LOL, you've become our resident pet expert. So far everyone has been asking about dogs, but I'm hoping you know a bit about cats, too.

I'm moving back east, which means driving from Kansas to South Florida. My 10 month old puppy will be ok, because the kids will be in the car and will entertain her. She isn't fond of car rides, but has gotten better. My concern is my (approx) 4 year old calico cat. She HATES being in the car. When I moved to this town, from one town away (less than 20 miles), she HOWLED the whole way, absolutely FREAKING OUT! I have a 30 hour drive with 2 kids, a dog, and a terrified cat, and I'm very concerned about her. What can I do for her? I'm not sure I will be able to get her into the vet before we leave, so getting a sedative may not be possible. I don't know how I didn't think about this earlier, I've just been so stressed with the trip already.

Re-homing her isn't an option, so she's definitely coming with. Are we just in for a noisy trip?

Thanks!

By Jjb on Thursday, September 25, 2008 - 12:31 pm:

You can get a tranquilizer for your kitty. It just makes them sleepy and removes their anxiety. Our vet suggested it for our cat. We didn't do it, but my parents have used it on one of their cats without any side effects. In some ways I think it's healthier than having them terrorized with fear for a long drive.

By Crystal915 on Thursday, September 25, 2008 - 12:50 pm:

The problem with getting a tranq is getting into the vet before we leave. I used one on a dog I had while pregnant, when moving from Florida to Texas, and it worked well, but I'm not sure I'll be able to get one for her by our leave day.

By Kaye on Thursday, September 25, 2008 - 01:07 pm:

Crystal, we used one on our kitty, honestly it just made the howls sound drunken. It was not pretty.

We just evacuated with our kitty. I found that if I can make sure her front is facing one of the kids (so she can see out) and not squished between seats it helped some. But honestly we threw a towel over it for some of the time and kicked the radio up.

Why are you moving? did I miss this somewhere? Is your new boyfriend going with you?

By Vicki on Thursday, September 25, 2008 - 01:33 pm:

If it is a vet that you have been using for your kitty, I would be willing to bet they might just give it to you without having to see the kitty. I know they did that for one of our dogs that got car sick. If we were going someplace and taking her, I could call and then just go pick something up from them to give her.

By Crystal915 on Thursday, September 25, 2008 - 01:45 pm:

I think I have it worked out, provided I can find where I stored her records.

Kaye,
I'm planning on making sure we get something to really relax her, because we will all lose it if she howls. On the drive from the next town over, I let her sit with me. (I know, tsk, tsk... but I didn't have her carrier at the house.) She still freaked out, and actually moved to the back of the truck and cried out the back window.

You didn't miss anything, I hadn't mentioned it yet, because I was still undecided. I miss being near family, both mine and the kids', my grandmom had gastric bypass last October, and is getting older, so I want to be near her. (She's like mom to me, since I'm estranged from my mother) So, I decided another Kansas winter was more than I wanted to deal with, I'm unhappy here, and we are moving back to FL to live with her. We won't stay there forever, because of the cost of living, their dad and I are planning to pick someplace more affordable so we can live in the same town and raise the kids together. (Not us together, just co-parenting, he currently lives in SC.) And no, J is not coming with me, he's a KS boy, has roots here, and we don't seem to be looking for the same things in life, so I'm going "home".

By Kaye on Thursday, September 25, 2008 - 02:07 pm:

Crystal, glad to hear it. I will say I don't regret a bit moving back to texas to be closer to family. Good luck on your travels and keep us posted

By Ginny~moderator on Thursday, September 25, 2008 - 03:35 pm:

Scott's in class until 5:30 or 6,but I emailed him the link and will bring it to his attention when I get home - about the same time he gets home.

By Scott on Thursday, September 25, 2008 - 09:28 pm:

Make the effort to get to the vet and get the tranquilizer. Both you and the cat will appreciate some calm during the trip. A stressed-out cat isn't only annoying, but also unhealthy. Constant stress can have a serious effect on an animal's health.

By Dawnk777 on Friday, September 26, 2008 - 12:46 am:

Crystal {{{HUGS}}}. I'm sorry it's not working out with J. The move east, sounds like the best thing for you. I hope you can get some medicine for the cat.

We had a stressed-out animal, back in July. Jasmine does NOT like everyone's backyard fireworks. It's not fun.

By Karen~admin on Friday, September 26, 2008 - 11:47 am:

Crystal, I've been hit and miss the last few weeks on the board - I didn't know you were moving?? Where in FL are you moving? Are you excited? DH and I go back and forth about moving to FL - we love FL, and *the* issue for us is moving to another hurricane zone.....but I know several people living in P'cola besides my sister (both online friends and IRL friends), and we know some people in J'ville, Tampa, Boca.....I am *almost* envious of you!

By Crystal915 on Friday, September 26, 2008 - 02:17 pm:

Karen, I'm moving back to West Palm, which is where I lived until I was about 4 mo pregnant with the twins. I am very excited, but very stressed!!