Cross Country Road Trip
 

In a little over a week's time, my husband and I are packing up the car and heading from Montreal to Regina - with our Great Dane Loki , and the 2 cats in tow! We have done numerous road trips with Loki previously, so I know what to expect there - it's more the cats I'm concerned about.

Yagi seems to be a decent traveller - he just sits in the cage and is quite quiet. Molly on the other hand - she can be a bit of a yowler, sometimes pees in the crate, etc. Our plan is to fast the cats the night before leaving and then during the road trip, when we make stops for the dog - to also let the cats out their crates (staying within the car!) to offer them some water and a chance to use a litter. Food will be given once we get to the hotel at night and of course, they will be able to free roam at that point in the room.

Any suggestions or ideas or words of encouragement? This is the part of our move that is stressing me the most - making sure the cats do well during the road trip!

Hello Loki Love:

It sounds as if you are getting the basics right. It is a good idea to have the cats fast for at least 12 hours prior to departure. We found that putting a small litter box in the back of the car on the floor, either behind the driver's or passenger's seat, is a good idea. Although, don't be surprised if it isn't used. Cats have this uncanny ability to be able to shut down the need for the litter box while travelling.
Not all cats do this.
Make sure that the litter box itself is relatively clean and there should be some sort of smell in it perhaps from the litter in your house before you leave, so the kitties know when you get into the motel unit, what it's for.
Stress will be a major factor. I have used Rescue Remedy and Feliway when we moved a month ago. The Feliway was picked up at the vet's office and is a stronger spray than you can purchase at a store. The phermone is 10 % compared to 3 % from the store.
The Rescue Remedy is a spray that we have used for a long time. We apply it to the back of the ears and to the paws, due to the alcohol content of it. There is a pet Rescue Remedy, which I haven't been able to find except for online.
Something to keep in mind when checking into your motel room. Make sure the cats cannot get under the bed. If they can, make sure the bottom of the box spring is completely sealed. There's nothing worse than trying to shake a cat out of a box spring.
We have found that opening the cats cages so they can get out if they wish, is a good thing. It helps to relieve some of the stress of the travel. They might come out to check things out and then go right back into their cages. Just make sure they don't get up on the dash or under foot. Our kitties liked to sit on the arms of the front seats or the console - if your vehicle has one. Some prefer just to sleep on the floor, or on the seat in back, or even on top of whatever you have packed in back. Just be careful that you don't get stopped for "distractive" driving if you decide to try this. And make sure the windows are all locked if the cats are loose.
That's about all we can think of for now. Best of luck.

Happy to report that we made it safe and sound! The cats ended up travelling outside their cages the entire time. Molly was on the passenger lap the entire time, while Yagi slept on the console between the driver and passenger. Loki was his usual superstar self and hung out in the back. It was a crazy long drive from Rigaud, QC to Regina, SK but we are here now and are so relieved there will not be any long car rides again in the near future!

Glad to hear it went so well, Loki Love!! Were Molly and Yagi happy to finally get out of the car, or were they enjoying their naps too much? :D

Hi Loki love
Glad to hear the trip went well with no hitches. Sounds like your kitties were "right at home" in the vehicle.
By the way, how long was your trip - how many days? Did you have to use any remedies or anything, or did they travel well without anything?
We found with ours, that once we got going, they settled down and travelled the same as yours did. They enjoyed having the freedom of the motel unit the one night we spent overnight - exploring all the nooks and crannies of the room.

[QUOTE=hazelrunpack;1068304]Glad to hear it went so well, Loki Love!! Were Molly and Yagi happy to finally get out of the car, or were they enjoying their naps too much? :D[/QUOTE]

I think we were ALL very happy to get out of the car on the last day! LOL

[QUOTE=Reg;1068323]Hi Loki love
Glad to hear the trip went well with no hitches. Sounds like your kitties were "right at home" in the vehicle.
By the way, how long was your trip - how many days? Did you have to use any remedies or anything, or did they travel well without anything?
[/QUOTE]

Our trip was 2-1/2 days (a total of 34 hours). We had two overnight stops - one in a hotel room, and the second night was with family (but we were all in the spare bedroom - cats, dog, litterbox, food, and us!) We tried Rescue Remedy the first day.. but seeing as it had zero effect, we didn't use it again. The cats really settled well into their sleeping routine out of the cages - I was so surprised (and relieved!)

Hello Loki Live
Sounds like you had a great trip. Regarding the Rescue Remedy, if you haven't had any prior experiences with it, or some of the other alternatives like Feliway, they work very subtly. Basically it takes the harsh edge off anxiety and makes it a little more bearable. It doesn't have the signs of the harsh sedatives of leaving the animal in the form of stupour. So it you use it on the first day, it is quite possible that it had an affect that you didn't recognize. By the time the 2nd day rolled around, they were accustomed to the travelling.
My suggestion would be to use it on yourself. I use it from time to time when I find stress is getting the better of me and it has a tendency to soften the edges of the stress and make things a little more bearable.