I'm aiming to move to Seattle this summer. If I can pull it off it will be my first time living outside of Alaska. (Please, get me out!) I plan on driving the Alcan to get there, which will take about a week if I drive a sane number of hours each day.

It sounds like my car will become a rolling cat kennel. The best tactic seems to be to put up some kind of net barrier right behind the front seats. Might anyone have some suggestions on what to use? I hope to keep them contained in their own half of the car with no unapproved border crossers while I'm driving. (I'm sure ear plugs will be a given.)

 

well, I can only offer moral support. I moved my cat from Missouri to Maryland and drugged the cat to keep her calm. The result??: having to listen to a cat moaning for 17 hours in her cage as she repeatedly fell face first into her water dish. I think the message I got from the cat was: "I'd rather be dead right now." I will never do that again. I too will be making a new journey somewhere soon with one (different) cat in tow. I plan on doing the same as you; giving the cat her personal space in the car and turning up the radio a bit to drown out the crying. I know it will be much better to have the cat lucid so I can at least reassure her that the world is not coming to an end. Drugging the cat was just pure trauma for that cat and provided us with little stress relief for those many hours. Best of luck with the new journey. I'm excited and hope you are too.

 

Would you be willing to ship the cats by air cargo? Check with the airlines. That's what I did when we moved form Maryland to Colorado years ago. I shipped my two cats together in a larger crate. they both were tranquilized a bit. Make sure they are not overly drugged!
Otherwise, tranquilize and keep them in a crate with some soft towels. Cats really feel better if they are enclosed. There is a big chance they will run off if loose in a car. A lot depends on your cats-- some actually enjoy riding in a car. the 2 cats I sent via air were traumatized and whined constantly when in a car. I had another cat who loved riding in the car.

 

Yeah, I'm not too keen on medicating them. One is almost 17 and enjoys car rides, and the other two would probably still lose their minds. (One just had a bath and was bouncing from the bathtub to the top of the shower door.)

I didn't want to fly them because, while the flight is 3 1/2 hours to Seattle, I can't drive there that fast to pick them up. (And Alaska Airlines probably won't let me check my car.) I don't know Alaska Airlines' record on animals in cargo but I've heard some bad stories of it in general. Very leery, despite only being one hop. I'll reserve it as a last resort.

Taking the ferry is out because pets can't leave the vehicles and the cargo deck is closed while underway, unless the voyage is more than a certain number of hours, in which case you have to be escorted to your car for five or ten minutes at a time.

I'm picturing the rear of my car folded flat and lined with Visqueen, like a bathtub to protect the car. The last piece will be somehow preventing them from coming into the front of the car. Then they can have a few kennels and a litter box (eww).

Now, if I just didn't have cats... ;-) Maybe I should drive 16 hours per day!

 

Put them in carriers...you don't want a "cat projectile" if you have to do some heavy/panic braking. We use a carrier when transporting our cat. She complains some at first, but soon settles down once we are underway. Use a beer can flat as a travel litter pan, and stop every couple of hours to let them stretch a little. Or you can get a dog crate to put in the back for all of them.

 

All I can say is good luck! I have two cats and one cries when in the car because shs knows she is going to the v e t. My boy cat starts crying after a while too, but he doesn't know why. He just does it because my girl cat is doing it and he's a copy cat.

 

I strongly agree with the suggestion of using carriers. The last thing you want is a cat under the pedals. I'd advise NOT letting them out of the car at rest stops though. There are many stories of lost cats from RVers who've done that. Perhaps let them out to roam around the car or get to a litter box after you've gone to the rest rooms with someone sitting in the back seat who can reach the carriers to put them back in. Plan on spending 1/2 hour or so at each stop.

 

Will you be staying in any motels? Keeping them in carriers and then letting them roam once inside may help. There are more pet friendly motels today.
There have been some horror stories recently about the airlines and pets. I used them over 20 years ago and they took lots of precautions--I don't think they are as careful these days.

 

...or you can always bring a friend along to play with the cat while you drive:

 

^lololol, Spot seemed like such a PITA.


I'm with everyone else, put them in a cat carrier.

 

I definitely plan on having them in carriers, but for the rest stops I still need to keep them out of the front while we all have our rest stop time.

I have a friend that used pet-friendly motels along the same highway, so I have an idea of what to expect from them. (In some cases, just a bed to sleep on...which in my mind is enough reason to be there for no more time than it takes to sleep and shower.)

I have one carrier already and they all seem comfortable with it. I just need to take them on drives to acclimate them.

 

I wish you good luck. I have 3 cats and I know it can be hard to move them via car.

 

We also have three and find it best to put each in their own little carrier. When we had two in one carrier, one gets tired of the other's whining and we've had a spat start in one carrier. Definitely not healthy for them or whoever has to open the carrier to break it up.

We also keep the three carriers handy so we can gather them up one at a time if we have to evacuate a house fire, or if we have to head to the basement for a tornado.

 

My wife and I have moved our 3 cats from GA to CO and then 4 years later from CO to MA then a year later from MA to SC in our cars. The first trip was awful, we, like many have suggested, used their cat carriers and were driving for 7-8 hrs per day. We stayed at pet friendly hotels along the way. A major issue was repacking them the next day (finding them hiding wherever in the room, putting them in the cage and carrying it to the car) and it would kill about an hour each morning.

One day my wife made the mistake of letting one out of her cage, she got under the gas pedal and almost caused an accident. One moaned the entire trip. It was miserable.

So on the trip from Colorado to Massachusetts we had the bright idea to put them all in a large dog cloth portable case thing. We bought ours at Target. Here it what it looked like:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Large-Portable-Lightweight-Pop-Up-Dog-Pet-Kennel-House-Travel-Cage-Puppy-Cat-Pet-/361194738482?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&var=&hash=item5418e25332

This thing was a godsend, it made the trip so much better. We put cardboard underneath it to support their weight when we carried them inside the hotels. I could carry them all inside myself if someone was holding the doors open. We put blankets and a cat bed inside and they just lounged about like they normally do. We still have the carrier if we ever need to haul them again. Maybe something like this could help you.