Just three days ago, my wife got word that her employment is ending here in California.
I'm retired, and my wife is opting to take early retirement.
We need to sell our house and move to Ohio(Toledo area) where we will be close to our kids(son and daughter in law).
Here's what we have to do.
1. Sell our house soon(In a few months)and use what equity we receive from the sale to purchase a home in Ohio(Toledo area).
2. Must pull our 27' Komfort Trailer from San Jose, CA to Ohio.
3. Must dolly or trailer two high mileage vehicles(son's and wife's)
back to Ohio or possibly have them transported(don't know that cost).
4. Have our family sedan with low miles and our son's p.u. to drive back there.
5. Must the figure the best way to move our possessions; u-haul, moving company, storage pod transport/storage?
6. Cats: We have 3 kitties. Kitties aren't dogs. Ours don't dig cars or being in them. One is about 16 years old, another is about 12 years old, and the last one is about 4 years old. What is the most humane way of getting them back to our final destination/Ohio?
Our drive back to Ohio at the minimum will take us about 5-6 days. That's doing around 400+ miles a day on the road. In the meantime how do we get our kitties back there? Can they be drugged to the point where they will stay in carriers without suffering and we can give them food and water? How about their need to go potty?
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Any help you folks can give us will be greatly appreciated.
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P.S. To say we're stressed is an understatement.
Regards, Eightballsidepocket
2005 Dodge Ram 2500 SLT 4x2 Quad Cab, Cummins, 48RE Tranny, Lg Bed, Line-X Spray-on Bed Liner.
06 T25BS Komfort Trailblazer TT
"If you can't say it in person, it isn't worth saying while hiding behind an anonymous P.C.!"
My family drove from CA to North Dakota with six people, three dogs, three cats, and a boa constrictor named Henrietta... in three cars. Our memories of that are pretty hilarious for the most part. It can be done, you can do it, and you can even have a good time at it!
Cats are not generally car enthusiasts, but there are people on here that have cats that ride well and even enjoy it. You'll get lots of tips, and I'll start off with suggesting that you explore Rescue Remedy, pheremones (Feliway) in spray form or in collar form (there are a couple of brands) and we consider coming up with a conditioning program to associate the car with something other than a trip to the vet. Leash training might even be helpful, and clicker training. Especially since this isn't happening next week or anything, you've got time to work on some things with the kitties.
But the first order of business is still to get your mind out of panic mode and into adventure mode.
susan
You know, there's really quite a lot to be said for having your life turned upside down!
Maybe start taking them on short rides in the car. About 5 minutes to start, then gradually increase. Once or twice a day. But EVERY day. Let them loose in the car, as long as they will stay away from the driver. They need to roam to get comfortable with the new experience. After a couple weeks they should be ready to go.
Our cat is one that loves riding/traveling. She loves looking out the window at all the new scenery.
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Code2High wrote: Deep breaths, come on now, you can do it!
My family drove from CA to North Dakota with six people, three dogs, three cats, and a boa constrictor named Henrietta... in three cars. Our memories of that are pretty hilarious for the most part. It can be done, you can do it, and you can even have a good time at it!
Cats are not generally car enthusiasts, but there are people on here that have cats that ride well and even enjoy it. You'll get lots of tips, and I'll start off with suggesting that you explore Rescue Remedy, pheremones (Feliway) in spray form or in collar form (there are a couple of brands) and we consider coming up with a conditioning program to associate the car with something other than a trip to the vet. Leash training might even be helpful, and clicker training. Especially since this isn't happening next week or anything, you've got time to work on some things with the kitties.
But the first order of business is still to get your mind out of panic mode and into adventure mode.
We just put a litter box down in the bathroom of the motor home. Our cat just goes somewhere and hides, mostly asleep, until we get near dinner time...
We have two cats, 2 years old that we leash (harness) trained this past summer. It was hard - at least for me. It took about a month to get them to walk without laying down trying to get the thing off or sitting down and refusing to come to us. Some kitty treats helped tremendously. For one of them, my 4 year old put a "dangler" on her fishing pole and walked in from of us with the "dangler" behind her back, about 6" off the ground. We would occasionally let the cat "get it".
We did this so we could take them camping with us, also. They stay on their leash while sitting around the campfire in the evening. We were only camped about 50 miles away from home, but they rode in the TT. They had their beds from home, which were placed on the bed in the front bedroom. They wore their harnesses, but not the leashes; this to assist when we got to camp and when we got home, so there was less likelihood of them escaping.
I laid an old sheet on the bed, placed their beds on top. Their litter box was placed in the floor close to the bed and a travelling dog bowl full of water was put in the center of the floor. I had a towel around the bowl for JUST IN CASE.
The trip was not their first experience in the camper and it was not HOT. We did keep a couple of vents open in order to move some air, but it was not hot inside the TT. Warm, not hot. We would go out to the TT each day and hang out for a while - I was doing mods, cleaning, packing, etc. By the time we went camping, they felt at home in the TT.
We tried taking the cats in the car ONE TIME!!! It was not a good experience for them or for us.
We have transported a couple of cats that weren't used to car travel. On different occasions we took a cat from Oklahoma to Michigan with us. Each time the cat would be very unhappy at first, roaming the car meowing loudly. After an hour the cat would be settled in lying down and, while not happy, at least accepting reality. After a few hours the cat would be moving around some, asking for attention sometimes and looking out the window other times.... pretty much normalized.
I realize the 16 year old may have the hardest time handling it. I would not try sedation unless very mild, as the cat may not come out of the sedation. I guess you have to do what you have to do, and there is no easy way that I know of.
We set a litter box in the back of the vehicle the whole time. The cat would tend to 'hold it' until we stopped for a break; while it was quiet and motionless the cat would do his/her business.
Oh heck, just treat them like you would treat a mother in law... hogtied in the trunk. Just kidding!!!!
Mike & Sherry
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I transported 2 kitties from AZ to Michigan when I went to AZ to bring them and some of my sister-in-law's furniture. The kitties were in a transportation kennel (?). There was a litter box in with them. They were lightly sedated at first. They got along fine for the trip. Four days if I remember correctly. It was in 2005.
RRUGG
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I would never transport the cats, loose, in the tow vehicle. Too much chance they could bolt out a door or window and never bee seen again.
We've transported ours in the RV, in a large(ish) pet kennel. We try to hold the travel down to a couple hours a day (probably not what you could do).
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Just kidding!!!!
