Driving with a cat

Do you keep your cat(s) in a carrier in the car? We were planning to get a bigger carrier for Moby in hopes that he would hate it less than the small one we have now, but not having to spend the money would obviously be nice. I'm sure he'd be happier to be on my lap--I'm just concerned that he might want to be on J's lap as well, while J's driving! Or otherwise get in the way and make a nuisance of himself.

We're driving a rental van, if that makes any difference. Oh, and he'll also have to stay in the car (by himself) for two hours on the ferry, and I'm not sure whether he should be in the carrier for that.

I wouldnt drive with my cat on my lap because he might get away and go under the drivers feet near the pedals and cause an accident.  Or he might just distract the drivers attention and cause one.  When my parents moved to north carolina from NY they took the cat with them (about a 10 hour drive) and every hour or so they stopped at a rest stop and let the cat run around the car and use the litter box for 10-15 minutes then put him back in and kept driving. I think that is a much safer option.

My old cat (R.I.P. Poochie  ) got stuck under the driver's seat (she was a big tabby) and we almost had to remove the seat to get her out!  She crawled under there because she was freaked out by new surroundings when we got to our destination and let her out of the carrier.

So definitely don't drive with your cat not in a carrier--she could get unpredictably freaked out by the driving, her environment, whatever and like Chrissy said she could cause an accident.

We always put an old towel (in case she peed and to make it a bit more comfy) in Poochie's carrier and a couple toys and maybe a dirty T-shirt for the familiar smells so she would be calmer.

My cats HATE carriers, no matter what size the carrier - but they love riding in the car as long as they're not in a carrier.  The solution we came up with when we drove up here from London with them was to put each of them on a leash, for easy restraint (otherwise they'd love nothing more than to investigate the brake pedal while driving!), and keep them in the passenger's lap or in the back seat. 

It all depends on who's travelling and how comfortable they are with the cats (and the cats with them) - if I were driving alone you can bet they'd be in a carrier, but when DH and I are together, he drives and I play cat wrangler.  After the first thirty minutes or so, they both calm down and just nap in the back seat, so it's not as intensive a job as it might sound!

I would suggest carriers all they way, plus comforts in the carrier and breaks. I have done a journey with 2 cats from Thunday Bay to Vancouver and no carriers caused all sorts of discomfort for both passengers and cats. Nightmare.

 

What a coincidence! I just came back from seeing the vet and was asking her about this very thing!

I have a six-hour drive ahead of me on Friday with my cat. My vet recommended no food, but plenty of water. Also, I plan to have the litter tray on the floor of the car so he can use it whenever he needs. I'm sure I'll be stopping at every services along the way to scoop and dispose of said scoopage!

I don't plan to keep my cat in his carrier. He hates it, and actually enjoys the car. He generally looks out of the window for a while, and then curls up on the seat and goes to sleep. Of course, I've never done six hours with him, but he's been in the car for close to three hours before without a problem.

I'd say that whether or not you keep your cat in his/her carrier really depends on the cat. I agree with Meg on this one. If the cat is likely to get freaked out by it all, then you should probably use the carrier.

When do you go, Elynor? I'll be thinking of you! And please cross your fingers for me on Friday! 

My cat won't leave her carrier in the car.. and although your ferry ride is short, um.. can you book a room?  We did for a 16 hour ferry trip (Port Hardy to Prince Rupert), couldn't stand the idea of leaving her in the car that long.  It was a good thing, both of us were very seasick.  Anyhow, technically not allowed, but I didn't hide the cat carrier, and staff didn't say a thing.

When I saw the title of this post, I couldn't help but think of Toonces. 

Haha...Toonces! I used to love that skit.

my cat hates to be confined. when we moved from NC to MD  i felt bad for her she was howling...and when i let her out. she got her nail hung in my car upholestry. it tore a lil bit i didnt mind that but my cats nail was hurt, i had to take her to the vet. she was ok just it was sore....

I agree it's down to the individual cat. Not too long ago I had to take Zeb to the vet but our friends had borrowed our carrier so I had no choice but to take him loose. On the way there (it's very, very close) I swaddled him in a towel and kept him on my lap. It worked out OK but I was very aware that it wasn't particularly safe.

On the way home I decided to see if he'd just stay still on his own. So again I wrapped him up a bit and put him on the seat next to me. And he was perfect - he just curled up a bit and watched what was going on and didn't try to move around at all....

When I saw the title of this post, I couldn't help but think of Toonces. 

I was thinking of Toonces just this morning! I was coming back from the vet with the cat in the car. I keep him in his carrier on the way there, but he's allowed to be free on the way home. Anyway, he was standing on the passenger seat with his front paws on the dashboard - if he'd just been behind the steering wheel, he'd have looked exactly like Toonces! 

Thanks so much for all the brilliant advice! I think we'll go ahead and get the bigger carrier and play it by ear. We do have a harness and lead for him, and we've been practising walkies so that we can let him out to stretch his legs/do his business/whatever from time to time. Moby's a noisy beast at the best of times, so if it gets unbearable maybe I'll try letting him sit on my lap with the lead on (great idea, Meg!).

My cat won't leave her carrier in the car.. and although your ferry ride is short, um.. can you book a room?  We did for a 16 hour ferry trip (Port Hardy to Prince Rupert), couldn't stand the idea of leaving her in the car that long.  It was a good thing, both of us were very seasick.  Anyhow, technically not allowed, but I didn't hide the cat carrier, and staff didn't say a thing.

Not an option on this ferry, alas. We decided to go to Stranraer and not Liverpool because it was 2 hours instead of 8--I just couldn't leave him in the car alone that long.

When do you go, Elynor? I'll be thinking of you! And please cross your fingers for me on Friday! 

Friday as well! We can have a mutual finger-crossing society. Best of luck with it.

Wish I had some way of getting one of our giant carriers (from the international move) to you, instead of you having to buy one!

Fingers crossed for a safe and reasonably sane journey for ALL parties.

I've been humming the Toonces theme all morning. But I did have to brush up on the lyrics!