I am moving house soon and have to drive 900 miles with my two cats. One is just over a year and her son is still a very tiny kitten. What can I use to tranquilize the older cat ? I know you can get tablets for dogs but is there anything I can use for the cat ?
Answers:
Hi hun.
I saw my vet about the same thing just to enquire, and he actually said that he refuses to tranquilise cats because they do not respond to it in the same way that dogs do. He said that tranquilising them can stress them out even more and causes them to fall about inside their carrier when the car goes around corners.
Never buy over the counter tranquilizers for your kitties, especially the very young one. The best thing you can do is visit the vet and seek professional advice from him. There may be a weak tranquilizer that is suitable for your kitten.
If your vet says the same thing as my vet, you may have to consider stopping over in a pet-friendly hotel when you move house, to break up the journey for them. Alternatively, but or rent one of those grates that you place behind the front seats, so that your cats can stretch their legs in the back without it being dangerous. Obviously you will have to drive very slowly if you take this option.
A final option is to get them used to having a harness and take numerous breaks through the journey to let them out and take them for a walk at a service station. They will probably also need the toilet during the long trip.
One very final option is to put them both in pet carriers, but stop at service stations every 2 hours and let them out inside the car for 15 minutes to use the litter tray and stretch their legs. My cat just sleeps in his pet carrier, but the longest he's been in it is 3 hours, I don't know what yours are like or whether they get stressed :-)
http://www.fabcats.org/travelling_with_y...
http://cats.about.com/od/travelwithcats/...
http://www.nfumutual.co.uk/lifestyle/rel...
I hope this helps!
xx Emmie
Acepromazine is what my vet recommends for cats for things that would cause anxiety such as going to the groomers or to the vet's office. Ask your vet if that would be good for your cat and how much to give. It doesn't knock them out, it just takes the edge off for a few hours.
A mallet
go the the vet if you can. they will perscribe you an inexpensive tranq pill just for cats.
if you are looking for over-the-counter, melatonin is a good start. just remember, for anything you give a cat that is people strength cut it in half, or even in 1/4, and test it to see how they react.
Half brick in a sock.
Sometimes the tranquilizers do not work, and only agitate the cat. I would get Bach's Rescue Remedy, and start to use that. Shake the bottle very well and put a couple of drops between the ears, and it will absorb. It is a natural remedy and will not harm your cat. Also some recommend the Feliway spray, I have never used it, but I'm sure someone will tell you about it. You can use the Rescue Remedy, 2-3 times a day, and also put it in their water.
i would use something called serene um from a pet shop especially if she is still nursing as this is a natural product and contains amino acids which really do work. don't use anything that she will pass to a little kitten it could be dangerous to him. serene um can be got from a good pet shop contains no chemicals but would need to be given everyday for a fornight before the move. i also use lavender wheat bags for calming my cats on any journey and they sleep through out. try natural remedies rather than chemicals ones my vet always tries the holistic approach first for this sort of thing as the chemicals can cause more harm than good. another good thing is the feliway spray this works everytime with my queen, she is in hospital and is stressed because she is away from her babies and they are using feliway and i have never seen a calmer cat.
Sure you can tranq. a cat with drugs if you would like but a trick I have found to work well when I have take my cats to a cat show or on a plane is to pet them and give them a little attention to calm them down, gently place them in a carrier, them put some catnip in the carrier with them. The catnip is a natural sedative for cats, which is why they act sort of loopy when you give it to them. I usually don't recommend prescription sedatives for traveling cats because of the possible side effects and adverse reactions they can have. You would hate to find out your cat stopped breathing or had a reaction when you are in a strange place and don't know where to go for help. Most cats do extremely well with car trips as long as they are in a carrier and relatively calm before you take off. Hope I was able to help.
There are pills for tranquilizing cats just like there are for dogs. You can buy them at a vet's office.
I agree with Kittymom. Why put drugs into your cat when flower essences will do the job? Of course with the essences you have to make more frequent applications and you can also do it when you see a need for it.
Actually if the cats are in a comfortable carrier they should do fine. The steady movement of the car will enduce them to take a good nap anyway. It doesn't hurt to "fast" cats for 24 hours either. I would feed them late in the night before you leave and wait for a stop later in the day or at the end of the trip to feed again.
you can do many of the things the other are recommending you, (dont sit on them), 鈽?
But you may not believe this but classical music makes them even go to sleep
Talk to your vet, he is one with the answer, he probably knows your cat and would be able to advise you as to what is alright for her, she has to be awake for her baby.
I had the same situation with my cat last year, we moved 300 miles and wanted something to make him sleepy on the journey. Go to the vet, they will prescribe a pill and also tell you exactly how to give it to your cat, the timing is key! We gave our cat 1/2 the tablet (it all depends on their size too) an hour before we left and he sat on my lap all the way, he didn't sleep, but he also wasn't fully aware if you know what I mean. He just sat on me purring for the whole journey and then went to sleep when we arived. It took a while for it to wear off though, he was unsteady on his feet for the whole day and night. Just remember though that when he comes round he will be scared by his new suroundings and may go into hiding for a few days until he knows where he is.
Hope it goes well
As long as they re all moving together, it will be alright, once you arrive they!l settle in. Its a bit of a distance, but it!s got to be done, surely vet can help advise.
I would go and talk to your vet - he or she will help, but you could try to acclimatise the cats to being in the car and going for journeys before you move by taking them in their carriers for short journeys just so they get used to the sensation. You would have to be consistent though - it may help stop them from being so scared
Good luck with your move
When I left the UK several years ago I took my 17 year old cat with me. As I knew that we would have a twelve hour drive from the airport to our destination, I trained her to walk on a harness before hand so that we could both stop for toilet breaks and to stretch our legs. During the journey she sat on my lap and was okay, except that every time we went under a bridge she ducked down. As you have two cats it might be easier for them to travel in a pet carrier but it needs to be large enough for the cat to lay down, so that if she is relaxed enough to sleep she's able to do so in comfort and she could also have her kitten with her. I'm not sure, but under UK regulations it may be illegal for cats to travel loose in the car as it may be considered a safety issue, so you may want to check out whether the pet carrier would be compulsory. I also carried some bottled water and dried food with me so that she had access to them if she wanted.
My own vet advised against tranquilisers for either the initial flight (they can't steady themselves if there is any air turbulence) or the car journey.
How does your cat cope with short car journeys at the moment, as this will help you make a decision. The Feliway spray is also a good alterntive to a sedative as it does seem to have a calming effect on many cats. Your vet will be able to advise you about your options and when is the best time to feed her before the journey, particularly if she is still feeding her kitten.
Good luck.
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