long car ride tips?

[beccerzz11]

Hi all - I made a separate post asking for vet recs in the DC/DMV area because I'm moving down from Boston. I'm driving down, and was wondering if anyone had any tips to make the long ride as comfy for my Wybie as possible?

 

[Toa and Ross]

I live in a tiny country so don't have experience with long car rides. Hope other members will chime in.

 

[Yoda mom]

I included some tips in a reply to the vet thread
will see if I can find it and copy paste

 

[CathyO]

Looked up your states and it’s 7+ hours of driving. We almost opted driving for 3 days but ended up just taking a flight but did research on things to consider when driving.

1) One would be the size of enclosed crate that works for your space restrictions and your cat’s preference. Some cats prefer being with someone in the back and do not want being on safety leash if they’re not used to it.

2) Know what time usually Wybie pees/poos after eating and time it so that s/he doesn’t need to go before u are able to do a trip break or get to your destination.

3) Bring all or a portion of used litter with u to new place to help provide sense of territory security

4) Option: make food a few days before trip their ok food but the food during or immediately after trip their most favourite food. They usually don’t like to eat when nervous or anxious.

5) Make their carrier part of their play gym so it’s a familiar thing and not one associated with something bad. One of my cat who doesn’t like travelling knows the only time her carrier is bad is when I zip/close the carrier so I learned I should desensitize her her whatever it is that is stressful to her. That includes opening and closing the door of my car.

6) Play cat music if you like (ie. Music for cats) during your cat travel or at least desensitize the cat if u prefer to listen to radio or audiobooks.

7) Put your used T-shirt in cat carrier or crate and ensure to put a blanket over carrier if your cat doesn’t like going outdoors to keep external stimulation to a minimum

8) Use calming aid as per product instructions

 

[Caloci]

I drove across Canada with 3 cats a few summers ago. If your baby is not used to the car or carrier, I suggest getting him used to that and also see if he gets car sick.

Mine all travelled in their own crates with a blanket and their harnesses on. I stopped and offered litter box a few times a day and a bit of water, depending how long you were driving for.

Take some toys and when you stop for the night play hard with him, and in the morning before you hit the road.

Hope that helps.