Cats and long car journey

1234catlady

Next week I'll be driving my friend's 2 cats from Scotland to Manchester. Her mum was watching the cats for her while she got her new house done up and now that it is finished, she wants her cats back and she doesn't feel comfortable using a courier service to bring them down to England and she said I am the only one she trusts with her cats so I agreed to drive them down and stay with her for a few days. I have cats myself and they can't bear to be in the car for 10 mins let alone 4 hours so I'm just looking for some tips on how I can make the car ride as easy as possible for her cats. They will be in their pet carriers for the journey. My bf is driving, would it be best if I sat in the back with them do you think?

Tigsteroonie

The Ex and I moved four cats from the Midlands to Scotland, many years ago. We asked the vet for sedation for them, so that they would sleep for the majority of the journey. We also put them in the hatchback, insulated well with blankets below etc, but far enough away that their cries on waking wouldn't be too intrusive

1234catlady

Sedation sounds like a good idea as a car ride for a cat would be hellish and it'll make it go in quicker plus, the sounds of a cat crying is heartbreaking and its the last thing I'd want to hear!

Tigsteroonie

It was our regular vet (so they knew the cats), and we were given a tablet for each of them.

Then came the usual problem of getting a tablet into each cat ... I'm sure you know what fun that can be!!

questionss

Yep contact your/their vet; be prepared to need a consultation if they've not been seen recently. Also check with your friend to see how they usually travel (calm, stressed, urinate, faeces, vomit...)
Also consider feliway spray

SensibleSarah

I find that the one of mine which gets the most stressed travelling is loads better if he shares a v large carrier with one of my other cats. Their travelling days are hopefully over (apart from the dreaded 10 minutes to the vets every so often of course) as it's not fun to put them through it. If I were to do a long one again I'd consider sedating.

Scrimps

If I were in your position, I would begin the car journey by keeping the crates covered with a sheets or something to see if the cats remained settled.

I had a 4 hour journey to the southwest when we moved. It was just me in the moving van and 'little cat' was next to me facing my direction. She spent the entire journey miaowing and sticking her little paws through the door. My nerves were a wreck by the time we arrived and I think that she could see me made it worse for the both of us.

'Big cat' was quiet the entire time despite also being on the front seat...but then miaowed and paced then entire night when we got to our new house.

Zylkene is a product on the market if you're unsure of sedatives, get them dosed from a few days before the journey. I'm not entirely sure it helped though.

Good luck and safe travels.

1234catlady

Thanks for the suggestions!

Feeling a bit nervous about the journey as I know cats hate car rides and it'll break my heart hearing them crying and meowing for hours but I know its all for a good reason, to be reunited with their owner again, so I just need to focus on that instead.

Gloomendoom

Not all cats hate car rides. I think, for some, it's more being cooped up than the actual journey they hate.

All the ones I have had have either not been bothered or appeared to enjoy them. I've discovered stowaways on more than one occasion.

krlyr

Perhaps consider a small dog crate with room for an enclosed litter tray (tied to the crate to stop it sliding) and a bit of movement, and covered with a blanket. May be worth keeping the blanket on the cats' beds beforehand so it smells familiar too.

You could look at Feliway sprays too, it's a portable version of the plugins which are meant to be great for stressed cats. Sedation could be an option, or there are calmative medications - some you can give on the say and some you need to feed a week or so beforehand, so I'd get the friend to check it out sooner rather than later.

Apoorwoman

I have a friend with two cats which she periodically takes with her for weekend stays at her sons house. She finds that putting the two baskets facing, so that they can see each other seems to calm them down. Though her journey is less than two hours. Good luck.