Transporting a cat?
Discussion
Hi all
Due to a change in circumstances, I need to take my cat up to Scotland to live with my mother.
The cat is an ex-feral entire 13yr old black and white tom, who managed to infiltrate my life without asking.
The last time I travelled with him (a mere 40 miles) he leaked at every orifice. The smell was appalling, the driver's electric windows were jammed. I was screaming at my then OH to 'Drive faster' although he couldn't hear as I largely had my head stuck out the passenger window (it was an icy January, I nearly lost my ears to frostbite).
When we finally arrived, after gasping some oxygen, we let the (now black and brown) tom out, and he proceeded to rub himself against all the walls, smearing cat s
t everywhere.
Please, please help me - how do I endure a solo journey of 400 miles north to Scotland without ending up dragging his cat cage behind the car on a rope? (I did think of hiring a convertible so I could at least breathe on route but didn't fancy the cleaning bills).
Due to a change in circumstances, I need to take my cat up to Scotland to live with my mother.
The cat is an ex-feral entire 13yr old black and white tom, who managed to infiltrate my life without asking.
The last time I travelled with him (a mere 40 miles) he leaked at every orifice. The smell was appalling, the driver's electric windows were jammed. I was screaming at my then OH to 'Drive faster' although he couldn't hear as I largely had my head stuck out the passenger window (it was an icy January, I nearly lost my ears to frostbite).
When we finally arrived, after gasping some oxygen, we let the (now black and brown) tom out, and he proceeded to rub himself against all the walls, smearing cat s
t everywhere.Please, please help me - how do I endure a solo journey of 400 miles north to Scotland without ending up dragging his cat cage behind the car on a rope? (I did think of hiring a convertible so I could at least breathe on route but didn't fancy the cleaning bills).
Edited by Carthage on Monday 4th June 11:22
The obvious answer would've been to get him castrated as soon as you took him on as yours but it's a bit late now! The stink is there to stay! Wonder how many unwanted kittens he's fathered in his lifetime!!
Vets do natural products such as Zylkene, Feliway, Kalmaid. All may help to take the edge off the stress of the journey for him (they do work but to varying degrees) but whatever you do he'll prob still pee at some point and it will stink, there is no solution to that now.
He's a bit old to be risking sedatives but if he has a clear vet ck, they maybe prepared to offer something, however cats are very unpredictable with sedatives for travelling and can actually make things worse. So we rarely advise them these days.
Good luck, that is quite a journey for you both!
Vets do natural products such as Zylkene, Feliway, Kalmaid. All may help to take the edge off the stress of the journey for him (they do work but to varying degrees) but whatever you do he'll prob still pee at some point and it will stink, there is no solution to that now.
He's a bit old to be risking sedatives but if he has a clear vet ck, they maybe prepared to offer something, however cats are very unpredictable with sedatives for travelling and can actually make things worse. So we rarely advise them these days.
Good luck, that is quite a journey for you both!
Edited by bexVN on Monday 4th June 11:30
Aw, he likes his bks.
At times, he dyes them a startling green colour for added emphasis (by sitting on the licheny log pile out the back).
They would make rather nice earrings though...
(Actually, the truth is that the vets advised against castrating him at his age - I only took him on a couple of years back - and he assures me he doesn't 'date'. He doesn't really spray much either, and it's more the diarrhoea that's the problem in car journeys).
ks. At times, he dyes them a startling green colour for added emphasis (by sitting on the licheny log pile out the back).
They would make rather nice earrings though...
(Actually, the truth is that the vets advised against castrating him at his age - I only took him on a couple of years back - and he assures me he doesn't 'date'. He doesn't really spray much either, and it's more the diarrhoea that's the problem in car journeys).
Edited by Carthage on Monday 4th June 11:33
To be fair removing them would not stop the smelly st!! Maybe a bland diet of chicken for a couple of days before the journey would help. It reduces the amount of mess and possibly the smell, not promising anything though!
The Zylkene should be given a few days before and including the day of the trip. Kalmaid can be given on the morning (on top of the Zylkene).
Maybe a spare cat basket and bin bags. SO if he does make a mess you can swap him into the second basket (making sure car doors and windows are shut!!) then bag up the messy blankets etc. Most mess will usually be made in the first half hr. Of course this will depend on how handleable he would be at this point.
Top opening baskets would be easier for this manoeuvre. Very large baskets cat fit litter trays in them which cats do sometimes use even when travelling.
t!! Maybe a bland diet of chicken for a couple of days before the journey would help. It reduces the amount of mess and possibly the smell, not promising anything though!The Zylkene should be given a few days before and including the day of the trip. Kalmaid can be given on the morning (on top of the Zylkene).
Maybe a spare cat basket and bin bags. SO if he does make a mess you can swap him into the second basket (making sure car doors and windows are shut!!) then bag up the messy blankets etc. Most mess will usually be made in the first half hr. Of course this will depend on how handleable he would be at this point.
Top opening baskets would be easier for this manoeuvre. Very large baskets cat fit litter trays in them which cats do sometimes use even when travelling.
It seems as if you're giving the cat away (ie you're not moving to Scotland).
Thinking from the cat's POV, might it not prefer going to a new home locally rather than endure a bloody miserable 400 mile journey from hell to live with someone it doesn't really know in a strange house? Just an idea.
Thinking from the cat's POV, might it not prefer going to a new home locally rather than endure a bloody miserable 400 mile journey from hell to live with someone it doesn't really know in a strange house? Just an idea.
Simpo Two said:
It seems as if you're giving the cat away (ie you're not moving to Scotland).
Thinking from the cat's POV, might it not prefer going to a new home locally rather than endure a bloody miserable 400 mile journey from hell to live with someone it doesn't really know in a strange house? Just an idea.
I have thought about this, and it's in the cat's best interests to move to Scotland for a few reasons;Thinking from the cat's POV, might it not prefer going to a new home locally rather than endure a bloody miserable 400 mile journey from hell to live with someone it doesn't really know in a strange house? Just an idea.
Firstly, I'm badly, badly allergic to him. This means i can't let him sit on my knee/pat him as often as I and he would like.
Secondly, I leave the house at 5 - 6am each day to look after my horses, then go to work, then look after the horses again, getting in at about 8pm if I'm lucky. Not much of a life for him really.
Thirdly, he's met my mother and they like each other - she's retired, lives in a perfect location where he can lounge about and feast on chicken all day. Where I'm moving to is really built up, and younger toms keep fighting him, and hurting him, but he doesn't like using litter trays so can't stay in all the time.
To try to make it as stress free as possible, I'm going to take him up, and stay with him for a week while he settles. Longer term I plan to move to Scotland so could have him back if it doesn't work out. I took him in as a stray when he became ill, and the cat charities wouldn't help me - and I've had his jags done, his teeth done, a cancer op done, and more recently paid a lot for him to be hospitalised with a chest infection. I'm doing my best, don't f
king judge me. 
BexVN - I really appreciate your advice, and will take him in for a check up and see which of those things the vet advises. I may end up using the dustbin bags as an oxygen mask though!
Simpo Two said:
It seems as if you're giving the cat away (ie you're not moving to Scotland).
Thinking from the cat's POV, might it not prefer going to a new home locally rather than endure a bloody miserable 400 mile journey from hell to live with someone it doesn't really know in a strange house? Just an idea.
^^^ This. Thinking from the cat's POV, might it not prefer going to a new home locally rather than endure a bloody miserable 400 mile journey from hell to live with someone it doesn't really know in a strange house? Just an idea.
Or contact Cats Protection and they'll rehome him.
Mobile Chicane said:
^^^ This.
Or contact Cats Protection and they'll rehome him.
When I first saw him dying slowly in my garden, I started feeding him so they'd be able to trap him. I duly called them, and they wouldn't take him, said 'We'll come out and kill him for you, unless he has three legs, in which case the public will feel sorry for him'. Apparently because he's a big old ugly tom, folk won't want him.Or contact Cats Protection and they'll rehome him.
Hence why I still have him at great expense. He's got a great nature, really, and I'll miss him horribly, but one bad day's travelling will be worth the increased quality of life he'll get with my mother.
Carthage said:
Mobile Chicane said:
^^^ This.
Or contact Cats Protection and they'll rehome him.
When I first saw him dying slowly in my garden, I started feeding him so they'd be able to trap him. I duly called them, and they wouldn't take him, said 'We'll come out and kill him for you, unless he has three legs, in which case the public will feel sorry for him'. Apparently because he's a big old ugly tom, folk won't want him.Or contact Cats Protection and they'll rehome him.
Hence why I still have him at great expense. He's got a great nature, really, and I'll miss him horribly, but one bad day's travelling will be worth the increased quality of life he'll get with my mother.
Danrc and Lord - thanks, I needed the laugh and the support.
He wouldn't be easily rehome-able as he has food intolerances, potential cancer regrowth, and is very large/heavy to handle. He's also not the prettiest, although he has 'character' as they say.
I'm lucky that my mother wants him, and we'll both do our best to give him a nice retirement until his time runs out.
- thanks, I needed the laugh and the support. He wouldn't be easily rehome-able as he has food intolerances, potential cancer regrowth, and is very large/heavy to handle. He's also not the prettiest, although he has 'character' as they say.
I'm lucky that my mother wants him, and we'll both do our best to give him a nice retirement until his time runs out.
I agree the environment he's moving to will be s good one for him, it's just getting him there that's the problem. Shame the vets declined to neuter him two years ago, it would have reduced the fighting with the younger toms and the consequent injuries and vet bills.
Another reason to move him to the wilds of Scotland! much less likely to get into scraps that he is now too old for. I assume the age is a guess though (he could be younger, male entires age quicker due to the fighting and the viruses they inevitably pick up)
Another reason to move him to the wilds of Scotland! much less likely to get into scraps that he is now too old for. I assume the age is a guess though (he could be younger, male entires age quicker due to the fighting and the viruses they inevitably pick up)
bexVN said:
I agree the environment he's moving to will be s good one for him, it's just getting him there that's the problem. Shame the vets declined to neuter him two years ago, it would have reduced the fighting with the younger toms and the consequent injuries and vet bills.
Another reason to move him to the wilds of Scotland! much less likely to get into scraps that he is now too old for. I assume the age is a guess though (he could be younger, male entires age quicker due to the fighting and the viruses they inevitably pick up)
Agreed.Another reason to move him to the wilds of Scotland! much less likely to get into scraps that he is now too old for. I assume the age is a guess though (he could be younger, male entires age quicker due to the fighting and the viruses they inevitably pick up)
I actually suggested they neuter him, and all the vets at the practice (a good one) said it was better not to at his age, so I accepted it.
The age is, of course a guess - he's got a lot of scarring, so his skin around his neck is thickened and they struggled to cut it with a scalpel then couldn't stitch him up afterwards (his tumour was there). I think he's probably got another 5yrs in him, tops. He has pretty amazing fat tomcat cheeks too - the vets all like him as he's so different to the pampered moggies.
Anyway, he'll be looked after til he dies - we both just have to survive the journey up.
Mr E !Could always try a blanket over the cage too, one that will block out some of the light/noise. Reassuring talking, feeding treats, and maybe some practice just getting in the carrier, then back out.. then once that's mastered, in the carrier, in the car with the engine one, then back to the house and out, then a small trip round the block the next time? Associate being in a car with something that he realises will end, and make it something that he's a bit more used to. Even say, hand feeding him his daily meals (if they're dry food!) when he's in the carrier (or just giving him treats if he gets in it)? And leave it open and make a bed from it and try to encourage him to go in it to make it seem like more of a haven than a prison?
He probably sees it as a bit of a sensory overwhelming experience.. New cage, not used to being enclosed, sudden noises and lights.. is probably a bit scared.. coupled with not being able to tell him it's for a good reason and when it will end, I'm niot surprised he goes a bit apest.. or.. uhh.. catst as the case may be..
Apologies if none of the above applies or if you've tried it already!
He probably sees it as a bit of a sensory overwhelming experience.. New cage, not used to being enclosed, sudden noises and lights.. is probably a bit scared.. coupled with not being able to tell him it's for a good reason and when it will end, I'm niot surprised he goes a bit apes
t.. or.. uhh.. catst as the case may be..Apologies if none of the above applies or if you've tried it already!
Degucrazy said:
Could always try a blanket over the cage too, one that will block out some of the light/noise. Reassuring talking, feeding treats, and maybe some practice just getting in the carrier, then back out.. then once that's mastered, in the carrier, in the car with the engine one, then back to the house and out, then a small trip round the block the next time? Associate being in a car with something that he realises will end, and make it something that he's a bit more used to. Even say, hand feeding him his daily meals (if they're dry food!) when he's in the carrier (or just giving him treats if he gets in it)? And leave it open and make a bed from it and try to encourage him to go in it to make it seem like more of a haven than a prison?
He probably sees it as a bit of a sensory overwhelming experience.. New cage, not used to being enclosed, sudden noises and lights.. is probably a bit scared.. coupled with not being able to tell him it's for a good reason and when it will end, I'm niot surprised he goes a bit apest.. or.. uhh.. catst as the case may be..
Apologies if none of the above applies or if you've tried it already!
I thought I might buy a bigger cage thing (but then need a tray to catch any er...effluents) and thought about raising it so he can see out? Not sure if that or the blanket plan is best. I try talking to him, feeding him (won't eat though) and he just wails. He probably sees it as a bit of a sensory overwhelming experience.. New cage, not used to being enclosed, sudden noises and lights.. is probably a bit scared.. coupled with not being able to tell him it's for a good reason and when it will end, I'm niot surprised he goes a bit apes
t.. or.. uhh.. catst as the case may be..Apologies if none of the above applies or if you've tried it already!
He has been a bit better the last few trips - has poo'd but not wee'd or been sick. The poo has been normal, not diarrhoeal, but they were only 10 mile journeys to the vet.
The moral of this story, of course, is never feed a dying stray cat.
Gassing Station | All Creatures Great & Small | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff