Great suggestions! I too will be moving a cat from Eureka to Portland OR, about a 9 hour trip. The cat is already freaked out by the new kitten (who won’t be going) so this new trauma is worriesome. She is also going to have to become an indoor cat because my daughter’s complex only allows indoor cats. (Can’t mess up the expensive landscaping is my guess) We are going to do the crate thing but the suggestion of covering it is a wonderful idea.
Wow, very nice suggestions… I will move from WI to Puerto Rico probably next year and I WILL take my two cats with me… I am of course already worried. We’ll be flying and it will take at least one stop and around 7-8hours from the moment we leave my apartment to the moment we land… sniff…We’ll see…
I have moved with mine and I actually travel with them when we have to be gone more than 1 night. I have a large dog size crate and I leave it out all the time so they dont freak. it has a carpet in it and blankies. I take the door off the crate once were in the car and ready to go so they can use the litter box on the floor in the back and get their food. I keep a quilt over it for privacy and quiet and I always have to have quiet music on. My cats loves music and the minute it is on they settle down. They have never been a problem as long as they are behind their blanket they are happy. They never get on my lap or bother me in the front driving, the whole back seat of course is theirs. We have traveled with them in the car up to five days guess is the longest and not one problem. Though they dont like using the litter box in a moving car and usually hold it till the motel. We been doing this about 7 years now with these cats, Before that I had the champions of travel, cross country 8 times when we lived in washington state and my family was in pa. They never used a cage just their pet beds and leashes.
I carry their tee pee and bowls and everything so it is the same everywhere we go with their belongings. We one time had a hotel where we knew something happened there in the past, the cat was so upset he wouldnt sleep and paced and growled most of the night, we changed hotels the next day and all was quiet again.
Easy. Wrap them in bubble wrap, put them in a box, and ship them UPS.
Easy. Wrap them in bubble wrap, put them in a box, and ship them UPS. that’s funny. I was thinking about that:chair::roflhard::teehee:
Cheley, my cat is like yours…I have to ambush him to get him into the carrier…if he sees it or hears it ahead of time, he will bolt and hide under a bed where I can’t get him!
I’ve traveled about 8 hours with my skittish cat and the best thing is to leave him in the carrier the whole time. He yowls a bit when he’s first put in, but once we started driving, he calmed down and even went to sleep. I didn’t dare let him out for fear he would freak out and jump on me while driving or scratch me up. 
But they seem to be able to survive long trips just fine and then once in a new place, it only takes a couple of days for them to get comfortable. Once the place smells like you, they will feel much more at home.
I would worry about the bed in the hotel room too…how crazy that they can squirrel their way up into the boxsprings! Maybe lock the cat in the bathroom for the night (with food, water, litter box and blankie of course)?
I haven’t moved that far away, but when I went to college my cat came with me… and home every month. 4 hour drive. The first few times we had his box facing forward he could see out, and just YOWLED the whole time, and tried desperately to open the cage. We got a suggestion from my best friend, who’s mother is a cat breeder and travels alot for cat shows. She suggested keeping the box turned around so the cat could not see outside. If it is an open, all over cage type instead, cover it with a sheet. This worked MIRACLES. My cat meowed for just the first 30 min and then calmed down and slept or something. whatever he did he was quiet.
If you aren’t able to have a litter box inside the cage with them because of size constraints, I would pick up a cat carrier that allows for kitty accidents. I found one at a pet store, in various sizes, and if the cat peed, it drained into a removable drawer below the cat, so there would be no pee everywhere, or on the poor kitty.
Also, for moving, if your cat loves to sleep on your bed like mine does, wash your sheets a day or two before the move, and sleep in them and use them as normal until you pack them away. When you get to your new place lock up the kitty in a mostly vacant room or spare bathroom, with all the essentials and your folded up sheets. My cat was so freaked out by my new place, but having that familiar scent calmed him down so much, it’s something I use every time I move now, and i always find my cat curled up on the blanket, or buried in it that first day… It keeps him calmer and quieter.
Good luck to you and your kitty.
My cat and I have moved 5 times. She is 18 and rides in the car really well. Our upcoming challenge is moving from Ohio to Washington. We are flying. Just for fun, imagine me (hubby will already be there) in the airport with TWO cats and one three-year-old. Should be great fun. I am not sure who will need sedation more–the cats, my daughter or me.
candice
I can just picture that cat slinking past the coyotes to get back to its house!!!
We travel to out house 3 hours away every other week and take both cats back and forth. I know it’s not a long journey like yours will be… but they will appreciate each having their own hard carrier with the door open (if they get crazy close the door and then they’ll eventually go to sleep). We keep an open litter box at the back of the car that they use. I also keep a small packet of dry food or treats to give them once in a while, esp when stopped for gas or eating. They’ll make it, they’ll just be completely wiped out for days when you finally arrive. Oh, I just remembered we took them on a long trip to Michigan when my mum died, it was two days in the car and they were fine. Cats are STRONG animals!
Good luck! P.S. I wouldn’t give them any drugs, our vet once told us it’s worse for them coz then they are struggling against the drug feeling also.