Useful Tips for a Long Drive with Your Cats

My husband and I live in Florida but have a vacation home in the mountains of northeast Georgia. It's about a 7 ½ hour drive between the two homes. Well, this last Christmas holiday we decided we wanted the whole family up there in Georgia so we also brought both of our cats named Milo and Otis. In the past our adult kids would meet us up there and our cats would stay home and be watched by a neighbor.

Our cats were not use to going in the car. I did a lot of research about taking cats on long trips. We were hesitant about some of the solutions we found on the Internet because it seemed like everywhere we read it talked about giving the cats a sedative for the drive. That really bothered us but at the same time we were concerned about the howling and impact on the cats for that length of a trip. So you know, cats will meow alot and howl like a dog when they are riding in a car. If you have ever heard the sound of a cat scared you would think it was possessed by a demon. Then I had an idea.

I started thinking along the line of being a mom. I recalled how it was when I had to get my first born child to sleep through the night; with a gradual step approach. It's a mother's first experience with "tough love" when you try to get your child to sleep through the night. You start out by allowing them to cry for 5 minutes for night one, 10 minutes for night two, 15 minutes for night three; and by the fourth night they are sleeping through the night. However, it takes courage on both parents part not to interfere with the gradual approach. So our strategy was to make the 7 ½ hour trip to Georgia without drugs, even if it took longer to get there with this similar approach. However, we decided that we would not allow the howling or meowing to bother us if it happened. We knew that if we could show them security, they would be fine.

Oh, I forgot to mention, we took our Toyota Yaris car. If you don't know what a Yaris looks like (its a very small car), picture a German 2-person "Smart Car" but a little bigger. My husband calls it a "stretched Smart Car". It is very compact inside the car, but fortunately, the back seats do lie down flat.

The Preparation before the trip:

It was my husband and I in the car with the 2 cats. At first we were going to use a soft crate for each of them but realized they were calmer without it, plus they would have more room in the back without it. I read all about crating but this worked well for us.

The person on the passenger side (which was me) should have a pillow on their lap because there's a good chance the cat will want to jump back and forth to see what is going on in front plus the pillow helps with the claws coming out when they are trying to grasp. One suggestion is to cut their nails before any trips. I made sure that the cats did not cross over to the driver's side.

About one month before your trip, for at least one day a week, start with 5 minutes of driving around the block with your cat. There will be that howling but you must realize they aren't going to break. Then week 2 and 3 increase it up to about a half an hour ride. We also took them on short trips to the store. The week before your vacation trip, take them on the highway for about 45 minutes. Do reassure them when they do meow and compliment them when they are quiet.

In our case the howling was non existent by the second week but there were a few meows now and then. The week before the trip, they seemed very comfortable. Now, remember our cats hardly ever rode in a car prior to this. The question would be; could they last for 7 ½ hours with a few pit stops along the way? Again, as a mother of two adult children, I knew how I managed when the kids were small so I knew my cats would survive. It's all about making them secure and not showing your concerns. And forget about purchasing any Pheromone products for your cat which is supposed to help calm them down. It's a waste of money and it doesn't work.

The Trip:

My husband is a great car packer and seeing most of the clothes we needed were up there because it is a vacation home, we were able to pack light except for a cooler and a few items. Even with our small Yaris we were still able to allow some space for the cats, litter box and food and water. Try and get a similar type of litter box like they use at home.

Do not expect your cats to eat on the first trip you make or for that matter they may not even use the litter box. I got up early enough before we left to make sure they ate ahead of time and went to the bathroom.

We have managed a trip two times with them and the second time is when they used the litter box and ate on the way up which told me they were getting comfortable with the drive. Again, if you show your emotions or concerns in front of the cat, they will sense that you are uneasy, just like children would feel. They need to feel that you are confident on what you are doing for them.

So during the first trip to Georgia, Otis would jump back and forth the most between the pillow on my lap to the back seat. Then he would settle down and sleep on my lap. And despite the fact that my husband had a nice open area for them with a little built in hide away, Milo preferred to sleep on the floor in the back. Both slept half way there. The other half they were quiet and looking out the window. Only in the very beginning we had a few meows but it quickly subsided.

The total trip ended up taking us a half an hour more than our normal trip without the cats. We took the same amount of stops, however because we didn't want to leave the cats in the car, we took turns going to the bathroom.

Destination:

When you get to your destination you might expect the howling to resume. The first trip our cats did this. You can tell they were scared not ever seeing the house before. They were running under the beds for the first 15 minutes. Then brave Otis came out and started to check the wildlife out by looking out the windows. Finally Milo came out. However, we recently took a trip up there with them and this time they quickly adjusted.

So no matter what you are reading on the Internet about drugging your cats for a trip, it is not necessary. If you just do the preparation ahead of time with short trips and do not show concern about their howling or meowing you will install confidence in your cats for that long trip. I have a male and female and both cats have opposite personalities. Let's face it, there is stress either way, whether they are left home without you or taking them on a trip. And now that we have done it two times, we know they will be fine, just like getting the baby to sleep through night. It also made the trip shorter for us too.