Hello! Does anyone have any tips for calming cats on long car rides? I will be moving to the Lexington KY area next week, which is about a two hour drive, and I will be taking my cat with me. In the past she has meowed throughout the entire car ride. She stays in her carrier the whole time. Is there anything I can do to make her more comfortable?
Cover the front if the carrier with a light towel so she feels hidden and protected and safe.
can you start by putting her in the car daily if the climate/temperature where you live is safe? i would restrict her rations now, and feed her only in the car – leave her with a litter box for about an hr.
cats adjust well to this - most like to crawl in the back and sun themselves and learn within a few short trips that a car is just another Sprawl Space For Cats.
the alternative would be to do as BUSY suggested, just cover with a towel to keep it dark + quiet.
If you can - and I realize that moving means your car will probably be pretty full - pack the carrier into the middle of the back seat, ideally with a seatbelt to keep it still. I swear one of our cats gets carsick, and if I just put the carrier in the hatchback or in the front seat, he fusses more. Put the open end facing front, so he can see you. Drive like you would with a horse trailer - accelerate and decelerate slowly, watch the turns, etc. Put something of yours in his crate, even if it’s just the towel you used in the shower yesterday (it’s dry but it smells like you) or a sweatshirt you wore this week. And be glad it’s only a couple hours! Bring headphones?
Oh - also bring extra bedding for the crate, a plastic bag, and cleaner. We had one who would always pee and poop and puke in the crate on the way to the vet, every single time, and I never left home without a change of bedding and a way to clean the crate. The vet clinic was awesome and would usually hose it out for me, but you won’t have that luxury. You and kitty will be much happier! just be sure to keep all the doors and windows closed when you let kitty out of the crate to clean it, because a lost kitty at a truck stop would be very, very bad.
Maybe try one of these calming products? I don’t know if any work but might be worth a try. Not sure I could get the Thunder shirt on any of my cats.
Was going to suggest you line the bottom of the crate with several layers of piddle pads, so if kitty gets one soiled you can pull it out; provided you can open the crate door without kitty bolting and zooming around the inside of the car and kitty doesn’t decide to crawl under the pads. Usually if I have a towel in mine they manage to get the towel wadded against the back of the carrier and then they hide under it.
We have made several long distant moves with our cats, longest was from AL to AK and then back. Eventually they do settle down and will stop the meowing. All of ours did fine. I would keep them in one room at the new location for a day or two to let kitty settle in then out to explore the house. Just be wary of opening exterior doors to ensure kitty doesn’t bolt out the door.
Give her some miles.
Little One had her first solo road trip over Christmas, 500 miles each way. She did pretty good, other than wetting her crate on the way home.
Things that help - she had done the trip when I first got her, so she was exposed to a car EARLY (8-10 weeks old), with another well traveled cat. She has been back and forth to the vet a dozen times. Occasionally, if the old cat is going, she goes to get her nails done and for mileage.
Since my vet is down the street from my PT, I’ve combined the trip a couple times. Little cat spent an hour in the crate being babysat by the receptionist while I was tortured in the back. She went to sleep.
Since Little One can be such an obnoxious little wench, the crate stays out all the time for the Old Cat to hide in. So of course, Little One sleeps there. (roll eyes). Old Cat also ate in the crate for months, so Little One has eaten in there many, many times. Basically, she’s crate broke like a dog.
I put the crate in the front seat. Since it opens on the top, I can reach over and scratch ears. Litter box goes behind the driver’s seat. The old cats used it no problem; still a work in progress for the tyke. She’s not comfortable enough in the car to get out & use it.
The biggest issue I have is that the cat is not accustomed to being ignored when she’s less than 3’ away from me. She would like to be on my lap, which is a no-go.
How much does your cat talk outside of the car? I have keep this in mind since I have noisy meezers; expecting them to be quiet in a car is unrealistic since they never shut up in the house. I have to remind myself of this every now and again.
I forgot about feline food coma. Just like us at Thanksgiving, Little One conks out after a big meal. I usually watch what she eats. She got to eat until she could eat no more & then pretty much passed out. 
If you’re travelling on the East Coast, get an EZ-Pass. It makes life much easier when you don’t have to roll down the windows to pay tolls.
If you have the space, pick up a small dog kennel (like this one) so you can give her a bed and a small litter box. You can cover or not cover as needed for your kitty’s comfort.
But two hours also isn’t that long of a drive. You can listen to anything for two hours 
If she really stresses in her carrier, bring it out now and feed treats in it, put cat nip in in, whatever you can do to make it a happy place.
Safety reminder, don’t put the crate on the front seat unless you are sure the weight of the crate+cat won’t be enough to engage the air bag.
My cats have always been trained to ride in vehicles and walk on leases. Makes it so easy to travel all over and of course to the vet’s office.
If yours aren’t trained from kittendom, then start with short rides in a carrier and gradually take kitties to visit cat loving friends. Cats learn like dogs and horses that traveling can be fun.
