travelling with a poopy cat!

artyeva

drove kitty to the cattery on friday, 10 mins into the journey he did a number 2 in his carrier. right royal mess!! wasn't his usual output either - messier and smelled completely different. luckily i had sheets down on the seat under the carrier and i was able to get as far as the vets where they let me give him a bath and wash out the carrier. 20 mins up the road he does a number 1 :rolleyes:. i collected him today, same story, 2 first then few mins later number 1. the poor wee guy's dignity has taken a battering from it all, he's such a fastidiously clean cat

the cattery i've found is absolutely brilliant, so i need the option of leaving him there if needs must in the future, but does anyone have any tips to deal with the pooping? i know it's nerves and he can't help it poor fella. i fasted him before we left so i thought his tummy would be empty but obviously it wasn't. been giving him calm-ease tablets for a few days before the journey.... what else can i try next time? travel litterbox or something? OH suggested getting another covered litterbox where you can lock the lid closed and let him travel in that until he does have his accidents, then take him out and put him in the carrier - would this be the easiest on him?

SingItOut

Cats generally hate travelling in the car, the noise and commotion terrify my two. Is his carry cage big enough that you could fit a small litter box in aswel for him? Would your car be big enough for say a dog crate? they would be way easier to fit a litter box into as well as a sheet/blanket for your cat and he won't feel as cramped with the open space.

If he's generally a very clean cat don't lock him into a litter box, he'll be traumatised haha

u_c_thesecond

hi op

ive nothing overly helpful to add but i will tell you what i did to calm my guy about car trips and hopefully you could get something from it

Our guy isint a massive fan of car trips either- once the cat box came out he knew it was a vet/cattery trip and would go hiding. Seen as it was the box that scared him so much we decided to leave it in the sitting room beside the door- open and let him get used to it

He started going over sniffing and walking around it, but after it was in the room a week or 2 he stopped being scared of it and he eventually started going in it to sleep:D

Now hes not scared of it- when we put him in the box he knows theres a car trip coming and he does still yowl in the car. So i make sure someone he knows sits in the back seat and talks away to him and it calms him a lot

The Sweeper

Yeah he's literally losing control of his bowels in terror. It's not uncommon for cats to do that when travelling.

Are you putting anything in the carrier with him, or just transporting him in the plain plastic? If it's the plain box, they can't get purchase on anything to brace themselves against the movement of the car and it's really terrifying.

I've had a lot of success with a two-fold approach - a dose of Bachs Flowers Rescue Remedy on the back of each ear, rubbed into the furry side, over the course of the morning before you travel (one drop each time, two or three times over say four hours).

Second to that, heavily pad the carrier. On the bottom, sheets of newspaper. On top of that, a folded over towel, one that's fat enough to come up the sides of the carrier so it remains stationery. Over that again, you can try a more loose towel so your cat can burrow into the loose one and hide. If he's calm in the carrier before you travel, you can reach in there while he's in and cover him with folds of the towel to hide him. Don't worry if it seems like he's nearly squashed in there with all the padding - the swaddling effect and having sometihng that stays still to burrow into and hold onto will make the whole trip a lot better.

When you load the carrier into the car, sit in the car, switched off, with the cat for a few minutes. When you start the car, leave it idling for a few more minutes before you set off.

I usually put the carrier in the front seat beside me with the seatbelt through the handle and around the carrier so if I have to brake suddenly the carrier won't go catapulting through the car. Usually with the belt attached it doesn't even slide.

artyeva

u_c_thesecond wrote: »

He started going over sniffing and walking around it, but after it was in the room a week or 2 he stopped being scared of it and he eventually started going in it to sleep

yeah, the carrier is in the back porch all the time and even though he doesn't sleep in it he does use it as a hidey-hole so he's not scared of the thing itself.

The Sweeper wrote: »

Are you putting anything in the carrier with him, or just transporting him in the plain plastic? If it's the plain box, they can't get purchase on anything to brace themselves against the movement of the car and it's really terrifying.

I've had a lot of success with a two-fold approach - a dose of Bachs Flowers Rescue Remedy on the back of each ear, rubbed into the furry side, over the course of the morning before you travel (one drop each time, two or three times over say four hours).

Second to that, heavily pad the carrier. On the bottom, sheets of newspaper. On top of that, a folded over towel, one that's fat enough to come up the sides of the carrier so it remains stationery. Over that again, you can try a more loose towel so your cat can burrow into the loose one and hide. If he's calm in the carrier before you travel, you can reach in there while he's in and cover him with folds of the towel to hide him. Don't worry if it seems like he's nearly squashed in there with all the padding - the swaddling effect and having sometihng that stays still to burrow into and hold onto will make the whole trip a lot better.

When you load the carrier into the car, sit in the car, switched off, with the cat for a few minutes. When you start the car, leave it idling for a few more minutes before you set off.

I usually put the carrier in the front seat beside me with the seatbelt through the handle and around the carrier so if I have to brake suddenly the carrier won't go catapulting through the car. Usually with the belt attached it doesn't even slide.

sweeper, thanks for that, all good advice - which we're already doing i've noticed he likes to be cuddled up in small spaces, so when i put him the carrier he's got newsprint on the bottom, then the fleecy blanket that he sleeps on on top, then a fluffy towel to catch liquids. he's well swathed in and is able to grip. carrier on the front seat braced with the seatbelt and i leave the top flap of the carrier open so i can put my hand in and stroke him. and i do the idleing and no sharp corners driving too. i never knew you could rescue remedy with cats though, i thought even though the alcohol level is tiny it wouldn't be safe for them - so yup, will definitely try that, thanks!!

SingItOut wrote: »

Cats generally hate travelling in the car, the noise and commotion terrify my two. Is his carry cage big enough that you could fit a small litter box in aswel for him? Would your car be big enough for say a dog crate? they would be way easier to fit a litter box into as well as a sheet/blanket for your cat and he won't feel as cramped with the open space.

If he's generally a very clean cat don't lock him into a litter box, he'll be traumatised haha

yeah, i didn't think the litter box was a good idea myself, but i can see where my OH is coming from - he likes small spaces even though the covered litterbox we have for him is quite big, and if he does do it in the litterbox as least it's done, we can stop, scoop out the offending articles, then put him clean into he carry cage for the rest of the journey. less mess for everyone involved!! i wouldn't be able to fit a crate in all the time as it's only a hatchback but i might look into getting a second hand one and trying it, i could always sell it again if it didn't work i suppose. he's a deep digger though so if i had an open tray in it i'll have to board off two sides.

hmm... good tips, thanks so much for the replies everyone

The Sweeper

You can get Bachs Flower Remedies specifically made for pets - have a google around your local suppliers or ask at the vets. :-)

SingItOut

artyeva wrote: »

he's a deep digger though so if i had an open tray in it i'll have to board off two sides.

You can get deep rimmed litter boxes in most pet stores , stops the litter being kicked out

christmas2012

keep him in the cage with a litter box

artyeva

The Sweeper wrote: »

You can get Bachs Flower Remedies specifically made for pets - have a google around your local suppliers or ask at the vets. :-)

well now, who knew that?! i'll give it a go. there's a few pharmacies round here that stock bach's remedies, hopefully one of them might have it, thanks sweeper.

SingItOut wrote: »

You can get deep rimmed litter boxes in most pet stores , stops the litter being kicked out

tried one with him - litter everywhere! he's very highly strung and doesn't do things by halves, he sees the clean floor as a challenge

MsQuinn

Had similar problems with both mine. The road to our old cattery was over a bog and very bumpy. It took about 25 mins to get there. Even though the road felt normal to me, I think the cats felt like they were on a roller-coaster as the experience was new to them.

OH used to try to drive faster to get them there but I think the motion made them more stressed. We started to drive slower when transporting them and the problem for the most part solved itself but not all the time.

We were lucky to find a new cattery only 5 mins from our house so no problems now. We still drive very carefully when they are on board.