# Long distance move -- fly or drive, and any advice!



## tankgirl73 (May 19, 2008)

We're moving across country in a couple months. Going by car, it would be about a 16-hour drive, possibly with an overnight stop, possibly going all-out in one day. We'll have an 18mo in the car too so we might have to make lots of stops!

Or, DH can drive the car to our new house, while the rest of us go on the plane. It would be a 1/2 hour drive to the airport, a 1 hour wait (or so), a 2 hour flight, and then a 2 hour drive from the destination airport.

Obviously, the flight is quicker. But is it actually easier on the cats? It's also more complicated in some ways, because I'll have the baby, a car seat, luggage, as well as two cat carriers to manage.

Would a full day drive be too stressful on the cats to be worth the savings in plane costs and hassle?

If we do drive them cross-country, what tips might you have for making it easier on them? Sedation, or partial sedation? Types of carriers? How do manage feeding, litterbox, etc? 

My only experience with moving a cat was a 6-hour drive with a kitty about 10 years ago. I got a sedative from the vet which would just make him calmer, not put completely to sleep. He was in a vinyl soft carrier with mesh sides and on a leash/harness -- I'd let him out occasionally to cuddle in my lap (I wasn't driving) and the leash would keep him from running around the car.

Anyway, we stopped for lunch at a highway rest stop, and left the window open a crack so it wouldn't overheat. 20 minutes later we came back and he was GONE. He never had calmed down, in fact he had been freaking out the whole time -- I actually think he had a reaction to the sedative and it had the opposite of the intended effect. He had managed to BREAK THE ZIPPER on the carrier and get out, them squeeze through a 2-inch opening in the window. 

The place was surrounded by a big ravine and forests. I was devastated beyond imagining. Fortunately, he was found -- the leash had gotten tangled around a tree! 

Needless to say, despite the happy ending, I do NOT want a repeat of that. I've got an appointment with the vet to talk about travel options and whatever we decide for sedatives, we will do a TEST of them at home well before the actual trip! 

Any advice, tips, etc would be much appreciated. Thanks!


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## Mom of 4 (Jul 29, 2006)

With recent changes in the airline travel rules, and increased cost, I'd really think about driving. I think, but I'm not positive, you are only allowed one pet in the main cabin...... I do know the pets have to come out of the carrier at the airport for inspection. Could you do that with the baby?


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## Smirkitty (Apr 19, 2008)

I would recommend the car, with a stop halfway in a hotel/motel just to let everyone out safely for awhile. That is how we managed the trip from Tennessee to Massachusetts (at approximately 20 hours).


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## TheComputerGremlin (May 8, 2008)

I've driven my cats ten hours in one day before. It's not bad. I let them out during driving so they can sit in the passenger's lap, and they are relatively well behaved. We offer them water and a litter box every few hours, maybe in your case a little food halfway would be appreciated. I would avoid flying because it's just so complicated and the animals end up in the luggage hold and you don't know what's going on.

As another option, when my boss moved to New York from South Carolina, (she has 8 cats btw), her husband got a large wooden crate and set up a little kitty haven inside, with shelfs for them to lay on, bedding, food and water dishes. Then the crate was in the back of the moving van. They all arrived without any problems and were unloaded into their new house.

I'm about to have to move my cats again cross part of the country. It'll be 10-16 hours, and I'll drive them in the car like I did before. (My trip will be very exciting, though, because we'll be moving two cats, a turtle, and a fish, each with their own travel requirements. Yay!)


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

I've traveled with one cat in the passenger cabin of a plane. They do make you take the cat out when you go through security...the cat goes under the metal detector with you and the carrier through x-ray. I can't imagine handling 2 cats and a baby at all. In fact I don't think the airline would allow you to take 2 cats on the passenger cabin without another adult present. So you might want to check that out...you may not have a decision to make unless you're willing to put them in cargo (something I would never do).



TheComputerGremlin said:


> As another option, when my boss moved to New York from South Carolina, (she has 8 cats btw), her husband got a large wooden crate and set up a little kitty haven inside, with shelfs for them to lay on, bedding, food and water dishes. Then the crate was in the back of the moving van. They all arrived without any problems and were unloaded into their new house.


Since tankgirl is going to be moving in the middle of summer, this isn't an option unless the cargo area of van is air conditioned...which I don't think I've ever heard of. And even if it was I wouldn't trust that the movers would be regularly checking to ensure that it was still working.


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