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Would you sedate a cat for traveling?

I want to bring my cat, Zayit, with me to my new townhouse. It is about 2 hours by car. He gets very upset when he has to go to the vet and meows the whole way (that is a short distance).
Posted 4 months ago
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My cat meows if she's in her travel box thing, but she was quiet the one time we decided to let her out to sit on our laps. (Only recommended if you're travelling with someone else in the car...) Maybe you could give that a try...?
Posted 4 months ago

Other 4 Answers to Would you sedate a cat for traveling?


Posted Jul 4th, 2009 at 9:31PM
It depends on the cat, but yes I've sedated a cat for plane journeys before - it didn't seem to cause her any harm. Your vet should have a mild sedative that they can administer before the trip.

Cats can get car-sick, the same as humans, and so car trips can really stress them out. On the other hand, cats will generally associate car journeys with unpleasant experiences (like the vet), so that doesn't help either. If your cat is quiet enough to be held by a passenger, then you might want to try that in order to comfort him - but remember that (in some places) it's actually against the law to travel with an unrestrained cat in the car, due to the danger that he will freak out and distract you while you're driving.

Otherwise, you may want to try desensitizing him somewhat by putting him in his travel cage at home - even feeding him in there - and maybe taking him for a few short trips in the car (ones that don't end at the vet clinic!). I successfully trained a cat using this technique, and it got so that he was fine for really long trips in the car (like 8-10 hours at a time!). It definitely helped to take regular breaks while driving though, just to give him a chance to get some air and stretch his legs (on a lead - yes, I trained him for that too!).

Good luck. At least you'll only have to do it once! :)
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Posted Jul 5th, 2009 at 9:20PM
Cats LOVE beer, get a 12 pack and a bucket of wings and your cat will be screaming "party!" the whole way there.
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Posted Jul 4th, 2009 at 10:06PM
I used to enjoy having my cat perch on my shoulder on long trips. I brought a small litter box and some eats. If you want to sedate I recommend Valerian root - ask a vet how much. It's naturopathic, good 4U 2! Not while driving!!
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Posted Jul 4th, 2009 at 9:37PM
Sure. I think cats would get sick on long car rides and she might end up throwing up and stuff. So I don't see why not, its only for a couple of hours and its to make her have a safe trip.
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