Anyone ever ship a cat?

[MountainLaurel]

I'm going to be moving within a couple months from Maine to New Orleans. I have a 14-year-old tabby who is not a good passenger. To save her from almost a week of driving (I'll be stopping to visit my folks en route), my husband thinks that giving her some vet-provided sedatives and sending her via airplane might be easier for her (and for me). Does anyone have experience with this sort of thing to share, especially if you won't be traveling with the animal in question?

Thanks!

[virgdem]

1. From my experience...

I would tell you not to ship the cat via the airlines and definitely not to sedate the cat if you do ship it via air. Cats can have an adverse reaction to sedation and I would not ship a cat alone without your supervision. There have been many horror stories about cats that got out of their cages and got lost in the airport or worse, arrived DOA. I did ship 5 cats from Guam in the early 90's and thankfully had no problems. I was lucky, some others have not been so lucky. I would consider taking the cat with you in the car. It may be a long ride, but your cat will be less stressed out and you can always be there to monitor the situation. There are books and articles that you can access online to help you with your move with your cat. Also, your cat is 14 years old and considered a senior, and cats generally don't travel well. The less stress you can put on him/her during the move, the better off your cat will be. Good luck.

[haele]

2. At that age, if you fly her, it would be best to fly her in cabin in a carrier with you.

That way, you can be there for her, and the stress level would be a bit less traumatic for you both. IME, Cats are social critters and need re-assurance when things are unpleasant. When I flew with my boys due to long-term work travel, I flew them in a a well-insulated (with cuddle towels and catnip) medium dog carrier so they could comfortably be together, which lessened the stress to them immensely. And I made sure I had the least amount of layovers possible.

However, it would be best to take her with you on the drive - with an emergency supply of Kitty Zoloft and catnip, if she takes to it.
Start off with short trips to a pet store, where she can get treats and scritches during the break period between the drive.
When she's traveling a long period of time in a carrier, scatter fresh catnip in the bottom and have something that smells comforting to her, a cuddle item of some sort. A vet that specialized in show animals recommended "the 2 Cs" - Catnip and Cuddle items - when traveling with cats. She'll probably just go to sleep after about a half hour or so of travel.

Haele

[MountainLaurel]

3. Thanks for the tips, both of you

I'm going to call the vet this week and schedule an appointment for a checkup and chat. Flying with her won't be an option (I'm taking the car down and then Mr. L will be following with a moving truck once we close on a house). But I will definitely look into aids for a more pleasant driving experience than last time if we can go that route (I'm not sure if the family member I'm staying with will be OK with me having the cat there -- I don't know about allergies and such), when I wasn't able to get the vet-recommended Benadryl in her (I doused her with Rescue Remedy instead), and we had a two-day stop in a motel because my car caught on fire.

Here's another question, though. How do you make a litterbox available on a driving trip? Do you just let them out of the carrier when you stop for breaks and hope they use it then? When we moved up to Maine, she was OK during the first leg of the trip because we had only been on the road for a few hours before we had to stop. On the second leg, she had an accident 20 miles from our new home. Since I have a newish car, I'd really like to avoid that this time.

Thanks.

[virgdem]

4. The best advice about the litter box...

is to get about half a dozen disposable litter boxes that you can get at Petsmart or Petco and put them in the back on the floor. When you stop at a rest stop, make it available to her to use. I would not take her out of the car, as she can get loose and you run the risk of losing her. I think that traveling by car is the best way to go in your situation. If staying with a friend/relative is not an option, there are motels/hotels that accept small pets. You can find this information online through google or yahoo search engines.

[blondie58]

5. God bless you MountainLaurel for taking your family with you

I always see people on Craigslist wanting to rehome their pet- because they're moving, because they're having a baby, et.

You might try some Rescue Remedy. The shelter that I help out uses it regularly to help calm the cats. Good luck.

[MountainLaurel]

8. I could never do that

She and I have been together for 7 years.

[Tammie]

6. Taking her with you in the car is best IMO

I've heard too many bad things happen when pets are shipped in the cargo hold.

My friend moved from Chicago to Viginia this past summer. He drove there with his 20 year old cat. I think he used Rescue Remedy and he stopped once along the way at a pet-friendly motel. The only special thing he did though was he bought a larger cat carrier so Grumpy wouldn't feel cramped up during the trip. I was worried about Grumpy because he's so old but it all went smoothly and he made himself right at home in his new digs.

[japple]

7. IMHO it's best for your kitty to travel with you. And he

needs to be in a carrier for his protection, and you can put newspapers in the bottom in case he has an accident. You can get some Rescue Remedy or something from the vet to calm him without heavy sedation. You can let him out to use the litter box when you stop for a break. He won't need as much food as usual, but he will need plenty of water. Good luck, and let us hear all about it.

[Lorien]

9. I've shipped cats before. One good experience and two bad ones

I had two older cats that I shipped via Delta 19 years ago and they arrived covered in drool and missing large clumps of fur. A kitten I had shipped caught an illness on the flight and died a month later, after a long battle to save his life. I'd recommend taking them as carry on baggage and flying with them. The problem with shipping them is that they are often handled as baggage, crammed up next to barking dogs, and sometimes left on a very noisy tarmac for hours.If you cat carries the corona virus (and 80% do) it's likely that that much stress could cause it to mutate into FIP.