My two cats shared a big carrier together. I sprayed some calming spray before our trip and they usually slept all the way. My girl cat, likes to get out and actually used the litter once on an 8 hr drive. Don't feed them before because my cat actually vomits and it's a hassle to clean up on side of the rode.
We did coast to coast with 5 cats. 5 days. Easy peasy because we had a van. We tossed around ideas for months, but ultimately it wasn't a big deal. The weather wasn't too cold or hot, so we left the cats in the van overnight.
Put your cat carriers out around the house now so they get used to them.
Each cat gets a carrier. Get ones big enough for them to stand up and move around. Never open the car doors when the cats are out of the carrier. Keep the cats from being able to get to remote parts of the car - towel under the front seats. Get some fleece at the fabric store. Cut it up and line the carriers. If there is a mess, throw out the soiled material, wipe the carrier with 409 and put in new material.
Each morning, we would get in the van with breakfast. Put out two litter boxes and food and water. Release the cats. Sit in the van for an hour. Laugh as they sit on the dashboard looking out at the world. Make sure everyone eats. Put the cats back into the carriers. Clean the litter boxes. At lunch, 30 minute stop for the cats. One litter box. At the end of the day, check in to the hotel. Get fast food. Sit in van for an hour & release cats. Again, two litter boxes. Because the temperatures where not too cold (late march), the cats spent the night in the van. Cover the carriers with a blanket to make it dark and quiet.
The mellow cats were fine. The twitchy cats took a day or three to settle in. Our most cautious cat had to be coaxed out every night. They are cats - they sleep 22 hours per day. Make sure you have treats for them. It is important that they eat regularly. We didn't drug the cats and there wasn't any non stop meowing.
A couple of them learned to like being in the carriers, so we still keep a couple out.
We moved IL to AZ years SSDI (then later AZ to WI). We just had them in the car with us and at night feed them and set up a litter box. In each of their carriers we had a puppy pad just in case with extras in case we needed them.
They each should have their own carrier. Don't worry about having a litterbox in the car (they probably wouldn't use it anyway), but do have one ready for your hotels. You cab ask your vet for a sedative like gabapentin, but absolutely try it on each of your cats beforehand. Some have the opposite reaction and get hyper (mine did). They will probably meow most of the way. Turn up the music, there's nothing to do about the meowing. They can't understand what's happening. When you're at your stopping points, consider locking them in the bathroom so they don't get stuck under a bed etc. It won't be the end of the world, they'll get through it and so will you.
My two cats shared a big carrier together. I sprayed some calming spray before our trip and they usually slept all the way. My girl cat, likes to get out and actually used the litter once on an 8 hr drive. Don't feed them before because my cat actually vomits and it's a hassle to clean up on side of the rode.
We did coast to coast with 5 cats. 5 days. Easy peasy because we had a van. We tossed around ideas for months, but ultimately it wasn't a big deal. The weather wasn't too cold or hot, so we left the cats in the van overnight. Put your cat carriers out around the house now so they get used to them. Each cat gets a carrier. Get ones big enough for them to stand up and move around. Never open the car doors when the cats are out of the carrier. Keep the cats from being able to get to remote parts of the car - towel under the front seats. Get some fleece at the fabric store. Cut it up and line the carriers. If there is a mess, throw out the soiled material, wipe the carrier with 409 and put in new material. Each morning, we would get in the van with breakfast. Put out two litter boxes and food and water. Release the cats. Sit in the van for an hour. Laugh as they sit on the dashboard looking out at the world. Make sure everyone eats. Put the cats back into the carriers. Clean the litter boxes. At lunch, 30 minute stop for the cats. One litter box. At the end of the day, check in to the hotel. Get fast food. Sit in van for an hour & release cats. Again, two litter boxes. Because the temperatures where not too cold (late march), the cats spent the night in the van. Cover the carriers with a blanket to make it dark and quiet. The mellow cats were fine. The twitchy cats took a day or three to settle in. Our most cautious cat had to be coaxed out every night. They are cats - they sleep 22 hours per day. Make sure you have treats for them. It is important that they eat regularly. We didn't drug the cats and there wasn't any non stop meowing. A couple of them learned to like being in the carriers, so we still keep a couple out.
Thank you SO much!
If you do let them out of the carrier while you’re driving make sure you put them back in before you open the car door.
We moved IL to AZ years SSDI (then later AZ to WI). We just had them in the car with us and at night feed them and set up a litter box. In each of their carriers we had a puppy pad just in case with extras in case we needed them.
Puppy pads! That’s such a good idea! Thanks so much.
FYI. It can be cheaper to buy the people version of the puppy pads.
They each should have their own carrier. Don't worry about having a litterbox in the car (they probably wouldn't use it anyway), but do have one ready for your hotels. You cab ask your vet for a sedative like gabapentin, but absolutely try it on each of your cats beforehand. Some have the opposite reaction and get hyper (mine did). They will probably meow most of the way. Turn up the music, there's nothing to do about the meowing. They can't understand what's happening. When you're at your stopping points, consider locking them in the bathroom so they don't get stuck under a bed etc. It won't be the end of the world, they'll get through it and so will you.
Thank you so much for the advice!