moving across country with two screaming cats. should i ship them?

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Miss Tiny- Burr Burr

Love and adore.

Purred: Tue Oct 11, '11 7:12pm PST


	I might be moving to Arizona this spring, which is a solid 3 day drive from where I'm at in Ohio. Teen and Angel are coming with me. They both HATE the car, and they never get use to it or better. I 3 day car ride with them will be hell. I have considered shipping them via air. But i am really scared to do this, i dont want anything to happen. Has anyone eaither moved across country with cats, or shipped there cats? i am totally scared of eaither one. but they have to come with me somehow.

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Rilo

Looks like a- cat, plays like- a dog

Purred: Wed Oct 12, '11 8:41am PST


	I recently moved from Iowa to Massachusetts with my cat and it wasn't horrible. I kept him harnessed and leashed instead of in his crate, and made sure that I knew where he was at all times. I've taken him on short (crated) car trips before, and he always cried for a little bit and then went to sleep. For this trip where he was only harnessed, he didn't cry at all. He curled up between his parents and slept literally the entire time we were driving (he hated stopping for gas/food/sleep though). If your cats really hate car rides, you could talk to your vet about some sort of anti-anxiety medication. When I told my vet we were moving, he brought up the topic without me having to ask. Or if you have someone in Ohio who the cats could stay with until you got to Arizona, you could look into petairways.com, which seems like a much safer way to ship your animals. They only fly out of a few cities and none of them are in Ohio, so I guess you'd need to find someone willing to drive them to DC or Chicago (whichever is closest to where you are), which might be a hassle. Sorry my experience wasn't more helpful. Good luck!

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Miss Tiny- Burr Burr

Love and adore.

Purred: Wed Oct 12, '11 12:32pm PST


	i think im going to take them in the car. the more i think about the cats being shipped, the more freaked out i get. I would rather keep them close were i can keep an eye on them, rather then trust a bunch of random strangers. I dont really like the idea of my cats being treated like cargo. I feel like no one would really care too much if something happend to them, because they are "just cats" My other option is to fly with them to AZ. But that would leave my boyfriend to drive by himself for 3 days. ugh. moving sucks.

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Mordred,PAWS

No Not-Moms!!!!

Purred: Wed Oct 12, '11 12:37pm PST


	Have you not heard about Jack the cat, who's been missing at JFK for more than 40 days in the baggage area of American Airlines?? His person got a new job in CA and was flying herself, Jack, and her other cat, Barry, to their new home. Both cats were in separate, secured carriers, and she turned them over to AA. About half an hour before her flight, she was notified that Jack had "gotten out" of his carrier. (Yeah, right - cats are always opening their own carriers.) Her nightmare has not yet ended, for Jack has not been found. Since then, there's been another cat gone missing from Alaska Airlines baggage terminal. No way - NO WAY! - would I let my cats fly! The horror that those cat moms are now suffering. . .it's overwhelming. Putting up with crying cats is ever so much better; you could ask your vet about valium. My Kalli used to meow nonstop until I started giving her half a tablet; she made the 5-hour journeys with no problem after that. There's also Precious Pets transport; Ingen, a Catster member who was lost in a cross-country trip (hiding in a motel mattress!) was just reunited with her human thru PP. Check out Ingen's thread. There is absolutely no need to entrust your furchildren to strangers who really don't give a d* * *! Good luck with whatever you decide.

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Angel

puke with a- ribbon in it!

Purred: Wed Oct 12, '11 12:39pm PST


	I was thinking of also getting one of those car back seat pet gates for our car, and modifying it so a cat cant fit threw. They have some mesh ones also. This way i can put a litterbox on the floor and let them out for a break (when the car is stopped) so they dont have to ride the entire way in a crate. I am also going to try to harness them in with a short leash like other people did for a "trail run" to see if they calm down more that way. Or i could get a huge "pop up" crate thats soft like they use for dogs. hmmm....

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Pandora

go getter kitter

Purred: Wed Oct 12, '11 5:09pm PST


	you can probably get the vet to prescribe a mild tranquilizer if they really are bad when traveling, or a little children's benadryl keeps them sleepy (look up dosage!) If nothing else you would freak out to see the price of cargo shipping,never mind we hate that idea and if you fly with them you have to put both cats in one small carrier to fit under the seat in front of you, else have a friend fly with the second cat and carrier..

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Pandora

go getter kitter

Purred: Wed Oct 12, '11 5:09pm PST


	you can probably get the vet to prescribe a mild tranquilizer if they really are bad when traveling, or a little children's benadryl keeps them sleepy (look up dosage!) If nothing else you would freak out to see the price of cargo shipping,never mind we hate that idea and if you fly with them you have to put both cats in one small carrier to fit under the seat in front of you, else have a friend fly with the second cat and carrier..

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Miss Tiny- Burr Burr

Love and adore.

Purred: Wed Oct 12, '11 7:42pm PST


	i probably wont fly them. i really just dont trust strangers to care for them.

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Shadow

We are NOT gray.- We're BLUE!

Purred: Tue Oct 18, '11 7:55pm PST


	See if you can convince a friend to drive with you and swap off driving so it's a shorter trip. Of course, fly them back home. Overall it will be easier on the kits, you and keep you awake. Bring lots of music and treats for both the kits and yourselves.

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moving across country with two screaming cats. should i ship them?

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