Two of the cats that lived with us had overactive thyroids and were given medication twice a day. I put half a pill in half a feline "pill pocket" followed by a few Temptations treats. I would just put the med and treats on the floor and cats would vacuum them up.

The brand name for the pill pockets is "Greenies"

How horrible!! Why take a pet if you aren't prepared to take care of them. She must have been miserable. I will definitely ask if the vet says no. I have an email in to them now, hopefully I'll hear from them soon.


We're in exactly the same situation. No one to help us, and I don't think I'd want to try to burden a friend or neighbor anyway with a special needs type of cat. If they were just in need of food, water and a warm bed, it might be OK for a weekend for us, but our vacation a few years ago made me so nervous. We have such a great neighbor, the one time she looked after them, she made sure she visually spotted stormi each night and emailed me to tell me that she had. :) A lot has changed since then though, and it would be unkind to everyone to try to ask her to pill an unwilling cat.

Somehow I knew that the people here wouldn't think I was a complete nutter for wanting to do this. :) We had the trailer already, for the bikes and such, but I find as I'm slowing down some, I see other uses for that big back area ;) I'm reasonably sure they would do fine with the trailer when it's stationary, and might get used to the truck while moving. A trailer is so bumpy when it's moving (I rode in the back for a couple of miles once to see what it was like for the animals), I'm surprised that animals will sleep in the trailers.

OK, I laughed out loud when I read this. One of the kitties thought I was nuts. :) I've seen them in the stores and often wondered if they worked. Kitty Crack, eh?

The only thing I can think of is to ask the vet if there is a kitty Dramamine. Our dog had to have Dramamine to go on a car ride to the vet or he vomited everywhere. The vet said to give him half a Dramamine. It worked and he eventually got over it.

Good luck.

Oh, you are going through a rough spot. We had to decide whether to put our two 18 year old cats to sleep or move them 3200 miles with us. Both had health issues/ We just couldn't euthanize our companions. It was a rough trip even with the "relaxing drops" the vet gave us. I wish you well and hope you find a good solution for you and your fur babies.

That is a tough situation. I can sympathize as I had a 'difficult' dog that kept me at home for ten years. I boarded him at the vet a few times b/c I didn't have a choice when I had surgery and follow on chemo, etc. But it was hard on both of us.

I didn't read all of the posts here but I did notice 1) the difficult neighbors and 2) you plan to stay within an hour of home. Have you considered leaving the cats overnight and staying at home during the day? Since you don't plan to be that far away, maybe you could do that. I think I'd opt for finding a place with a nice restaurant and good cable tv and just 'camp out' there for a couple of nights, going home in the morning.

I hope your neighbors are renters and will eventually move on . I went through that for two years (I'm in a condo) and it was horrible.

The rule around here is if we go, the cats go. We have had cats since 1964.

The first one was while we were in college and our only transportation was a motorcycle. He liked to sit in the big pocket of my windbreaker or the right saddlebag. He would sit on the seat of the motorcycle waiting for someone to go somewhere so he could tag along.

All subsequent going places close and not so close have been in combinations of cars and rvs. All of the cats had their quirks. Some loved being in the over the cab spaces so they could oversee things inside and out. One seemed to object to the first night out. If you are traveling for time in an rv, each night until you arrive at your destination is the first night out. That cat was an 18 pound male ragdoll (breed) and a sweetheart but he had a voice that would curl your hair and he would spend that first night yowling and stamping all over my husband. The following morning was not fun at the breakfast table. We discovered that if Rich slept over the cab that first night and the cat and I slept in the bed, all was right with the world from then on - even at the breakfast table.

All but one of our cats lived to very old ages. A couple of them were diabetic, complete with meters, blood tests and insulin. They went with us also. One other cat had a special diet I needed to make for him and he and his diet and his equipment went from Florida all over the Midwest and the northern Midwest for four months one year.

I guess that means that if you want to do it, it is doable? Your idea of a 'warm up/test' trip is a good one. Away from home, I would think. Every year we have the rv gone over for problems and then pack up and spend a week about 30 miles away from home so we can be sure everything and everybody are on track and everything and everybody can be towed back home in case of problems that did not get taken care of.

Oh! Before you head out for somewhere for real, make sure everyone, including the people, has had the doctor's/the vet's once over gently, all meds are covered, there is a list of what meds for whom, why, and phone numbers for doctors and vets. Not to mention critter shot records. People shot records would probably help too. We have been in emergency situations with both cats and human and the above is really important.

Enjoy your get away. Sorry for the length but I was a project manager and one of my quirks is that I despise unnecessary and nasty surprises. "Plan for the Worst" is my motto because, if you do, everything else is a piece of cake.

The 18 # avitar cat goes with us most of the time---may leave him home for a weekender with a continuous feeder but take him in our motor home---he really doesn't like the driving part but when we arrive he is fine---when we go north or south he rides fine [sorta] but when we go east ot west he get sick---slobers for a while---then barfs and is ok---asked the vet and he just said 'Oh well, that's Toby' it seems to be nerves rather than motiong sickness---I put baby bibs on him for the slober-----I do take his food away the night before we leave---when we get to the campground all our friends come to visit him

I have read all of Lillian Jackson's cozy mystery series, "The Cat Who...", and pooh poohed each time I read that main character Jim Qwilleran's cats, Yum-Yum and Koko would happily jump into a travel bag. Now I've read some of your adventures with cats, and I guess I can buy into it. However, my avatar cat Franky, who passed on my birthday, May 7th, this year, would complain loudly and constantly every time he had to ride in a vehicle. No vacations with him, for sure.

I've never camped with my kitties but I did with my dogs years ago. They took off as soon as we let them out of the car. We found our male scottie getting friendly with a bull in a field. That was a close call. Now I've traveled with a cat from Florida to Iowa so a long trip. I jambed her carrier on the back seat between the two front seats and was able to set her water and food bowls wedged between the carrier and front seats. She was able to lay on top of her carrier to see out the window and/or come up to the front passenger seat to get petted. It was my first time with this cat and she was no problem. Her litter box was way in the back of the SUV but where she could get to it and I didn't have to smell it. I drove straight thru so about 27-29 hrs in the car with her. I let her out at a rest stop to stretch her legs and that was a mistake as there was a stray cat on the other side of the fence. I had to coached the stray to come thru for some food to get mine to come back over to me. Didn't try that again.