TRAVELING BY CAR AND STAYING IN A MOTEL WITH A CAT


Before you leave home, make up litter for each day of the trip.
Cover a small cardboard box with a kitchen sized garbage bag 
and then put in enough clay litter for a few uses. Turn the bag 
inside out and put on a twist tie to close.  Then to set up the 
box, just sit the bag in the box, remove the tie and pull the 
plastic around.  In the morning, pull the bag off and replace the
tie and dispose.  There is usually a large trash can located by the
ice machine and vending machine which is good for litter disposal. 

Line the (dry) bathtub with newspaper and put the litter box there 
or put newspapers on the bathroom floor under the box.  Bring along
a dustpan and brush or a dustbuster hand vac if your cat likes to 
kick litter all over the place.

Many adult cats can go for most of the day without using the 
litterbox.  Often, they will wait until they get settled in the room
before they want to use the box.

Take at least one gallon of water from home with you for the cat to 
drink. Unfamiliar water can give them diarrhea.  Make sure that water 
is available, especially in hot weather.  If you run out of water from 
home on the road, you can buy distilled water (but not mineral/spring 
water.)  If you are going to be away at one place for a long time,
start out with a gallon or two of water from home.  When down to about 
1/2 of the last gallon, start mixing in the new water with it.

Keep food to a minimum until you are done with traveling during the 
day (keeps vomiting to a minimum).  If possible, only feed the cat 
in the evening and not in the morning before driving

Take LOTS of old cloth towels.  After you have used them to absorb 
or wipe up a mess, just throw them out or store in a plastic garbage 
bag to launder later.  Keep the spare towels handy to replace the 
soiled towels.

Old cloth towels or newspaper work well for lining the traveling 
carrier.  If your cat is prone to car sickness, bring along a bag to 
store the soiled newspaper in until it can be thrown away.  A spray 
bottle of disinfectant and roll of paper towels also come in handy.

While traveling in the car, the cat should be in a crate or wearing 
a harness and leash attached to the seatbelt.  This will keep the cat 
settled and also keep the cat from becoming a distraction to the driver.
It is also safer for the cat and passengers not to have the cat loose 
in the car.

When traveling in hot weather, you'll have to either bring all your 
food or live on drive-through fast food.  It is too hot for them to 
be left in the car, even in the shade.

Always carry your cat's Rabies Certificate with you along with having 
him wear the rabies tag.  If your cat is on medication or has health 
problems, take some documentation with you in case your cat has to 
see a vet.  Also, take your own vet's phone number with you.

If you belong to AAA, you can request a Triptik and list of motels 
that accept pets.  There are books available in the travel section 
of book stores that also list accommodations that accept pets.  Be 
sure to make reservations in advance.

Pack a bag especially for your cat containing dishes, food, water, 
medication, treats, toys, catnip, etc.  It makes everything easier 
to find if it is consolidated.

If your cat eats canned food, don't forget to bring a can opener and 
spoon to scoop the food into the dish.

If your cat gets car sick or is easily upset, discuss medication with 
your vet first.

If your cat is not comfortable riding in the car, try several short 
trips to get him used to it.

Make sure your cat is wearing a collar or harness with identification.
Make sure that there will be someone available at the phone number 
listed on the ID tag.  If you carry a cell phone with you or have a 
car phone, list that number so you can be called directly.  Keep a 
current photo with you to use for identification purposes if the cat 
should get lost.

If the cat hides under the bed in the motel room, just tip the bed on 
its side and the cat will hopefully make a dash for the carrier.  
Always use a carrier to transport the cat from the car into the 
motel room and back.

If you are traveling in a van or rental truck, set up a cage and 
perhaps litterbox where the cat can get comfortable.  Make sure to 
insulate the cage so that if any boxes shift and fall that they won't 
hit the cage and frighten or hurt the cat.

Homeopathic flower essences have been used successfully by many people
to keep their pets calm in stressful situations.  Most popular for
the stress of travel is Rescue Remedy.  Rescue Remedy is a mix of 5 
flower essences: Cherry Plum, Clematis, Rock Rose, Star of Bethlehem
and Impatients.  It is prepared using Homeopathic principles of dilution 
and succussion.  It is best used for shock, trauma, stress, etc.  It 
is available in liquid and cream at a lot of health food stores.  One 
can use 4 drops on the tongue or put it on a pet's ear, paws, or any 
place really.  You can even put it in the pet's water bowl.  Flower 
essences are not harmful in any way.

If you are traveling alone in hot weather and need to leave the
pets in the car for a short time in order to use the facilities,
etc, take along two car keys.  Leave one in the ignition to keep 
the a/c running, lock all the doors, then run into the restroom 
and run back to the car, unlocking the door with the second key.
It would probably be best to have the animals crated or secured
far away from the controls of the car.  Also, be sure your car
is parked in a secure area where it won't be a target for thieves.

Page last updated on Fri Jul 25 18:29:16 PDT 1997