Mum and Dad have to make a decision about their move. They are thinking of driving down to Sydney, which is a trip of 2100km/ 1300 miles. They would do it over 4 or 5 days.
They have the choice of either sending us on the plane, or driving us down. If we were to fly, we would stay at the kitty hotel for about 10 days during the packing, the drive and the unpacking, and a pet transport company would pick us up from there and put us on the plane for the 3 hour trip.
Mum has also been reading about medicines for relaxing kitties during transport, but is not sure what she thinks. It seems like there are pros and cons to both scenarios. Mum is also worried about putting us on a plane because she has problems with her ears when she flys, and would hate for us to be hurting and not understanding why.
Mum is making an appointment with the vet to see what he thinks, and to give us a good check up before anything happens. We were wondering if any of our friends had experience with this kind of thing, and what they learned from their experience?
They have the choice of either sending us on the plane, or driving us down. If we were to fly, we would stay at the kitty hotel for about 10 days during the packing, the drive and the unpacking, and a pet transport company would pick us up from there and put us on the plane for the 3 hour trip.
Mum has also been reading about medicines for relaxing kitties during transport, but is not sure what she thinks. It seems like there are pros and cons to both scenarios. Mum is also worried about putting us on a plane because she has problems with her ears when she flys, and would hate for us to be hurting and not understanding why.
15 comments:
From #1: I have quite a bit of experience travelling with cats from when I had my first cat, Ikkyu. Living in Chicago, we would drive to Prince Edward Island (2400km) and back every summer. He would have his bed, litter box and water, and would stay loose in the car. He would do pretty well the first couple of days but would get royally fed up by Day 3, and be pretty vocal about it! Needless to say, the most important thing was never to leave him more than a few minutes alone in the car in hot weather.
We also flew long distances, from Japan to France, France to Canada, and the US to France, but he was always with me in the cabin. I was told never to give tranquilisers and he was always fine and never seemed to be in any discomfort (I also have ear problems so am sensitive to that). Some people swear by Rescue Remedy (Bach Flower) as an alternative to chemicals.
I hope this helps. I think that much depends on the disposition of each individual cat.
I would never let my cats fly in the cargo hold! There are too many verified stories of animals sent by plane as cargo that ended up dead. The cargo hold is not climate-controlled, and there is no one checking on how your pet is doing.
There are a few "pet airlines" who accompany your pet in the cabin. Also, check for pet railroads and see if someone's willing to travel with your cats. Catster has a cat railroad in the forum on the main page.
Some of our cats do well traveling by car, and one especially does not.
Hope this helps!
I wish we could help but we have never travelled so far away, the most was a 2 hour trip, and momma talked to the vet and got a little relaxant tablet for Mushka.. because she is so scared and skittish... when it came down to it momma did not give her the tablet incase there were any side effects or reactions.
It is very scary to think if you give them the tablet and something happens and no-one is there to help ya know?
I hope the vet can give you a good solution that will make you feel at ease with it :))
V-V
I has never been anywheres more than 2 hour by car, or on a flight. We would be interested in what the vet says, and what everbuddy has to say.
Are cats allowed in the cabin in Aussie? I thought that all pets travelled in cargo holds here.
I know that in New Zealand there are some great pet door to door services, that are very professional. Two of my friends had kittens sent to them recently through the companies, and they had no problems.
Smooches to you all.
I'm not much help here either since I've only travelled for half an hour in the car.
Dad says he would take me in the car but that's because I get separation anxiety.
Huffle Mawson
G'day guys, that's going to be a big move for you guys. Mum moved from Brisbane to Melbourne (for work) before we met her, so she flew. She did have a friend who also moved from Brisbane to Melbourne around that time, and he decided to drive down for the sake of the family dog. We're afraid that Poppy's right about pets in the cargo hold here, but we'll get Mum to check with her friends who travel lots to if there are any other options that they know about. We'll get Mum to let you know what she finds out via email...
Purrs
Gypsy & Tasha
If Fui and Suey would have to go in a cargo hold...I would say don't do it. Some of our cats do just fine in the car and others...like my momma Ellie are terrible. The farthest mom travled with a cat co-pilot was her first cat and soul mate Morgan. It was a 12 hour drive and Morgan sat on the car seat next to mom, and did fine.
Mom said if she ever had to fly with us, she'd buy us a seat and stay with us if that was allowed.
Our Mom has helped move Shadow across the country twice. They went buy car. The first time, they had long days and shadow was in the PTU most of the time. On the second trip, they made the days shorter cause Mom did not like driving that many hours. Both times Shadow did very well. Sha has never been a really social cat, but after spending so many days together, she started coming out of her shell. Strange, you would think she would withdraw further, but she was forced into company and learned that she liked it!
One of the hardest things was finding places to stay that accepted pets!
Mom has never has any experience Flying animals. She was on a plane where a kitty was in the cabin and the poor baby cried the whole trip!
Mom said if it was us she's want is wiv her to be sure we were OK. She said she would have reins so we could take a walk safely and if you had an estate car maybe there would be room for a poop tray and your comfy beds etc.
Mom said you might need ear plugs at first though - 'cos if it was us we'd be vocal at first (maybe for days!!!! Tee hee!)
I have flown in an airplane, twice! Both times it was for moving to a new state. Pixie and I flew in soft-sided Sherpa carriers that fit under the seat in the cabin. We had to make reservations in advance, because I think the airline only would allow 2 cats per flight.
Moving is real stressful with all the packing and strange moving men going in and out, so we also got a hotel for the 2 days before the move and for the few days until we were actually moved into the new house. We stayed real calm just relaxing in the hotel while all the craziness went on elsewhere.
Also, my Mommie was real nervous about going through security, because usually they ask that the cat is taken out of the carrier and carried through security while the carrier goes through the x-ray machine. My Mommie knew that I might get scairt, and if I got away, I might be lost in a big airport. So we asked the TSA people if we could go to a private room to be screened. They were real nice, and we went into a separate room. They took Pixie and I out of the carrier and sort of patted us down. They took our carriers out of the room and ran them through the x-ray machine.
We also agree that anti-anxiety drugs are not good for traveling.
We will not be of much help as we have never flown. We've made 4-5 hour trips quite often in our carriers in the car and did very well.
Well, not sure if this helps. Chablis is a well traveled cat (as well as being diva, a ham and all round queen of the house...thank you for your comment on her smile pic earlier :) )
She has traveled via airplane to and from Germany. I found that putting her in a large dog carrier lined w/ pee pads (for the water bottle that will leak), towels, and her baby blankey worked well. I also put her stuffed bear in there to snuggle with and small litter box filled with crystals...she used it during the travel and it was much less mess at the destination for her and me.
Never flown with kitties, and never made long car trips either.....but it seems that they would be so much better off with you in the car being able to see you & hear your voices.
I like feline hormone spray for short trips.
We can't really help as we've got no experience with such long trips, but we hope everything goes well.
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