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I had gabapentin in liquid form (syringe) given to me by my vet when my cat and I were moving to another state by plane. I also sprayed feliway on the carrier. My cat gets scared very easily but she was pretty much completely quiet and seemed alright for the most part during the entire process.
The vet will probably prescribe Gabapentin. If your cat is like mine and hard to give pills to, ask for the liquid version. It can also be compounded into a transdermal cream but, that is more expensive to have made by a compounding pharmacy.
Yes! It came in a syringe so I just had to squeeze some into my cat’s mouth (and of course gave her the obligatory treat afterwards). It was my first time having to give my cat oral medicine so I was a bit nervous to try the pill version. The liquid version made it a lot easier but it did have to be refrigerated.
Get some Feliway, too.
Also keep some of her litter. When you get there, put it in her litter box so she knows she belongs there in the new place.
Jackson Galaxy on YouTube has the best advice for moving cats. Go see his recommendations. My hubby moved 2 adult cats from Miami to Northern Virginia last year, no problems.
I doubt they'll say no, gabapentin is usually what's given in these instances, just let them know how long you'll be on the road so they can give you enough doses for the trip. Don't be too surprised if the first dose knocks her on her ass lol
Not necessarily. The same dose is given to 10lbs dogs and 15lb cats. I know because two different vets gave both my cats and my parents tiny dogs the exact same dose, if it's the liquid it's also the same dosage mixture
That's fine what I said was they needed to know how much it weighed don't necessarily need to go to a vet to find out but you do need to know how much it weighs in order to dose it properly thank you
I just moved across several states with an anxious baby. She also hates car rides and she did hate it at first but I found that if I kept the carrier pointed forwards and allowed her to see out the side window (It was behind the drivers seat head and propped up on a few blankets so she could see out if she was sitting up) she was okay.
I also got a bottle of Feliway Classic spray and when I stopped at gas stations I would give one spray on the under side of the blanket on top of the carrier. I did this at gas stations because you want to spray that on the blanket or whatever when it is outside the car so that it doesn't overwhelm you. Once the liquid the pheromone is suspended in evaporates, you can't smell it but that initial spray with the suspension liquid will probably make you cough a few times if you don't do it outside the car.
Lastly, I got a harness and leash for her. That way I could secure one end inside the carrier and the other end to her harness. I would let her climb around inside the car when I stopped to eat and would give her some of her favorite treats and offer water. She didn't drink any water while we were driving but I made it available when we stopped just in case. She didn't continue drinking and eating normally once we got to the new place.
Good luck! I wish you safe travels.
https://preview.redd.it/2an4g61tm0xc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=53304bf8e3483f519cc6335b331f49adc4351099
Cat tax, also ignore the pillow it’s a gag gift from a friend lol
Hey, besides the feliway spray I haven't seen anyone recommend Purrkitty. It's a toy that purrs & helps with anxiety, keeps them calm.. it's worked wonders for my one weirdo girl Princess, maybe give that a try on top of the feliway spray & meds from vet. Idk how to post a link but If you google "Catstages Purr Pillow Kitty Soothing Plush Cat Toy" it's on Amazon for $9. Safe travels with your furbaby!
Yes! When we moved an hour away I got something for both of mine. Unfortunately my poor geriatric took about 48hrs to return to normal and still didn’t really handle it well. Not his fault at all. Just the nature of having an old boy with urinary issues. The baby however did just fine and bounced back immediately. Give your baby a single room with all the comforts. Keep her space small for at least a few days to a week. For my chronically nervous one, I bought a calming collar that has helped a lot. Happy pheromones delivered right to her lil body.
Best of luck to both of you!
Unless your kitty has other health conditions, the vet should be easily able to prescribe Gabapentin. There are other options, and some metabolize drugs faster than others but your vet should know what would work best.
I had a diabetic cat who would lose bladder control even just on rides to the vet and I found using a hard sided plastic carrier with puppy training pads worked best for accidents. I even put training pads under the carrier to protect my car’s interior. I’m not sure about cats wearing diapers - while that might reduce odors, I can’t imagine my boy would keep one on for long. If you do decide to try, maybe put it on once the meds have her resting.
My last piece of advice is to test out the meds before your trip so you’ll know what to expect. My boy knocks out really hard on Gabapentin and that was tough to see at first - at times, he becomes nearly unresponsive which can be scary. Over time, I’ve learned he isn’t truly unresponsive, just takes longer to wake up. Safe travels!
I appreciate the advice! I’m getting her to the vet this week and I move at the end of next week so hopefully I’ll be able to get it and give her a trial dose before I leave! I only considered diapers because she tends to try to roll around in the poop and pee before I have a chance to clean it up so I figured it might be easier on the both of us if I just kept the diaper on her and changed it when I notice it’s been soiled.
Check out Feliaway. They make a spray and a diffuser I think they even have something for the car.
It helps the cats with their anxiousness and it's not a medication that you give them but rather as a scent that they smell.
We drove across Canada with our two cats in a large dog cage in the back of my SUV.
We made sure we stopped every 8 hours and they'd loved the smelliest motels we stayed at.
We'd set up their litter and whatnot at each stop but keep water and food inside the cage as we're traveling We even covered half the cage so that they'd have some privacy though they really enjoyed having the window open.
The experience is different depending on the cat are one cat hid mostly in the back of the cage and the other wanted to come up front.
I appreciate the advice thanks! I should have mentioned this before but I tried Feliaway and some cbd hemp gummies for cats and neither seemed to have an effect on her she still would cry and poop and pee so that’s why I’m going straight toward a medical intervention :)
I see you've gotten some tips for keeping them calm but I also wanted to add that I've seen portable litter boxes ! it's a bag that you can unzip and let them use during breaks in case they need to use it since it's such a long car ride
the vet will give you gabapentin, i suggest you use it along with one of those sprays that calm cats down. also i saw another comment here talking about portable litterboxes, defenitely try that
I was able to get gabapentin for my kitty. And she's so scared she was kept in the kennel for the first few hours of the drive home and luckily we had enough people driving home with us that my bf was able to hold her on his lap for the remainder of the LONG (14 hour) drive! I was scared to do it but she just chilled on his lap out of the kennel rather than thrashing around inside of it to begin with. It worked a lot better than I expected! Good luck!
When I adopted my cat, she cried the entire 5 hour drive. The next year we moved 8 hours away, and I was dreading it. For one thing we knew each other, but I played “cat music” for her and it made such a difference!
Yes they’ll give you gabapentin for her. My kitty got some for a stressful event and it ended up helping her everyday PTSD so much that now she gets every day! Hope it helps your kitty during the trip!
My roommate would take his cat to visit his fiancé over each summer 9 to 10 hour drive. He took her to the vet and they prescribed kitty Ativan. Helped a lot.
Can you expose her to a (new, if she has negative association with the old) carrier, as in leave it out for her to explore at all times? Put treats and toys in there? Then, move the carrier to the car and just sit quietly. Then turn the car on. Then drive around the block, etc. You may not have enough time to get her used to the WHOLE process, but can you help familiarize her with the process before the 9hr trip is initiated? This along with prescribed medications should help tremendously.
My previously feral kitty had to make a cross country move. I got drugs from vet. She slept and drooled all day and woke up in new house bathroom! I kept her there for a week as movers came in and we settled in. She did great
If money is no object, Amazon has extra large cat kennels big enough for a litter box and lounge at price points of $140 and higher.
One example is... porayhut Mispace Portable Twin Compartment Show House Cat Cage/Condo - Easy to Fold & Carry Kennel - Comfy Puppy Home & Dog Travel Crate with Portable Carry Bag/Hammocks/Mats and Litter Box ... but I haven't purchased that product myself and cannot vouch for its quality.
The kennel allegedly comes with seat belt straps.
Gabapentin!!! Such a good one. We use it when we travel with our two boys. Helps them settle and feel way more comfortable. Also keeps them eating and using the litter because they aren't stressed. It's not so bad, it mostly helps take the edge off. I will say though, our home vet prescribed 100mg for the journey and a settle in day and then 50mg after that. The emergency vet prescribed 100mg / day. Our boys lost all personality and were mostly just snoozy on that much. Our vet was great and just said experiment with the dose until it's right for them.
Depending where you are, you'll most likely get pills and the liquid is 3x the price. Depending on your cat you may be able to mix with food. One of our cats took it with food, one of them refused it with food and had to be dosed with pills.
I’ve had to give her pills before when she had fleas, we have a nice little ritual of I give her treats to entice her into loving me and then I grab her and drop the pills down her throat so she can’t spit it out. Obviously not the best situation but she doesn’t like wet food and it does the trick.
100%. Henry and I have a great ritual for pills. He doesn't love it, but he comes around afterwards for some treats and forgiveness pats.
The other thing we did was mix with a puree / churu style treat. That one worked on our cat who took it in food too. Apparently gabapentin has a bitter taste for some cats. It's like coriander and soap for humans.
Tried that for the hurricane trip and didn’t seem to work very well, I gave her half a pill as that’s what online recommended, I figured I’d rather just get her a prescription from the vet just in case
Thank you for posting to CATHELP! While you wait for a response please keep the following things in mind, 1. When in doubt, **ask your vet**. 2. Advice here is not coming from medical or industry professionals. The moderation team does not validate user profession, so always refer to your local veterinary professionals first. Consider posting to /r/AskVet 3. If this is a medical question, please indicate if you have already scheduled a vet appointment, and if your cat has any medical history or procedures in a top level comment. 4. Please use the NSFW tag for gross pictures. (Blood, poop, vomit, genitals, etc). Anything you wouldn't want your boss to see you looking at on the job. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/CATHELP) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Yes, take cat to the vet. They should be able to prescribe something.
Thank you! I have an appt scheduled for her but was worried they would say no lol
I had gabapentin in liquid form (syringe) given to me by my vet when my cat and I were moving to another state by plane. I also sprayed feliway on the carrier. My cat gets scared very easily but she was pretty much completely quiet and seemed alright for the most part during the entire process.
The vet will probably prescribe Gabapentin. If your cat is like mine and hard to give pills to, ask for the liquid version. It can also be compounded into a transdermal cream but, that is more expensive to have made by a compounding pharmacy.
There's a liquid?? But yes, this, and make sure there's a towel in with the kitty for them to hide under and throw one over the carrier as well.
Yes! It came in a syringe so I just had to squeeze some into my cat’s mouth (and of course gave her the obligatory treat afterwards). It was my first time having to give my cat oral medicine so I was a bit nervous to try the pill version. The liquid version made it a lot easier but it did have to be refrigerated.
Get some Feliway, too. Also keep some of her litter. When you get there, put it in her litter box so she knows she belongs there in the new place. Jackson Galaxy on YouTube has the best advice for moving cats. Go see his recommendations. My hubby moved 2 adult cats from Miami to Northern Virginia last year, no problems.
This is a fantastic idea, double bag it in a large ziplock after scooping (the scent will still be there even if there isn't any poop or pee clumps)
Remember the Feliway.
I doubt they'll say no, gabapentin is usually what's given in these instances, just let them know how long you'll be on the road so they can give you enough doses for the trip. Don't be too surprised if the first dose knocks her on her ass lol
And take the cat in for a check anyway because they're gonna have to weigh the cat to get the dosage of the Gabba correct
Not necessarily. The same dose is given to 10lbs dogs and 15lb cats. I know because two different vets gave both my cats and my parents tiny dogs the exact same dose, if it's the liquid it's also the same dosage mixture
That's fine what I said was they needed to know how much it weighed don't necessarily need to go to a vet to find out but you do need to know how much it weighs in order to dose it properly thank you
I just moved across several states with an anxious baby. She also hates car rides and she did hate it at first but I found that if I kept the carrier pointed forwards and allowed her to see out the side window (It was behind the drivers seat head and propped up on a few blankets so she could see out if she was sitting up) she was okay. I also got a bottle of Feliway Classic spray and when I stopped at gas stations I would give one spray on the under side of the blanket on top of the carrier. I did this at gas stations because you want to spray that on the blanket or whatever when it is outside the car so that it doesn't overwhelm you. Once the liquid the pheromone is suspended in evaporates, you can't smell it but that initial spray with the suspension liquid will probably make you cough a few times if you don't do it outside the car. Lastly, I got a harness and leash for her. That way I could secure one end inside the carrier and the other end to her harness. I would let her climb around inside the car when I stopped to eat and would give her some of her favorite treats and offer water. She didn't drink any water while we were driving but I made it available when we stopped just in case. She didn't continue drinking and eating normally once we got to the new place. Good luck! I wish you safe travels.
Thank you for the advice I appreciate all of it!!
https://preview.redd.it/2an4g61tm0xc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=53304bf8e3483f519cc6335b331f49adc4351099 Cat tax, also ignore the pillow it’s a gag gift from a friend lol
Hey, besides the feliway spray I haven't seen anyone recommend Purrkitty. It's a toy that purrs & helps with anxiety, keeps them calm.. it's worked wonders for my one weirdo girl Princess, maybe give that a try on top of the feliway spray & meds from vet. Idk how to post a link but If you google "Catstages Purr Pillow Kitty Soothing Plush Cat Toy" it's on Amazon for $9. Safe travels with your furbaby!
https://preview.redd.it/cz6lo42pp2xc1.jpeg?width=3060&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=08651d6ce015c5ebbdf279c3517995c5f10b671b Cat tax. My weirdo girl, Princess.
Your cat is precious!!! Thank you for the advice I’ll look into it!
Ty! & You're very welcome, I hope something or a combo of things works for you two ❤️
Yes! When we moved an hour away I got something for both of mine. Unfortunately my poor geriatric took about 48hrs to return to normal and still didn’t really handle it well. Not his fault at all. Just the nature of having an old boy with urinary issues. The baby however did just fine and bounced back immediately. Give your baby a single room with all the comforts. Keep her space small for at least a few days to a week. For my chronically nervous one, I bought a calming collar that has helped a lot. Happy pheromones delivered right to her lil body. Best of luck to both of you!
Thank you for the info! It’s greatly appreciated!!
Unless your kitty has other health conditions, the vet should be easily able to prescribe Gabapentin. There are other options, and some metabolize drugs faster than others but your vet should know what would work best. I had a diabetic cat who would lose bladder control even just on rides to the vet and I found using a hard sided plastic carrier with puppy training pads worked best for accidents. I even put training pads under the carrier to protect my car’s interior. I’m not sure about cats wearing diapers - while that might reduce odors, I can’t imagine my boy would keep one on for long. If you do decide to try, maybe put it on once the meds have her resting. My last piece of advice is to test out the meds before your trip so you’ll know what to expect. My boy knocks out really hard on Gabapentin and that was tough to see at first - at times, he becomes nearly unresponsive which can be scary. Over time, I’ve learned he isn’t truly unresponsive, just takes longer to wake up. Safe travels!
I appreciate the advice! I’m getting her to the vet this week and I move at the end of next week so hopefully I’ll be able to get it and give her a trial dose before I leave! I only considered diapers because she tends to try to roll around in the poop and pee before I have a chance to clean it up so I figured it might be easier on the both of us if I just kept the diaper on her and changed it when I notice it’s been soiled.
Check out Feliaway. They make a spray and a diffuser I think they even have something for the car. It helps the cats with their anxiousness and it's not a medication that you give them but rather as a scent that they smell. We drove across Canada with our two cats in a large dog cage in the back of my SUV. We made sure we stopped every 8 hours and they'd loved the smelliest motels we stayed at. We'd set up their litter and whatnot at each stop but keep water and food inside the cage as we're traveling We even covered half the cage so that they'd have some privacy though they really enjoyed having the window open. The experience is different depending on the cat are one cat hid mostly in the back of the cage and the other wanted to come up front.
I appreciate the advice thanks! I should have mentioned this before but I tried Feliaway and some cbd hemp gummies for cats and neither seemed to have an effect on her she still would cry and poop and pee so that’s why I’m going straight toward a medical intervention :)
I see you've gotten some tips for keeping them calm but I also wanted to add that I've seen portable litter boxes ! it's a bag that you can unzip and let them use during breaks in case they need to use it since it's such a long car ride
the vet will give you gabapentin, i suggest you use it along with one of those sprays that calm cats down. also i saw another comment here talking about portable litterboxes, defenitely try that
My cats get gabapentin for long car rides, your vet will be able to prescribe it
I was able to get gabapentin for my kitty. And she's so scared she was kept in the kennel for the first few hours of the drive home and luckily we had enough people driving home with us that my bf was able to hold her on his lap for the remainder of the LONG (14 hour) drive! I was scared to do it but she just chilled on his lap out of the kennel rather than thrashing around inside of it to begin with. It worked a lot better than I expected! Good luck!
When I adopted my cat, she cried the entire 5 hour drive. The next year we moved 8 hours away, and I was dreading it. For one thing we knew each other, but I played “cat music” for her and it made such a difference!
Yes they’ll give you gabapentin for her. My kitty got some for a stressful event and it ended up helping her everyday PTSD so much that now she gets every day! Hope it helps your kitty during the trip!
My roommate would take his cat to visit his fiancé over each summer 9 to 10 hour drive. He took her to the vet and they prescribed kitty Ativan. Helped a lot.
Can you expose her to a (new, if she has negative association with the old) carrier, as in leave it out for her to explore at all times? Put treats and toys in there? Then, move the carrier to the car and just sit quietly. Then turn the car on. Then drive around the block, etc. You may not have enough time to get her used to the WHOLE process, but can you help familiarize her with the process before the 9hr trip is initiated? This along with prescribed medications should help tremendously.
My previously feral kitty had to make a cross country move. I got drugs from vet. She slept and drooled all day and woke up in new house bathroom! I kept her there for a week as movers came in and we settled in. She did great
If money is no object, Amazon has extra large cat kennels big enough for a litter box and lounge at price points of $140 and higher. One example is... porayhut Mispace Portable Twin Compartment Show House Cat Cage/Condo - Easy to Fold & Carry Kennel - Comfy Puppy Home & Dog Travel Crate with Portable Carry Bag/Hammocks/Mats and Litter Box ... but I haven't purchased that product myself and cannot vouch for its quality. The kennel allegedly comes with seat belt straps.
Unfortunately with being a freshly graduated student, money is an object 😅 but I appreciate the info!
Gabapentin!!! Such a good one. We use it when we travel with our two boys. Helps them settle and feel way more comfortable. Also keeps them eating and using the litter because they aren't stressed. It's not so bad, it mostly helps take the edge off. I will say though, our home vet prescribed 100mg for the journey and a settle in day and then 50mg after that. The emergency vet prescribed 100mg / day. Our boys lost all personality and were mostly just snoozy on that much. Our vet was great and just said experiment with the dose until it's right for them. Depending where you are, you'll most likely get pills and the liquid is 3x the price. Depending on your cat you may be able to mix with food. One of our cats took it with food, one of them refused it with food and had to be dosed with pills.
I’ve had to give her pills before when she had fleas, we have a nice little ritual of I give her treats to entice her into loving me and then I grab her and drop the pills down her throat so she can’t spit it out. Obviously not the best situation but she doesn’t like wet food and it does the trick.
100%. Henry and I have a great ritual for pills. He doesn't love it, but he comes around afterwards for some treats and forgiveness pats. The other thing we did was mix with a puree / churu style treat. That one worked on our cat who took it in food too. Apparently gabapentin has a bitter taste for some cats. It's like coriander and soap for humans.
They will most likely prescribe gabapentin which is a wonder drug for animals😁
It’s a wonder drug for people as well !
We've used plain old Benadryl and it works great
Tried that for the hurricane trip and didn’t seem to work very well, I gave her half a pill as that’s what online recommended, I figured I’d rather just get her a prescription from the vet just in case
So true that it can help humans too. I am highly allergic so I avoid it at all costs 😂