Originally Posted by
willis.debra
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.
Our dog used to do that too. She actually got to the point where she would stick her head in the bag we offered for her to throw up in. Eventually she grew out of it, but from time to time, we still give her a gravol before we leave, per her old vet. Seems to help. I'm not sure what's out there for kitties. I will inquire. We took the one who's not used to car rides out last night and she started yowling and shaking all the way to the post office and back, only if the truck was running. This will be a challenge.
Originally Posted by
coopah
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.
Thanks
We will try to ease them into it, even if it means that we're here this weekend dealing with the neighbors. Maybe by next long weekend they can be ready. We don't have AC in the house so we may be moving into the trailer for next week anyway, so it will be good conditioning for them.
Originally Posted by
sparkys_mom
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.
DH thought this seemed like a really good idea.
It would be tough on me to some degree, I'm used to kitty comforters at night, and I get terribly home sick for my kitties but it may be a viable option.
Yeah, these guys bought unfortunately. The woman works at a bar (older than me), and it looks like she brings her work home with her. Last year when we went to ask them to turn it down she said "When I get a night off from the bar, I just wanna relax and have fun!!"... uh... Ok, but it's been 13 hours....
Originally Posted by
w1613s
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.
Ha! Awesome!! Motorcycle kitty! I always joked about putting our old kitty on the bike to go to the vet, aviator glasses, and helmet, and little cheeks flapping in the wind. DH thought it wasn't a good idea.
Thanks for the reminder on the medical records and such. We usually have their most recent labs and such if we travel, but that's about it. I'm a former technical business analyst, so I appreciate the planning (and a PM that does planning as well, a lot of the ones I worked for shoved it all on us)
Originally Posted by
scarlet14
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
That's really weird that he would care about the direction! I think our one kitty has a pretty big case of the nerves, so we've slowed down our timetable for her. I made sure when we got home that she had all she could eat of her favorite (usually forbidden) food, so hopefully she'll start to equate the truck rides with her favorite food and let us do this.
Originally Posted by
Cheshirecatquilter
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.
At first, even my oldest kitty would put her back feet on the console, her front paws on my shoulder and yowl in my ear. Eventually, she wanted to go for car rides. You never can tell how the kitties will or if they will adapt.
Sorry to hear you lost your furbaby. That's one of the toughest things I've ever gone through.
Originally Posted by
Snooze2978
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.
I have a fear of the kitties getting lost, so I would definitely make sure that they were well corralled even at stops. Did kitty willingly use the litter box in the suv? I have one harness, I could easily find or fabricate another. I used to make all of the dogs' harnesses, including a sled dog pulling harness for our Mal.