We have to move our animals to our new home in AZ. It’s a 12+ hour ride. How do I safely move a cat? We want to make sure he can take care of his bodily functions along the way but his cat carrier won’t allow that. Thanks.
How much do you want to spend? You could always get a dog crate big enough for a litter pan
Can the cat stay with the real estate sold?
How far? A day or less and they aren’t likely to “go”. Ours never did. They were too nervous from the experience to “go”.
When we moved from Colorado to Texas (a two day drive with animals and family), we took a litter box with us. We set it up in the hotel for the overnight.
Catapult. duh.
How far? A day or less and they aren’t likely to “go”. Ours never did. They were too nervous from the experience to “go”.
When we moved from Colorado to Texas (a two day drive with animals and family), we took a litter box with us. We set it up in the hotel for the overnight.
Cat carrier, he won’t go no matter what you do. If it needs to go that bad what’s the worst thing that could happen?
Catapult. duh.
Hahahahahha
When I moved my cat 13+ hours in the car, she never needed to go. I eventually let her out of the carrier as being in it stressed her out a bit and she just slept on the seat. I did get some meds from the vet to help relax and aid with motion sickness and they seemed to help. I would ask your vet and see what they recommend. I just gave her one pill and she was awake but very very relaxed.
They also make disposal litter boxes that are pre-filled with litter that you can purchase as a just in case.
A larger cat carrier might work, or let him loose in the car.
If you have a loose cat in the car, be very careful! I had one squeeze in under the brake and clutch pedals once, which led to a few very anxious moments.
I moved from the San Fransisco are to St. Louis a while back. I decided to air freight my cats instead of driving the 2000+ miles with them screaming at me the whole time. It wasn’t too expensive. I use American Airlines cargo, not sure what other airlines does it.
Basically I left my cats with a friend in CA until I got to STL, then they took them to the airport cargo center (pre-arraigned of course) and I arrived at the destination air cargo center shortly after landing and drove them the 15 minutes to my new place. overall it was a pretty painless way to do it, for me at least.
You FedEx-ed your cats? That’s awesome!!! Did you have to cut holes in the box for air? 
I jest - the planes have pressurized and heated cargo areas they use for pets and other sensitive cargo, it’s a decent option…
Basically I left my cats with a friend in CA until I got to STL, then they took them to the airport cargo center (pre-arraigned of course) and I arrived at the destination air cargo center shortly after landing and drove them the 15 minutes to my new place.
What was their crime? (Besides being cats).
I’ve done long car trips with cats before. First, I put them in a clean litter box before we get in the car to encourage them to potty, basically just like you would with a child. This has worked pretty well for me so far.
Then once we’re talking about in the car I’ve transported two different ways. I’ve used a large dog airline crate with a teeny litter box inside (preferred method) and also a regular cat carrier with no litter box. My cats will only go when the car is stopped. When I use a small cat carrier then I get a cheap smallish plastic Rubbermaid type tub (with a lid, very important) and put litter in there. Then we we stop for a break I’ll put it on the floor in the backseat and let the cat out of the carrier to do his business (keeping all doors and windows shut the whole time cat is loose-yes I am in there too) stuff him back in carrier when he’s done then put the lid on the pee tub and deal with it at the destination.
Honestly it is not that big of an ordeal.
I moved my family from Virginia Beach to Oklahoma City in one long drive with 2 teenage kids, a wife, and a 5 year old cat in a Dodge mini-van. The litter box was in the passenger sliding door well and the cat slept in the back with the luggage most of the way. He got up and played with the kids once in a while but they kept him where he belonged.
At the end we just swept out the door well and the disinfected the area. The car was good to go and the cat did fine.
When I moved my cat 13+ hours in the car, she never needed to go. I eventually let her out of the carrier as being in it stressed her out a bit and she just slept on the seat. I did get some meds from the vet to help relax and aid with motion sickness and they seemed to help. I would ask your vet and see what they recommend. I just gave her one pill and she was awake but very very relaxed.
They also make disposal litter boxes that are pre-filled with litter that you can purchase as a just in case.
Perfect. Gotta get some cat downers. Why can’t cats be dogs?
Rent an RV for a one way ride. Let the cat roam around in the RV and obviously bring the thunderbox.
This is the same setup we use for our 10 hour drive. We give the cat one shot at going when we stop for lunch and sometimes he does, sometimes he holds it. The Rubbermaid container can also serve as a very short term litter box if you don’t have one immediately available upon your arrival.
Carrier - I wouldn’t let them loose with out previous experience on how they react in the car.
Gravol - ask the vet for dosage
Feliway - cat relaxation pheromones. Vets sometimes have samples that are like wet wipes you wipe in the carrier.
What was their crime? (Besides being cats).
Well, being cats they are guilty of several counts of attempted murder by staircase, and of course conspiracy to take over the world!
… damn auto-fill. Not gonna fix it though.
What was their crime? (Besides being cats).
Well, being cats they are guilty of several counts of attempted murder by staircase, and of course conspiracy to take over the world!
… damn auto-fill. Not gonna fix it though.
Glad to see it’s not only me that the cats are trying to kill.