My Cat

[Gypsyangel 11]

When I crossed the border, by car, with my cat, they really weren't interested in the cat. No questions about him or his food. If he has food he likes, I would bring it. The worst that could happen is they take it away.

At the border, they also made me leave him in the car. It was July at 10pm at night so that wasn't too bad, but it could have been a disaster if it had been in the mid-day heat. My fiance was in a separate car and they wouldn't let him stop with me. In retrospect, I should have given Asbury to him before he drove off but I didn't think of it until it was too late. Make sure you plan for the weather when you cross the border.

I had him in his carrier in the back seat and his kitty litter was in the back seat as well. As it turned out, he preferred to sleep in his kitty litter so we travelled like that for the better part of the first day. In the end, I think it was because I didn't put a towel over his carrier to block out the light. I figured that out eventually, but i wish I'd figured it out sooner.

Regarding medications, my vet said my cat was too old (he's 11) to take any sedatives to calm him down. Apparently, all they do is slow their hearts down which isn't good for an older cat. I've never heard of Feliway ... is it ok for our older guys? My guy is so jittery ... he'd be so much happier if he would relax.

We stayed at Red Roof Inn, they were cat friendly ... I checked the web site to determine that. On our second night we had to sneak Asbury into a hotel that didn't allow cats because our car had broken down and all the hotels in the area were sold out. That was way too stressful for all of us! We had to check out in the wee hours of the morning because Asbury (the quietest cat, ever) wouldn't stop meowing. Poor guy.

I think he was pretty traumatized by the move. He's doing good, but it was very stressful for him. We moved again a few weeks ago, but it was only a mile! If I even touch the carrier and it makes a noise, he heads for the closet!

The other thing as Katherine mentioned is to make sure he has a place that makes him feel safe in his new house. I've found that it helps to confine them to a smaller place (a bedroom or even a bathroom) for a couple of days (they will let you know when they're ready to venture out) so they know it's safe there and can run there if things get tense.

I'm gonna look up Feliway ....

Best of luck with your cat. He's a handsome fellow!

[BH45 0]

When I crossed in June, all I had was a travel certificate from the vet stating that Salem's shots were up to date. The BP didn't even question any of it.

I didn't sedate Salem. He roams the vehicle while we travel and is only in his cage when we stop.

[TayL 0]

Fluffy eats Fancy Feast wet food and Purina One for dry food, both are available in Canada and the U.S. - must be pretty similar in both places as it didn't phase her at all (guess they don't put HFCS in the cat food here )

Gorgeous cat! Leo doesn't get wet food except at holidays and Purina wasn't making him happy. I don't think he liked the taste. He stopped eating for a couple days on it.

And I was actually gonna ask if anyone had checked cat food for HFCS... Cause that's the LAST thing I want going into Leo's body. I don't need a diabetic cat!

I'll look into the Eukanuba and Royal Canin. I didn't know Royal Canin made cat food! lol

When I moved last time, Gypsy, I tried confining him to a room. Leo kept attacking the door and was hitting his head off of the door so hard I was afraid he'd get brain damage, so I let him out and he hid under the couch for a couple days.

Edited December 7, 2008 by TayL

[Gypsyangel 11]

When I crossed in June, all I had was a travel certificate from the vet stating that Salem's shots were up to date. The BP didn't even question any of it.

I had all Asbury's vaccination info on hand in case they asked. I thought it would be better to make sure I had stuff just in case they asked. I don't know if I'll give him any more vaccines at his age as they're hard on his body. I need to find a holistic vet for him and figure that sort of stuff out.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Actually, if you have an older cat he may already have developed lifelong immunity. Recent thinking is only every 3 years after the initial boosters, however, I have 2 who are allergic to their vaccinations and I did some research to determine what to do about this. The rabies vaccination is mandatory so they get that as a yearly, non-adjuvanted vaccine but they no longer get the others. It is more than probable that they have already developed life long immunity to most of what is prevented by vaccination, or it is no longer age appropriate. They are strictly indoors so their rate of exposure is minimal. It is a strong possibility that your kitty already has life long immunity and if the vaccinations do cause problems, it may be better for him to do without than to have them. (My 2 allergic ones require benedryl prior to getting the rabies shots).

[Kathryn41 3,205]

GypsyAngel, Feliway is perfectly good for older cats! It is a naturally occuring pheromone that cats secrete from the glands in their face. When they rub against you they are marking you as 'safe' with their pheromones. What feliway does is put these same pheromones in the air that reassure cats that this is safe. The reason it works for litter box problems is that most out of the box problems occur due to territorial issues - the cat feels unsafe and needs to mark a 'safe' area by placing his scent on it. The feliway reassures him because he smells the 'happy' pheromones right away and feels calm. The plug outlet has a small bottle much like the air freshener bottles that last for about 5 to 6 weeks. It is cheaper to buy the refills at places like Amazon.com or PetGuys.com as it is almost half the price as in the stores. It is great stuff - I swear by it. Which reminds me, I need to order in more refills.

Edited December 7, 2008 by Kathryn41

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Actually PetGuys.com have the Feliway Spray available at $16.95 which is a good price. They will mail it USPS priority within the US, so why not have your fiance order some online to be sent to his home in Texas, then when he drives up (long drives for him!) he can bring it with him and you can use it to spray the carrier, the car, the hotel rooms, etc. and bring it back to Texas with you for use in your new home?

www.petguys.com look under 'cat stuff', then under 'training'.

[TayL 0]

Awesome idea, Kathryn! Ooooh, he'll be mad. He really doesn't like buying stuff for the cat. He actually has a minor phobia of cats (especially kittens) but when we were getting together, he found out I had a cat and said "well then, if this relationship goes anywhere, the cat's going too!" My response was "Um... Leo was here first. I care about you and all, but I made a commitment to the cat when I took him in as a kitten and that commitment was that he's never going to be without a home." My fiancé just kind of sputtered and said "you'd leave me over a CAT?" Of course I would. It was a new relationship!

So he's come to love the cat (at one point, I thought I was going to have to get rid of Leo because he was wrecking my stepfather's furniture and I had no where else to go/send him and my fiancé threw a temper tantrum and threatened to come up and give my stepfather a piece of his mind because Leo was "special."), but the idea of spending money on extra things for the cat still gets to him. I'm definitely going to be getting the the Feliway. And I suspect Kori will be picking up the tab. I'm a bit spoiled.

[MrsCat 6]

DO leave a litter pan somewhere in the car.

We forgot that important aspect and Thomas peed and pooped in his crate just before getting to the border. So when he walked out of there it was all over his paws, which he then proceeded to wipe all over mom and dad.

We smelled great trying to activate my visa (like cat urine).

We also went to the vet before we left and got more eye medication for him. He has herpes in his one eye and when he gets stressed out it swells shut. Good thing we remembered because his eye started to swell about 3 hours after leaving. The drops worked fine though. Bring medication if he has any. Sounds like he's pretty healthy though.

Personally, I found Thomas much more quiet when we just left him out of the crate, he just sat in our lap. He would go back into his crate when a big truck passed or something out the window scared him.

Thomas initially lived the first year of his life with Chris. When Chris moved to Hawaii he couldn't take him because he hadn't completed the quarantine period, so Thom came to live with me. After that Chris was a little cheesed that his kitty had found another and really didn't care much for him anymore. The trip was actually a really good chance for those two to bond again. Chris remembered what he loved about Thom and Thom remembered what he loved about his daddy.

[TayL 0]

That's another reason that Leo ends up out of his crate when we travel. If you leave him in there for more than 20 minutes? He poops and pees all over himself. He's normally very clean--he even has one corner of his litter pan for peeing and one for pooping--but it's like the crate freaks him out so much he gets confused as to what he's supposed to be doing. Last Christmas, I brought Leo (he goes where I do) to my parents' house because I was living on my own then even though I'm back now. I carpooled with my friend's family to get back to my parents' area from St. Catharines where I was living at the time. We put Leo in his crate for the beginning of the trip, until we got out of town onto the highways. It was *maybe* 20 minutes. We had to stop at a gas station and buy a jug of water to clean Leo and the crate because he managed to make a mess all over himself and he smelled and he was MISERABLE. He's peed himself when terrified before, so I think that he messes himself when he's scared. And bathing the cat is NEVER a fun task. At all. Ever. It usually ends with both of us soaked and him hiding under the couch until I bring him Doritos. Doritos are like.. Leo Prozac. If he's upset/stressed/depressed/not himself I give him a couple Doritos (zesty cheese or sweet chili) and he goes right back to his usual self.

Him hiding makes me sad, because he's not a skittish cat at all. He always checks the door when someone visits. He's very interested in other animals. Loud things just make him give you a "death glare." The only thing that really gets him skittish is my camera. The OP picture took me two weeks to get, last year. Even my webcam freaks him out and makes him disappear. It's really weird. Anything with a camera lens and he "poofs." You have to distract him, get the camera and keep him distracted until you've got a photo that works. Of course, his hatred of cameras could be because when I got my new digital camera, I didn't have anything but him to take pictures of and I chased him around the house for a couple weeks taking shots to try out the settings. I was living all alone! I needed motion shots! I'm a bad pet owner... but he was soooo cute!

[trailmix 77]

Ok, i'm glad we didn't have that issue

I have a question! For those of you who travel with your cat or dog loose in the car, don't you worry about them freaking out for whatever reason and affecting your driving - by either landing on your feet or putting their claws in your shoulder or whatever?

[BermyCat 1]

Thanks for all the great advice in this thread. Phil and I will probably be driving from K-W to Atlanta with my 10 year old cat late next week. I'm definitely going to get him to buy some Feliway and bring it up with him. I'm not really looking forward to a fifteen hour drive with my poor Kuno. It's been a long, long time since he's travelled.

~ Catherine

[Gypsyangel 11]

Thanks for all the info about Feliway. I just ordered some spray and some diffusers from Amazon. I have a question. My cat's "safe zone" is a room where he has both his bed and his litter. I was reading that Feliway is also used to discourage kitties from peeing in the wrong places. Is it ok to use the diffuser in the room that has both his bed and litter? Or will that confuse his peeing instinct?

Thanks for any experience or info!

[TayL 0]

Ok, i'm glad we didn't have that issue

I have a question! For those of you who travel with your cat or dog loose in the car, don't you worry about them freaking out for whatever reason and affecting your driving - by either landing on your feet or putting their claws in your shoulder or whatever?

Well, I tend to put Leo's harness on him, then his leash. When he was a little baby, I would take him in the car alone, and he'd just settle on my lap. I had his leash wrapped around my waist so he couldn't get onto the floor and down to my feet. Once he got big enough that he could be a menace by bumping my arms and stuff, I stopped driving alone with him unless he was crated.

When I drive with him out of crate, whoever's in the passenger seat is on "Leo patrol." They're responsible for keeping him away from the driver and for making sure that they have his leash and can find him when we're getting out of the car, so he doesn't escape. I HIGHLY recommend a harness over a collar, btw. Leo can slip a collar easily, no matter how tightly I adjust it, but he's never gotten out of his harness and his harness supports his whole body, so if he gets caught, it is very unlikely to strangle him. To be honest, I usually tie his leash to the inside of the car somewhere when we're getting out, to prevent him escaping. We only do short trips (never anything over 4 hours) and this works well for us. I was mostly worried cause it'll be 2 or more days when we make the final trip to Texas!

[trailmix 77]

Thanks for all the info about Feliway. I just ordered some spray and some diffusers from Amazon. I have a question. My cat's "safe zone" is a room where he has both his bed and his litter. I was reading that Feliway is also used to discourage kitties from peeing in the wrong places. Is it ok to use the diffuser in the room that has both his bed and litter? Or will that confuse his peeing instinct?

Thanks for any experience or info!

No, that's not an issue at all. Spray it anywhere you want to make your cat feel comfortable.

My understanding of it is that it is a calming pheremone. Therefore when they talk about it deterring cats from bad behaviours, they are talking about the fact that it calms them and makes them comfortable so they don't have those bad behaviours.

Edited December 9, 2008 by trailmix