Cat thread

[Viin]

I've driven my cat in the car, in a courier. He meowed the whole time, but it wasn't expensive.

I need some advice.

We have three cats and a German Shepherd, all adults.  I just helped a friend move him and his two dogs from Columbus, Ohio to Seattle.  His dogs drove fine and we made it in good time.  We're considering moving from there as well in the next year but we're not sure on how to get the cats out there.  How in the world do I get my cats that far of a distance, relatively cheaply?

[Sjofn]

The furthest Lizzie has gone in a car was about 45 minutes. The way there, she was fine. The way home she had a little kitty panic attack and I'm not sure why. She was even panting, which they generally only do when they're stressed. 

[tgr]

I usually take my cats with me when I visit my parents, and that's a 6-8 hour drive. Perl does just fine, but Luna needs medication to calm her down. A tiny pill of calmivet is sufficient for the entire trip.

[MahrinSkel]

I just drove 7 cats 1200 miles.  My advice: Drug them until they shut up.  Drug them a little more, just to be sure.  If they wake up and start complaining, more drugs.

Unfortunately, the loudest one seemed to be immune to the drugs (and had the smallest body weight, so I was afraid of overdosing her), so I just had to live with 1200 miles of whining, although I did repack her to the furthest, most muffled corner of the car, and covered most of her cage with pillows.

--Dave

[apocrypha]

Our cats hate travelling too. Every time Zebedee has to travel more than about 30 mins drive she poos in the cat carrier. Being trapped inside a small car with a fresh cat turd was one of Dante's original circles of Hell but he replaced it with something less disturbing.

Sputnik gets stressed and does the panting and meowing thing. Nowadays they both get drugged before any journey of any considerable length, although there hasn't had to be any of them for a few years now.

Plus, awesome cute kitty & pics Ingmar 

[Hawkbit]

Thanks for the advice, all.  I suppose it seems doable to drive them out when the time comes.  I'm just wondering how to handle such a long drive.  3-4 days in the car is going to be a hell of a ride.  What the hell do you do with the litterbox situation?  Just put a small one in their carriers?

[apocrypha]

Arrr, 3-4 days, I missed that sorry. Ouch. Can you not fly them?

[tgr]

If you absolutely have to drive 3-4 days with them, then I would suggest stopping regularly to allow them to eat, drink and take a shit/piss. I'd keep them in a cat leash while doing so as well since you don't want to limit them too much, yet you don't want them running off either.

[Sky]

My father drives to FLA and back every year with his wife and cat. Cat is allowed to run around the minivan (I have to chuckle - my dad is a former NASCAR driver) freely.

Depends on the cat, really.

[Signe]

I'd completely keep away from drugs, regardless of how you decide to have them travel, especially air travel.  Cats don't do well with sedatives and there's no one to check on them if they're separated from you on a plane.  It can really screw up their blood pressure and make them cold.  It's not uncommon for cats to die of hypothermia on a plane  and sedatives is what is cited most commonly as the cause.  The only reason to sedate your cat other than medical is because they annoy you.  In which case... well, you probably can guess what I think! 

Put down some of those waterproof disposable sheet thingies (they have names!)  in the crate or carrier, or even the bottom of the car floor so you can just pull the top one out if it gets soiled.  They make disposable litter trays, too, in a few sizes, which is handy, too.  If you're going by car, you get the ones who are really fearful ready by taking them for little rides that get a wee bit longer each time.  Lister meows the entire time he's in the car, too.  Luckily, we haven't had to take him for very long rides and he's not been on a plane, although that's coming up in the future.  If you're going by plane, try to make it as dark as possible, which is calming. Plush toys to cuddle with, too.  My sister has had good luck traveling with all sorts of temperamental animals, even iguanas and parrots, and has never had to sedate any of them.

If you're more worried for them and less about being annoyed with them, they'll get over it, like someone else said.  Of course, they'll do something to get some sort of revenge but, they're cats.  We expect that.

[Rasix]

Ohh god, 3-4 days of driving with a cat would be hell.  2 hours taking my cats to my parents for a while was bad enough and they behave well.  Well, the 2 that I took up there did.  The third cat would drive me insane.  Anytime you put him in a cat carrier he cries the entire time, yowls, and frantically moves around in the cage.  .

Love the kitty pictures, Ingmar/Sjofn, but that guy looks exactly like my recently deceased cat. Same sort of flame point markings, blue eyes and medium length white hair.  Eerily so.

[Ingmar]

The little bastard peed on me this morning. 

We think maybe his desire to remain near people overrode his litter training. He might have also just been holding it in due to new living circumstances stress, I guess.

Hopefully this will not continue to be a problem.

[Reg]

Nah, trust me. It's revenge. I had to be away from home on business for an entire summer a few years ago so my cat had to go live with my brother. For the first couple of weeks he never saw the cat at all but did find various peed on items every morning when he woke up.

Then when I moved to a new place a while back he wouldn't come near me at all for like 6 weeks. If I got close to him he'd hiss at me and run away. Luckily, with a brain the size of a walnut he forgot why he was mad at me after a while.

[Sky]

I'd completely keep away from drugs

[Ingmar]

Nah, trust me. It's revenge. I had to be away from home on business for an entire summer a few years ago so my cat had to go live with my brother. For the first couple of weeks he never saw the cat at all but did find various peed on items every morning when he woke up.

Then when I moved to a new place a while back he wouldn't come near me at all for like 6 weeks. If I got close to him he'd hiss at me and run away. Luckily, with a brain the size of a walnut he forgot why he was mad at me after a while.

Well, we'd had him home for over 36 hours and that was the first time he actually went, plus there wasn't really anything for him to be pissed (har) off about. Hopefully he's not a revenge-minded cat, my sister had one of those.

[tgr]

The only reason to sedate your cat other than medical is because they annoy you.  In which case... well, you probably can guess what I think!

Wrong. I'd rather give my cat 1 pill, wait 1.5 hours and calmly put her into the cage and drive for 8 hours  than have her fight me tooth and nail and pace and stress for 8 hours continuously. If it means I won't have to listen to her howling for the same 8 hours, don't have to smell or clean out her vomit multiple times etc, then that's a nice bonus.

Yes, I tried driving to my parents' place without drugging her. It was annoying for me, but it sounded like it was hell for her. I don't drug a cat needlessly, and I'm not going to sit here and be told (indirectly) that I'm a bad person for doing what I think is the best for my cats.

[Hawkbit]

Lots of good advice around, thanks all. 

[Signe]

I'd completely keep away from drugs

I'm not a cat!  Or a zombie!  And my feet don't smell.  Smarty ass!

I don't think you're a bad person, tgr.  I think you're sweet.  And you would know your own cat better than anyone.  They're all different and if you're driving, at least someone is there to check on them and make sure they're safe.  It was an off-hand general sort of snarky comment not specifically aimed at anyone.  Maybe a little bit at Dave.  

[Sjofn]

Jack did at least poop in his litterbox at some point. He seems REALLY reluctant to go into a room where he can't at least keep someone in his line of sight (so he's perfectly happy to romp in the hallway because he can see me in the computer room, but he won't go into the front of the apartment). He seems to love Lizzie already but she ... doesn't return the feeling. YET.

[apocrypha]

I'd completely keep away from drugs, regardless of how you decide to have them travel, especially air travel.  Cats don't do well with sedatives and there's no one to check on them if they're separated from you on a plane.  It can really screw up their blood pressure and make them cold.  It's not uncommon for cats to die of hypothermia on a plane  and sedatives is what is cited most commonly as the cause. 

I did not know that. In fact I have been losing faith in vets for a while now and that adds to it, since I've been advised by several vets in the past that mild sedation for cats for long journeys was the best thing for them since it reduced the stress they suffer.

[Signe]

I love my vet and she's the one who gave me info and warned me off sedation when we were chatting about taking the kitties back to Britain.  She doesn't use it unless there's no other recourse.  She also flops down on the floor with her patients and gives them full massages when examining them.  And she cracks their necks!  It freaked me out the first time she did it but all the tension just drains right out of them after.  She's very much a cat person, too.  I'll be sorry to give her up when we move.  I'm beginning to think that hippie (as in flower power, not good birthing pelvic muscles) women make the best vets.  My sister has one of this sort of vet, too, and thinks she's great.

[tgr]

I did not know that. In fact I have been losing faith in vets for a while now and that adds to it, since I've been advised by several vets in the past that mild sedation for cats for long journeys was the best thing for them since it reduced the stress they suffer.

I can't be arsed to find the note I got with my calmivet pills, but I'm pretty sure it mentions that they can get a lower body temperature, reduced bloodpressure or the like, and that you should look make sure you're keeping an eye on the cat while it's drugged. I certainly wouldn't trust the airlines to treat my cats properly.

I have so far been convinced that mild sedation (not completely knock her out, just make her slightly lethargic and sluggish) is by far preferable if you try to take the cat out for a trip, and she complains loudly for more than 5-10 minutes (they aren't happy about changes in routines either, just like humans), and either vomit or shit in their cage if you don't stop right now. I can't speak for how it is with sending cats on a plane, but I'd imagine it involves a dark room in the cargohold or something, with tons of other cats/dogs/etc, lots of new and unknown smells and sounds, and just all sorts of scary. If that's the case, then I know luna would definitely be less stressed out by being mildly sedated and just make sure she's covered with a warm blanket to make sure she keeps her body temperature up.

[MahrinSkel]

The drugging wasn't *just* for my sanity (although when driving hours on end while pulling a trailer larger and nearly as heavy as the vehicle, that's not a minor factor), it was also to reduce the trauma of the experience for them by making them doze through most of it.  Between that and keeping them shut in a bathroom with food, water, and a catbox for the first 8 hours in the new house, this was a comparatively easy transition for most of them.

A cat that doesn't like being shut into a small space, doesn't like strange noises, and doesn't like unpredictable movement, is better off spending 20 hours of car travel over two days (with a hotel stop in between) stoned than alert, scared, and hearing other cats voicing their fear.  I checked on them regularly and they were allowed out in the car one at a time along the way to be petted and reassured (even the loudmouth, my daughters were with me and took care of that part).

--Dave

[Sjofn]

Jack has a cold. 

[Ingmar]

This makes raiding difficult:

[Lantyssa]

I've seen that cute little fellow somewhere before...

I think we follow the same cute kitty feed.

[Sky]

Any slow paced game, or even just non-splodey game, Bart like to lie across my mousing arm (My mousepad and arm rest on a pillow on the sofa). He's good about not getting on the mousepad or walking across the keyboard, though. He'll put one foot on my stomach and look at me until I lift up the keyboard so he can walk across.  King in the castle.

[sickrubik]

I love me some goddamn science.

http://io9.com/5572364/cyborg-cat-walks-on-bionic-feet

[Engels]

Very cool. Just about teared up at the end.

[Lantyssa]

I'm fascinated that they've found a material which can protrude from the body and the skin can graft onto without causing problems.  When I broke my toe they put a metal pin, which extended out, for a month and it was a complete hassle.  Couldn't get it wet without risking infection.  That's really amazing.

[Reg]

My cat saw his first dog yesterday. My brother and his family came over with their golden retriever puppy.  I figured the cat would just make himself scarce. But no, he decided that having a dog in his house was too great an affront to be borne.  My brother was holding the dog by her leash and the cat advanced on him hissing and spitting and fluffed out to twice his normal size.  I'd never seen anything like it.  I had to chase him into my bedroom and close the door or I swear he'd have beaten the crap out of the poor dog.

And this wasn't a tiny puppy either. She was at least 3 times the size of the crazy cat.

[Lantyssa]

Cats don't understand relative size.  One of my rescues was about 9 months old when I brought her home.  The two lab mixes grew up with cats, so they were friendly.  Cleo didn't like that, so she took them both on.  My leg has a three inch scar from that altercation.

[Reg]

I can believe the scar. My cat was not happy at all about being chased away from his victim. If I'd tried to pick him up rather than just kind of herding him into my room I'd have gotten mauled for sure.

[Signe]

When my sister brought over her dog the first time, Lister hid upstairs under something and Magenta fell in love.  Magenta loves everything.  I swear I've seen her try and cuddle with bugs before she eats them.

[Lantyssa]

That sounds like Mojave.  He'd go up to strange cats and try to love on them, even while they're hissing.  They usually led to nasty bite marks and a trip to the vet.  He never stopped doing it though.