have personal contact, even if it's just being
able to touch my leg through the bars of the carrier.

One last thing, something you probably already know. Make sure they're
secured before you open the door or window.

http://www.i-love-cats.com/meow/ramblincat/index.html
We found lots of good info there when we moved overseas with Vino.  Cool
stories there too.
--
Britta
Sandpaper kisses, a cuddle and a purr. I have an alarm clock that's covered
in fur!
Check out pictures of Vino at:
http://photos.yahoo.com/badwilson click on the Vino album