Conference misery::feline_v1

      What I'd do is contact your vet and get some tranquilizers for him. 
    I'd try one about three days before the trip, just to see what it does
    to him..(reason I suggest this is because we ad a male Siamese who
    reacted the opposite of what SHOULD have occurred...he got HYPER from
    the tranquilizer, and also got started biting...)
      
      In 99% of cats, the tranquilizers do the trick. They'll keep a kitty
    woozy and calm for about 4 hours, and by that time the buzzzzz of the
    tires on the highway may have taken over for the pills....
    
      We went all the way from Cape Cod to Minnesota with two cats in a VW
    Bug...and after about 20-25 miles on the turnpike they both settled in
    and slept most of the way...
    
    JM

    I am also moving and will be taking 2 cats by car from Colorado to
    Minnesota this upcoming weekend.  I feel that I have everything
    ready from cat carriers, blankets, catnip, tranquilizers (if needed),
    food, water, disposable litter boxes, to even harness & lead.
    
    I have even been taking them on short trips in their carriers to get
    them use to being in the car, but to also leave their scent in the
    carriers so they will seem familiar when we go for the long haul.
    
    I highly recommend doing a dir/key=traveling.  There are several
    great notes on this topic and they have helped me tremendously in
    preparing for my trip.
    
    Good luck on your journey.
    
    Julie

    Be sure to have him in a carrying case.  Otherwise the potential for
    his getting lost is extremely high.
    

    Most cats don't need to be tranquilized.  The motion and steady
    hum of the car while on the freeway is enough to send them off to
    dreamland all by itself.  Be sure to confine him in a carrier, safer
    for you and for him.  It would be a good idea to get him used to
    the carrier before the trip.
    
    Jo

    I also highly recommend using a carrier.  Some are big enough for
    a small catbox.  If yours isn't, its sufficient to make a "catbox
    stop " every 3-4 hrs for the cat.
    
    I am in the process of trying to capture a cat that got away from
    its owners because they didn't use a carrier.  I can not emphasize
    enough how important it is to your cat's safety that you confine
    him/her securely.  The carrier would also provide some protection
    should you be involved in an accident (God forbid).  
      Finally, my cats' favorite place to explore if we do let them
    run around in the car is under the driver's feet - around the pedals.
    Obviously this is highly unsafe.  Hence the recommendation of the
    carrier.
    
    Have a good trip.
      Nancy DC

    Where in PA? As a PA noter I am curious.
    Sandy
    

    This is to the Hersey area of Central PA.  
    
    Mary
    
    
    

Will you be travelling at night or during the day?  The cats I've transported 
always seemed to travel better at night.  Be sure you keep him crated.  You
may want to talk to your vet about travelling; if you want to tranquilize him
you need to know the dosage, and you may also want to ask about when to feed
him last.  Our old kitty used to heave after 19.5 minutes in the car, so to
minimize damage, he did not get fed for 4 hours before travelling. For the 
length of time you will be in the car, my gues is that if he's not fed for a 
few hours before travelling, you won't need to worry about providing a litter
box until you reach your destination.

    
    If you leave early morning, you may not want to feed anything 
    after about 10 pm the night before (just water).    
    
    I have started using a larger traveling crate in the car with a
    litter box inside so Lil will have no excuse if she needs to 'go' -
    she will start yowling after a little while to make me think she
    has to go to the sand box, put me on a guilt trip, I stop at a
    rest stop, let her out into a box on the floor - she boogies out of the
    box, way to the back of the car, and looks at me, and says, "Ha Ha, you
    silly fool, I gottcha again", at which time I proceed to make her face
    flatter than it already is (by kissing it of course) that's after I
    have climbed over to the back seat, on top of all the show and hotel
    sh*t packed for two humans and two cats, to try and grab a very
    fast-moving not_laid_back_Exotic brat,that moves faster than a flea,
    etc. etc, etc.  I use the crate/litter method for trips longer than
    an hour and 1/2.  I used to use two hours for the cut off time, but
    sometimes on the way home we stop to eat.
    
    I transfer her to her little crate when we arrive at show hall or
    hotel.  I don't hang food or water cups in her large crate cause
    I'm afraid that during sudden stops, she may smack her face on them.
    
    Lil is so hateful - I remember coming home from New Jersey with her
    in her crate - she screamed so long and loud that I thought her poor
    little bladder was going to burst - 3 times I stopped to let her use
    the box - of course she wouldn't - she had used it just before we left
    the show hall (lucky for me) - she just wanted out of her crate to be
    lose in the car, which I wouldn't let her do.  Boy, was she MAD.  Folks
    that lived in PA could probably hear her scream !  Of course, she's
    older now and much more of a lady !!   HA 
    
    E.T. 

    I'm not really sure this is the correct note, but I need some advice on
    travel sickness.
    
    Over the past few months, Georgie has started to be travel sick when we
    take him to the cattery, a journey of around 45 minutes on some very
    winding country lanes.  He's not usually sick in the car, but he is
    when he arrives at his "cube" in the cattery.  He used to be okay,
    although he didn't like travelling. 
    
    On the way home he howls, pants and salivates very heavily.  But he
    isn't sick.  So it seems to be a combination of not liking the car and
    his fear of being taken off somewhere.
    
    I'd like to help him as it upsets me having to leave him in this state
    at the cattery.  The owner of the cattery suggested some homeopathic
    cures which she has seen in an animal book.  These are aconite, ipecac
    or root ginger.
    
    I'd like to know if anyone else has this problem with their cat and
    what they do to overcome it.  Or, if anyone has used any of the
    above remedies.  I'm thinking of asking the vet for something.
    
    Thanks a lot,
    
    Karen

    Ipecac??!!!  Syrup of Ipecac is used to induce vomitting.

ginger root is recognized as a stomach soother for those folks who suffer
from motion sickness.  I cannot imagine that it would be detrimental to a
cat, and it might even help.  Other things that might help:

	1)  do not feed or offer water for at least 4 hours before a trip.

	2)  keep air flowing in the car - preferably from an open window.
	    if it is cold out, crack a window and allow the cat to get
	    fresh air.  No smoking or nibbling food in the car.

	3)  keep the cat in a carrier and keep the carrier in a position
	    so that the cat does NOT see outside the moving car.  Cats
	    do not understand how the world can move by them when they
	    know they are not moving themselves.  They do not understand
	    car movement at all ---- hence, they can get extremely stressed
	    out.  Letting a cat look out the window is not necessarily
	    a good idea unless the cat likes riding in the car...there
	    are some that do, but not many.

	4) talk to your vet about a mild tranquilizer if the reaction is
	   too severe..otherwise, try some car trips that DON'T go to the
	   vet or the cattery...some friends that you can take the cat
	   to visit, perhaps?  Get a harness and long lead for the cat
	   and drive him to an interesting looking field and take a
	   nice walk with him, allowing him to snoop around a bit.  If
	   a car trip isn't always a "BAD" thing, the reaction might get
	   better.

	5) Be sure your car is not leaking a low level of harmful fumes
	   into the passenger section.  Pin holes in the exhaust system
	   can cause such reactions....people are enough bigger than a
	   cat that they might not notice while a cat might get sick.
	   Your description of the trip doesn't lead me to suspect this,
	   but it should be considered.  If your car is several years
	   old, it should be checked.

    Does the cat ride in the front seat or the back?
    Motion sickness is more likely (for people anyway) when they
    ride in the back seat.
    

    Thanks for your replies.  Yes it was ipecac; I saw it in the book
    myself.
    
    I hadn't realized that he probably gets upset looking out of the window.
    We usually put his carrying basket on the front seat.  Would the floor
    perhaps be a better place if the basket will fit in?  Then he wouldn't
    be able to see so much.
    
    The car is always well ventilated.  Even in winter we drive with the
    window down so that he gets maximum air.  I definitely think he gets
    stressed about going to the cattery; perhaps because he knows at the
    end of a long journey he gets left for a long time without us.  But
    once he's there and he gets over the initial shock of being cooped up
    he's okay.
    
    Anyway, thanks again for the tips.  I'll bear them in mind for next
    time, and I think I'll also talk to the vet.
    
    Karen
    
    

    Actually, I'm not sure about not looking out the window.  I can
    imagine that it would frighten the cat, but seasickness for example
    gets a lot worse when you can't see the horizon.
    

    We took Georgie to the vet last Saturday as it was booster time.  We
    mentioned his travel sickness to the vet and he said it was probably
    anxiety that was causing it so he's given him some travel sickness pills
    to try.
    
    Regards,
    
    Karen (and Georgie)