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dreading long drive with kitten - advice please?

9 replies

StuffezLaBouche · 22/12/2012 09:38

Tomorrow morning, first thing, I have to drive down to my parents' place which is 220 miles away. I have a cat cage thingy but last week's trial (round trip of about 50 miles) was not overly successful. He was fine on the minor roads but on the motorway he was doing that awful MRROOOOOW yowling, which was quite distressing.

Any advice would be really great - I put a towel and his cushion in with him - should I cover the cage with a towel?

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fortyplus · 22/12/2012 09:40

Quick get down to the vet and ask for some Feliway spray - it's a synthetic version of cat pheromone and helps make them feel happy. Then drive smoothly and keep the radio on (not too loud).

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StuffezLaBouche · 22/12/2012 09:48

Thanks fortyplus - do you know if this is only available from vets or is it likely the pet stall at my local indoor market might have some?

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cozietoesie · 22/12/2012 09:50

Of course it's distressing. That's the whole point of yowling - to get you to take action. Just ignore him. He shouldn't come to any harm if his cage is big enough to move around in and he has a nice cuddly towel as you put in it last week. Eventually, he'll give up and hunker down - probably in high dudgeon but that's life with a cat - and subsequent journeys should get easier each time once he realizes you're not a pushover.

PS - I usually cover my boy's cage with a light rug or something to provide a bit of apparent protection for him but leaving a bit free so that he can see me.

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Fluffycloudland77 · 22/12/2012 09:52

Feliways spray doesnt calm my cat in the box but does stop him spraying in the same place twice.

Zylkene is good, it's non prescription and you sprinkle it over his food.

Other than that just drive slowly and take corners carefully. Take spare bedding in case of any car sickness and black bags to put soiled bedding into.

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StuffezLaBouche · 28/12/2012 17:22

Update - we have completed our massive trip (there and back) and he was very very good. He mewed a bit, but didn't leap around or do yowling thing. Have bought him his favourite whiskas treats to show my relief appreciation!

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cozietoesie · 28/12/2012 17:28

Good news, Stuffez. You should find that future trips will also be a lot easier now that he realizes what's what.

PS - How you doing on the name?

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StuffezLaBouche · 28/12/2012 19:43

The name thing is not going well, sadly. This is due to visiting family where the idiot sister who named him lives! :) I think he's stuck with it for good! Funniest thing ever was seeing him interact with my parents' poor Labrador who's a bloody coward. The dog now knows who's boss...

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cozietoesie · 28/12/2012 19:50

Ah well. An honourable nomenclature then it seems. You never know - he could be responsible for the rehabilitation of the whole word!

And most reasonable dogs will cede dominance immediately to a feisty cat - it's not cowardice, just being sensible .

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StuffezLaBouche · 28/12/2012 20:02

Ha, very true.

I did feel a bit sorry for him (the dog). He's a farm dog and my dad's shadow, pretty much. When he got his nose scratched and realised he was no match for the kitten he was so ashamed of himself! He would lie down by the fire in his prime spot and you could just SEE him on tenterhooks - he blatantly know if Scabs wanted his spot he would have to move. He couldn't look us in the eye!!!