I will email my brother to see what he did when he drove WooToo from
Maryland to Connecticut when our mom passed away and I had to take in
my WooToo. For that matter, he drove WooToo from Columbus, Ohiio to
Annapolis some time previous to that. He has experience in this.

Will in New Haven

--

"I have seen the David, seen the Mona Lisa too
And I have heard Doc Watson play Columbus Stockade Blues"
Guy Clark - "Dublin Blues"

here are a few things I am sure of:
-get her a harness and keep it on her totally while on the trip, even if she
despises it  is a safety net for the worst case, it can have her tags and
your id attached, also if she escapes it is easier to grab the harness than
the cat.
-get the biggest cage you can if you can afford it and have the space.
-if you need a smaller cage to carry it then that is fine.
-put her litter box in the floor of the passenger side of the car.  what we
use is a cheap sweater box with a lid which we close when traveling.
-get those cheap kitchen gloves from Sam's club or similar.  if you have
these you can pick up kitty deposits, pull the glove off over your hand and
then discard without touching it and without having a rake or shovel in the
car to take up space and be dangerous in case of accident.
-procedure for letting her use the box:
--you get to the gas station, do everything you need to do before letting
her go.
-your gas, your bathroom break, your snack, you paid, then move the car and
lock the doors, open the box and then open the carrier. let her have a
predetermined amount of time say ten minutes, then even if she doesn't go
put her back.
--if she does go you can offer her a snack or/and a drink of water.
--if she doesn't go just offer the water.
-if she is very vocal you might get a very small kitty jail and keep it on
the front seat and have it so she can see you.
-you might look into some rescue remedy for a while before you start the
trip and while on the trip.
-I just figure the yowling is a pat of the trip and eventually they all have
to nap, they are after all cats.
-food, it seems to me that she is on a restricted diet so you might put her
daily allowance in baggies and keep today's portion with you in the front
seat so she can eat a few crunchiest as you go after the bathroom breaks.
then when you get to the hotel you can give her the balance at night, will
give her time to eat it and might afford you some sleep.
-hotel stays;
--I always keep a cat in the bathroom at night unless it yowls enough to
disturb the neighbors.  safer for the cat and easier to find them, nobody
has to deal with moving mattresses the next day.
-be sure to see what kind of shower curtain there is incase this might be
shredded.
-put carrier, box and food and water in there with her.
-this is also good as if you want to leave for dinner or to get a snack she
is secure in there not loose in the room or cramped in the cage.
-I am not opposed to sedation but I avoid it unless the cat gets so stressed
it might injure their health.  honestly I have never had one of any of mine
cry for more than about 45 minutes.
-another thing you might consider, not sure if it is germane to yours, but
if you have one you  have to push the water on you might consider taking at
leas a couple of gallons of the water she gets at home just to make sure,
you could also pre mix the RR I think, can't remember for sure.
-you might get her medical records copied and put them in a safe place in
the car in case of an accident of  she becomes ill you have records to show
a new vet.

Hope I haven't bored you to tears and sorry for the poor formatting, my
hands are sore but this is so important, not only for her safety but because
this isn't a pleasure trip for you, you may be distracted and therefore
should plan extra hard and be extra cautious, I do think it is much better
than boarding her, both for her emotional security and your wallet,

Lee

I also prefer not to sedate my cats to travel.  But get the sedatives just
in case.  You will know if she (or you) reached a point where she really
needs them,

When we had to evacuate with three dogs and two cats into a small hotel room
for a week, one of the cats, a recently rescued feral, just wasn't handling
things well.  Not the ideal conditions to make her into an indoor only cat.
I found a vet close buy and he checked her over and gave me pills for her.
He wouldn't accept payment for the office visit or for the pills.  She was
fine the next few days, and very happy to get back home.

Jo

've moved my cats from Alabama to Florida to Georgia and back to Aabama
by car over the last 8 years.The absolutely hate being in a carrier and
 make their disapproval very clear and very vocal. Fortunately they are
very well behaved if they aren't in a carrier, so they go in the back of
the car with a litterbox and water. I put a screen in the middle of the
car to keep them from joining me during the trip. The only issues is the
need for a good deal of car if you stop overnight and want to move them
into the hotel room , since they are loose in the back and escape is a
worry.

First cross-country trip I made with cats, I had the same
worry, and got tranquilizers from the vet.  However, they
proved unnecessary - after an hour or so of off-and-on
protest, they accepted the inevitable, and simply slept for
most of the ride.  (Cats are pretty pragmatic  critters -
once they realize protesting won't get them anywhere, they
usually stop.)

Mine had no problem waiting until we stopped for the night
(actually, I'd head for my motel in late afternoon).  First
thing I'd do after registering was bring in the cats, set up
their food dishes and a disposable litterbox in the
bathroom, shut them in, and go get my own dinner.  I'd let
them have the freedom of my room, once I returned, and of
course they'd sleep on the bed with me.  (Only problem was
occasionally getting them out from under the bed, the next
morning, but since I had them in harnesses with leashes
attached, there was usually something to grab hold of.)

She'll probably feel most secure in her own carrier - it's
snugger and easier to wrestle in and out of your car and
hotel rooms.  Also, you can put it on the seat next to you,
and give her vocal reassurances from time to time.  The
first trip, I did get a large carrier, and started out with
litterbox and bowls in it, but they ignored both when
enroute, so the next trip it was just a normal carrier.
(Big enough for both of them, because they seemed to feel
more secure together, but just space enough to stretch a bit
between naps - they got their action at night.  They also
seemed happier with the carrier on the seat next to me,
rather than in the back of my Civic Hatchback, where they'd
traveled the first time.  (I'd usually bring them back a
"treat" of meat or fish from my own dinner, and spend the
evening watching TV so they could lap-sit at will.)

My first trip took nearly a week, and they did very well
with the arrangements I describe.  (The trip to Arizona last
year was a piece of cake, since we only had one night in a
hotel.)

Clean the cat carrier.  It probably smells like fear and the vet's
office.

Take your cat for a ride every day until your trip.  A ride that
doesn't include the vet office.  

Spray Feliway on the carrier.

Back seat floor board.  

Maybe one of those mesh dividers that will go from one side of the car
to the other, and floor to ceiling.  They are made to keep a large dog
in the rear of a vehicle, but should work for cats as well.  That way
the cat has the back seat area and you have the front without having
to worry that you will suddenly be "wearing" a terrified kitty on your
face while trying to drive.    

Carry proof of vaccinations with you.  
Buy a harness and leash and use it during the trip.  
Headphones and good music.  
Debra in VA
See my quilts at
http://community.webshots.com/user/debplayshere

Most of what I'd say has already been said. so don't really have
anything new to add, but am always willing to add my two cents worth
;-)

If at all possible, let Persia get used to the car. Start just letting
her sit in the car with it not running, and work up to short rides to
places she can get out and have fun exploring. I've never tried a long
distance drive, but Sammy used to like rides in the truck. I sometimes
take Sammy out to the park. When we get there, she gets some Fancy
Feast for a picnic treat and does a little exploring. Of course, at
all times she stays on a leash and is either closely supervised or
secured in the carrier. In fact, the leash goes on before we leave
home and doesn't come off until we're back.

Unfortunately, too many trips to TED when she was being diagnosed for
her heart murmur now means she's fearful for the first half hour, so
we don't take as many rides as we used to.

Sammy likes being able to look out the window (though passing 18
wheelers worry her) I have one of those hard carriers with a door on
top as well as the front door. So I'd strap the carrier in, and always
had a leash on her so she had to stay in the carrier, though she could
stand and look out the window.

Won't work for Persia, but Little Bit isn't nearly as fearful if Sammy
rides along. So the suggestion that a companion cat ride along works
for some. Little Bit is also calmed down if the carrier is placed in
the passenger seat facing me, especially if I place my hand so she can
reach out and touch me. This isn't a good idea for all cats. What IS
good for ALL cats? I tried it with Princess when I took her to TED and
all she wanted to show me was what it felt like when she had her blood
taken.

None of my cats seem to like country and western, and since that's the
only thing my radio seems to play I don't play music when they're in
the truck. They're all a bit challenged musically wise - they don't
like C&W but do like me so sing dumb little songs to them ;-) They all
seem to like it when I talk to them.

Sedative from TED might be useful, but only as a last resort.