Suggestions for Moving with Cats

crazedACD

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#1
I'm moving to Phoenix in August :D. I'm so excited, I can't wait to start fresh and make a life for myself where I want to be. I'm going to school there as well.

My biggest obstacle is physically getting there. It is a 40 hour drive, so I'm looking at 3-4 days in the car (will be stopping at hotels...if it was shorter I would not). I have a basic ford focus, and moving my minimal furniture isn't worth the cost. So...I'm moving with the animals and whatever will fit in my car. I have figured out a plan for the birds, and the three dogs will crash in the back no problem.

When I moved with the cats previously, it has been a much shorter drive (18 and 24 hours). I got big individual carriers, put litter in the bottom, no problem. Now Lucy has gotten fairly...bigger..and I don't think they are going to be comfortable for that long in carriers. I'm looking at like small and extra small dog crates, putting a litter box, screwing on water and food bowls...I still have to measure my car and see if they will fit in there.

Does anyone have any other ideas for them? My last resort is having my mom ship them when I get there but the least costliest thing is really best.
 

Kilter

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#2
I have heard of people just taking a litterbox with them, and stopping to potty the cats along the way and then letting them out into the hotel room at night. My concern would be stopping and having a loose cat in a strange place along the highway...

Good luck!
 

Barb04

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#3
When we moved I bought a rabbit cage. I put a small cardboard box in the corner with some litter that they never used. When we would get to a motel/hotel, we would bring them into the bathroom & put the cage in the bathtub to open. They liked staying in the bathroom for security. We also fed them once we were in the motel.
 

ACooper

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#4
Way back when I was 12 years old we moved from Ohio to Arizona. We knew about 6 months in advance and my mom told me if I wanted my cat (big Russian Blue tom) to go, I had to come up with an idea of how to make that happen! LOL

What I did was leash train him. Crate while driving, leash at rest areas. It worked out beautifully. I remember walking him around to use the restroom and all the people would marvel and comment at the cat on lead going potty.........as a kid, it made me so proud of myself 'cause I had taught hm that, LOL

I was just a kid and have no idea if I went about it 'the right way' but I made it happen and got to keep my cat......so that's all that matters to me. I started out getting him used to the harness. Then I carry him out back hooked to the leash and set him down. We did that until he would take a few steps here or there. Soon enough, we were walking all over the back yard on lead.

Next step, going potty on lead.
I put him in the animal carrier and let him sleep next to my bed. In the morning, I would hook him to his leash and carry him to the litter box, set him in it and wait. No potty? Back to the crate for a bit.....repeat as needed until he went.

It really didn't take long for him to cooperate, he was a smart kitty :)
 

Grab

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#5
When we moved our pets from IL to AZ, with two dogs two elderly rats, a parrot, and a really angry cat our cat just hung out in a carrier. We did put puppy pads in the carrier, but she never used them. When we stopped at a hotel, we let her have the bathroom with litter pan, but she honestly did not use that either.If you can use a small dog crate with a litter pan, it would probably be the easiest.
 

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