moving with cats...help needed

[judes]

Some time in the next 6 weeks I shall be moving from the south coast near Brighton up to Hull
this journey can take between 4 to 6 hours.

Any advise on moving 4 cats one of which I feel will have to be sedated in one form or another,he's half feral and hates his carier even 2 minutes to the vets and he's stressed.

I dont drive these days so can't even pop them in my car.
Also if anyone knows a good vet in Hull that would be good to know

As a by the by I don't know anyone in Hull!

Any advise, help, information will be gratefully received

Many thanx

[Mrs Kane]

Sorry, I don't have any carrier advice as the longest my cat has travelled is 20 minutes. Well I do have advice but it's with a rabbit....

I can only recommend what I did with Mr Mossy the rabbit when we had to move for a two hour trip (he always urinated and pooed in his carrier out of fear as he was always ill and going to the vet, so when I was a child I used this strategy when we moved). See if it sticks! You have 6 weeks so plenty of time to start a regime:
1. Bring out the cat carriers and line them out in the hall or living room, just somewhere they definitely see them and have to move past on a regular basis. Also as near their food area as possible without obstructing anyone's way. (If you don't have carriers for all cats yet I recommend you buy them ASAP so that new plastic/fabric smell gets replaced by the house smell, your smell and the cats)
2. Let them get used to the carriers. Keep the doors open or remove them if possible. Do this for 2 or 3 days.
3. Start placing food bowls in front of the carriers. Place treats. toys or additional food inside the carriers. Do this for 3-7 days pending on how your cats react.
4. Start placing each individual bowl into each individual carrier. First place at the front so they can eat without entering fully. Then move on to the middle of the carriers after 3 days. (If they have removable doors now is the time to put them back on). Finally place the bowls in the back of the carrier after a further 3-5 days.
5. Maintain this routine until you have to move. The cats will associate the carriers with food and won't be so afraid (I hope.)
6. Start picking up the cats (if you're able) and placing them in the carriers. If they go without a fuss give them a treat. Repeat until they're used to be put in without a fuss. (I recommend doing this 3 times a day or just before you feed them)
PS: perhaps it might be worth rubbing all carriers with catnip at the start to get them interested and calm around the carriers. It might also be worth installing a Feliway wherever the carriers are to get your cats to remember a calm feeling around them.

Please bear in mind I did this with a rabbit who lived in our conservatory and adapted the rules to suit a cat. So it may not work for cats and it was a long time ago that I did this. (BI: Before internet! Wow!)

I have a friend who lives in Hull. He recommended either "Kingston Veterinary Group" (They have several centres in the city), "Chants Vets" or "Vets4pets" - Those are the ones he's had the best care with. (he had a dog until recently when he passed from old age and he has 3 cats and a budgie so he'll all over the animal care regime)

EDIT: Found this on the net that may be better than my stupid "lets pretend they're rabbits" scenario. https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual- ... de-carrier" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Kay]

I had to take a cat on a 3 hour journey to a specialist vet, and hired an animal courier, who was happy to take me too - there was an inner cage inside the van so he didn't have to stay in his carrier all the time, and I put a litter tray and water bowl out for him - he spent most of the journey in his opened carrier but was nothing like as stressed as he was when shut up in it

if you can afford it, I'd suggest seeing if you can find an animal courier - one based near Hull would probably be cheaper than one in Brighton

I would also recommend having a couple of empty carriers for the journey, as if a cat poops in one it is far easier to transfer it quickly into another carrier than to try to clean up the first one, and leaving it in a dirty carrier would be very stressful for all of you - use cheap old towels , or puppy pads, which can be chucked away en route if necessary

[meriad]

I agree with using an animal courier, but regardless of what you finally settle on please make sure you stay with the cats throughout the journey.

What I've done in the past with rescue runs is line the base of the carrier with a puppy pad and lots of towels so the cat is comfy. Make sure it's a large enough carrier that the cat can stand, turn around and generally just have space to move. The soft medium / large size dog carries are great as you have enough space for the cat and also bowls or small litter tray if needed.

Have some small bowls, bottles of water and food to hand in case you get stuck in traffic jam. A cat should be fine without food for the 6 hours, but you don't really want to risk it going without water too long. Also, get up early the day of the move, feed and have at least 2 hours between feeding and setting off - just to minimise risk of vomiting in the carrier.

Invest in a few of these: http://www.amazon.co.uk/12-Large-Foil-T ... CGAENRY66C" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and have cat litter in a separate bag. Again if you get stuck in a traffic jam at least the cats would have a chance of going to the loo, and they're small enough to put into a larger cat carrier, and then once it's been used you can throw them away and not worry about stinking out the car.

And just make sure, whenever you need to open the carrier (even if just a teeny weeny bit) make sure ALL car doors are locked and windows closed.

Generally though you'll find that most cats soon realise that the journey is longer than normal and it's not off to the vets and then they settle and sleep.

Regarding the vet recommendation; why not join a website called Streetlife and register for the Hull area and ask local people for recommendations. Look on google maps for vets close by in your area, find out what their emergency cover is like, see if they have a FB page and what type of comments are left there?

best of luck!!!

[judes]

Thank you for all the information, and apolgies for not getting back sooner. As you can imagine life is a bit hectic all the usual stuff and packing up the house.

I have got all the baskets out with various blankets etc in them, I had to get an extra large one for Frank he's more lion than cat! I have also put feliway plug in thingies around the house the kittys were getting stressed just looking at the boxes.

All I have to do now is finish packing, do all the paperwork, etc etc I am never moving again!

Many thanks
judes

[jillyvillyvoo]

Good luck let us know how it all goes x