Moving CA to CO with a CAT!

[scrub-jay]

So...we are working out our big move and traveling with our feline beastie - Oliver. He is a fairly complacent traveler, although he gives us the death stare between naps and occasionally a cutesy "meow" to let us know of his misery.

He has been on a few 6 hr car trips with us, but never with hotel stays. We have found hotels that allow pets, but I wanted to know if any of you have any hints or tips on traveling with cats.

Do you know if we will be required to get a Certificate of Health for hotels or traveling between states. We will be driving with him for about 3-4 days, breaking regularly and keeping him in his beloved "Sherpa" carrier.

Glad for any advice.



-C

[spotty_dog]

I took two cats from Portland to Cleveland (plus an 80 pound dog) in 2002, three from Cleveland to Phoenix in 2006, and three from Phoenix to the Seattle area (plus a 40 pound dog, an infant, and a toddler) 2.5 weeks ago.

Technically you're supposed to have a health certificate to cross state lines but I've never been asked for one. There is an agricultural inspection at the California border but they waved us through despite the obvious pets and houseplants, so I don't know what they ask for if you stop. Motels don't ask for health certificates.

Super 8 and Motel 6 have a chain-wide policy to allow at least one small pet, so we aimed for those on the Cleveland move. This time we had a GPS device with us that has a function to look for lodging. When we'd get to our tolerance for being on the road, DH would call places about 30-45 minutes ahead, ask if they were pet friendly, and make a reservation. In our case we usually just said we had "a" pet and tried to be circumspect about getting the whole crew into the room. Shouldn't be a problem for you with just the one cat though.

My cats won't use the litter box on the road/at rest stops so I didn't even try on this trip. I learned on the way to Phoenix that they can last 12 hours before the have to go so bad they pee themselves, so I was very strict about stopping before that 12 hour mark.

I used an emesis (or sitz bath?) basin from the hospital as a temporary/disposable litter box. I'd put less than an inch of litter in and bring it in. Lock cats and box in the bathroom, then give them the run of the place once they'd peed. In the morning I threw out all the soiled litter. To make sure they didn't dehydrate I mixed extra water in their normal canned food.

Good luck and have fun!

[MrsC]

I've never travelled more than a few miles with the cat but we'll be moving 7 hours away with her in a few months. I'm nervous!

A friend of mine took her cat on a flight to CA and the vet sugested giving him Benadryl. They said it's calms them down enough so that they don't get stressed out, yet it's not strong enough for them to need medical supervision.

I'm still going to take ours to the vet for advice on this. She completely freaks out in a new environment so I'm thinking she'll be the most difficult part of our move.

[scrub-jay]

Our vet recommended Feliway spray, it is a synthetic pheromone that supposedly calms cats down. We are going to give that a shot, I'll let you know how it goes. Our cat easily handled 5-6 hour trips with ease, and he is a true scaredy-cat.

*yikes*

-C

[DCJenn]

i've moved three cats from DC to TX, TX to DC and DC to TX. (no- wait the first move was only two cats)

I kept all three in their cat carriers mostly for their own safety in case of an accident but also because no one needs a cat crawling under the brake pedal. When we'd stop for lunch or walk the dog (moves 2 and 3) I'd take one cat at a time out from the carrier and offer them food. I'd offer them the cat pan but like Allisons cat, they're too wigged out to use it. I just bought a disposable pan and cleaned the poop out each morning. I think we mostly stayed at Motel 6s but I made all of the reservations using Expedia because you can select Pet Friendly as an option.

For lunch, we stopped at Cracker Barrels and set up shop on their porches- the three cats in their carriers and one dog on a leash. We'd take turns eating. There's nothing relaxing about eating on the road. A few moves we've found places with outdoor patios - Starbucks and Taco Cabana immediately spring to mind. We've set up shop there, too.

My one cat Trouble is one of those cats that pee/puke/poop anytime she's in the car so we keep her knocked out all day. I got drugs from the vet and we'd give her the pills in some food in the am. I also didn't feed them until we would get to the hotels at night. (no food in the am means no accidents in the carriers. My geezer kitty Darla would howl endlessly for hours but then I discovered that if I played classical music for the first hour or two of the drive, she'd mellow out and be fine for the whole rest of the day in the car. Odd.

The dog had his own area in the backseat- we have a doggy seatbelt and he had access to his food and water at all times. He wasn't normally interested. ETA- the cats travelled with me, the dog with my husband.

Jenn

[scrub-jay]

--update--

Okay, well I know I should have asked for a hall pass, but in the flurry, we just hit the road.

The cat did wonderfully, he wasn't particularly happy, but he was very well behaved. My number one piece of advice for anyone traveling with a cat - buy a Sherpa carrier. Ours was the shape and size of a duffel bag (made for Delta flying I think) and was very low profile. He had been getting used to it for about a month prior to travel, so he was content to be inside. He was not a fan of hotel bathrooms, but is now blissfully *helping* us unpack...hmmph (think cat in and out of boxes, under furniture, etc).

We are here and are now in the unpacking process. Sorry for being out of touch for the last week, I will be better.

[ladymoreta]

Glad everything went well! Welcome to your new home!