long car trip ahead for the cat

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Ben - 19 Oct 2005 04:04 GMT

I knew this was coming sooner or later.

It will be roughly a 14 hour car trip from relatively warm weather to
relatively cold weather - Arizona to Colorado in mid-November.

Her pet carrier is small and I'll probably want to get a bigger one -
she'll need food and water and presumably a place to poop and pee.
She gets to go whenever she wants now and I don't know how realistic
it is to expect her to do it at rest stops on a leash - not very, I
expect.

If it were just me, I'd do the drive in 1 day, but I'll probably do it
in 2 for her sake.

I'm going to talk to the vet tomorrow and I expect we'll sedate her,
but any tips will be appreciated.

The bulk of my stuff will be in a moving van, but I expect my car will
be fairly full of stuff as well.

It's not going to be easy fitting a pet carrier in and keeping it
level so water doesn't spill. I don't drive no stinking SUV and even
without being fully loaded, it would be hard to fit a large pet
carrier on the floor, which is the only place where it will be easy to
insure it's level.

Of course I'll be asking the vet this too, but are there any risks in
sedating her? I'm sure there are some, but how great are they? Has
anyone out there had experience with this?

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Upscale - 19 Oct 2005 05:28 GMT

"Ben" <nonspecified@null.null> wrote in message

> Her pet carrier is small and I'll probably want to get a bigger one -
> she'll need food and water and presumably a place to poop and pee.
> She gets to go whenever she wants now and I don't know how realistic
> it is to expect her to do it at rest stops on a leash - not very, I
> expect.

Just make sure your carrier is secure when she's in it. My previous can
hated being in a car because he knew he was off to the vet. One time when I
was driving him there, he managed to get the carrier opened and proceeded to
hide under the brake pedal. I was coming up to a busy intersection at the
time and my only remedy was to grab him by the tail and yank him out of
there so I could stop. He yowled like only a cat can. I don't think he ever
forgave me for that.

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jils - 19 Oct 2005 07:38 GMT

g'day ben
this is an interesting site for cat travel: http://www.ramblincat.com/

i remember driving sydney to melbourne with two children, a dog and two
cats, plus luggage for everyone!
it was about 11 hours. i do remember that we sedated the cats, i think
the sedation mostly helped with stopping them crying all the way and
giving the driver (me) a headache!

i also remember ('scuse the remembering stuff, it was years ago!) that
when we stopped for toilets & food, we would open the pet carriers and
put out food, water and litter trays in the car, so they had those
luxuries for 20-30 mins at a time, maybe three times in the whole trip.
there were no accidents, and no problems.

good luck with your trip!

> I knew this was coming sooner or later.
>
[quoted text clipped - 25 lines]
> sedating her? I'm sure there are some, but how great are they? Has
> anyone out there had experience with this?

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Ben - 20 Oct 2005 07:46 GMT

>g'day ben
>this is an interesting site for cat travel: http://www.ramblincat.com/
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
>
>good luck with your trip!

Thanks - Cat's gonna have to deal with it no matter what. I wish I
could be sedated too, but I gotta drive.

>> I knew this was coming sooner or later.
>>
[quoted text clipped - 25 lines]
>> sedating her? I'm sure there are some, but how great are they? Has
>> anyone out there had experience with this?

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MaryL - 21 Oct 2005 22:06 GMT

>I knew this was coming sooner or later.
>
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> Her pet carrier is small and I'll probably want to get a bigger one -
> she'll need food and water and presumably a place to poop and pee.

<snip>

> Of course I'll be asking the vet this too, but are there any risks in
> sedating her? I'm sure there are some, but how great are they? Has
> anyone out there had experience with this?

I used to travel frequently with my cats. You should keep your cat in a
carrier, just as you mentioned. Be sure to fasten it securely to a
seatbelt. However, you do not need to keep an open container of water while
you are driving. Instead, place a bowl of water in the carrier when you
make pit stops. However, don't be surprised if she refuses to drink
anything until you stop for the night. That's what *all* of my cats did.
Likewise, you should have litter available, but there is a good chance that
she will not use it until you get to a motel in the evening.

I only sedated one of my cats on one occasion. That was my first trip, and
it involved both driving and flying. After that experience, I decided that
I would *never* sedate another of my cats. He was incredibly sick even
though we reduced the normal amount of sedation. After we arrived, he
staggered around so badly that I had to put him on a leash for his own
protection -- otherwise, he could have staggered heavily into the wall or
furniture. After that experience, I traveled without sedating my cats, and
every trip was just fine. Your cat may cry for the first 30 to 45 minutes,
but then she will probably settle down. It would be a good idea to have a
large towel with you. Drape that over the carrier if the sight of movement
outside the car seems to disturb her.

My vet recommended that I should withhold food the morning we were going to
travel and feed at night instead. It sounds like you would be depriving
her, but she is much less likely to get carsick that way. (But, to be on
the safe side, travel with some paper towels "just in case.") Finally,
spray some Feliway inside the carrier about 20 minutes before you put your
cat inside each morning.

Good luck, and have a great trip!

MaryL

Photos of Duffy and Holly: >'o'<
Duffy: http://tinyurl.com/cslwf
Holly: http://tinyurl.com/9t68o
Duffy and Holly together: http://tinyurl.com/8b47e

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Ben - 21 Oct 2005 22:28 GMT

>I only sedated one of my cats on one occasion. That was my first trip, and
>it involved both driving and flying. After that experience, I decided that
>I would *never* sedate another of my cats. He was incredibly sick even
>though we reduced the normal amount of sedation.

Thanks for the info - I'm waiting on a call back from the vet right
now.

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Ben - 22 Oct 2005 04:28 GMT

>>I only sedated one of my cats on one occasion. That was my first trip, and
>>it involved both driving and flying. After that experience, I decided that
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>Thanks for the info - I'm waiting on a call back from the vet right
>now.

That was disappointing - he finally had one of his employees call back
and say he could prescribe something without an appointment.

While that's nice that I don't have to make an appointment, when I
asked if there were any risks or side effects I should be aware of, I
was told they would have a piece of paper describing any possible side
effects or risks.

This is not some animal we're talking about - she's family.

Would anyone give their mother, son or daughter drugs without fully
understanding the risks or possible side effects.

(Never mind - I don't want to know the answer to that - too many
would).

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MaryL - 22 Oct 2005 13:11 GMT

>>>I only sedated one of my cats on one occasion. That was my first trip,
>>>and
[quoted text clipped - 21 lines]
> (Never mind - I don't want to know the answer to that - too many
> would).

My vet will call me personally to discuss any questions or problems I have.
If your case, I would call his office and leave a message asking to have the
*vet* (not staff) call me. If he won't call, I would find another vet.

Incidentally, you could get a couple of tranquilizers and use a pill
splitter to cut them (and thus the dosage) in half. Then, *don't* use one
before you start your trip on the first day, but you would have them
available to use later if you decide they are needed. The disadvantage to
this is that it takes time for the sedatives to take effect, and they may
not work as well if you wait until *after* agitation has set in. However,
as I said in my earlier message, I found that I did not need them. I would
not want to use sedation "in case" a cat "might" need them -- I would want
evidene of the actual need first. Better yet, you could take a "test run"
some time in advance of the actual trip. That way, you'll have something to
base your decision on.

MaryL

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No More Retail - 22 Oct 2005 17:02 GMT

Just remember one thing about sedatives PETS can be allergic to them or not
come out of them
I hear about it all the time when some one comes in to adopt a pet

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