I could be wrong, but I think cats are worse than dogs about traveling in the car. I have the same problem with my dog, actually seems to be getting worse or maybe just seems that way. I need to take him with me an hour each way on a trip to see family members weekly. I got some Rescue Remedy and will try that next time. It's available for cats too. I realize that this probably won't work for you because you would not want to be using it all the time. I hope someone here has a better suggestion. It would be so much fun to take kitty along.

We had two cats when we moved across country. I don't know if what we did will work but we got a very large dog sized plastic kennel so they had less of a view (as opposed to a caged crate). Then we put the rear seats down and had the door facing in our direction so they could see us and they did fine. It was very different behavior from when we'd take them to the vets.

i've used rescue remedy for my cat because she hated even travelling 10 minutes by car to the vet. She would be bashing against the crate, meowing, and often soaked in urine by the time we got there. it was always so stressful but a few days of rescue remedy beforehand seemed to settle her enough to deal with it much better. I'm not even sure how it works but it seems to do something.

On the other hand, I wouldn't try and take a cat on vacation. IMO, they are so sensitive to stress and a change of environment, that I think it's best to leave them at home if possible. I worked in a boarding cattery once, and it made me realise just how stressed cats get in a foreign environment, even though there are people around, they are being fed and their needs are met, they just don't like change.

Is it possible to get a housesitter or petsitter service while you are away? When my neighbour had a cat and went away, I used to feed and look in on him which meant he got to stick to his normal routine, and he did have some daily interaction with someone, as well as having his food and litter tray taken care of. he did really well and his owner would usually be away for 4-5 weeks at a time. i think if you got a housesitter where the person was there for large chunks of time it would be even better.

You do hear of the rare cat who likes travel but were introduced to it at a young age and/or just have that type of gregarious personality. I don't know what enjoyment could possibly come out of transporting a cat that's either drugged unconscious or miserable and stressed. Being drugged is no picnic either - he may be dopey and unresponsive but that doesn't mean he's not stressing out bigtime. Pls, save the big guns for when its really necessary.

He sure is a handsome fella and I can see why youd want to not leave him behind ..... look at that face! But in this case I would think twice.

Also it should be noted that when transporting a cat theres a very real risk of losing the cat - carrier breaks open, cat darts out the door unnoticed at a rest stop, all kinds of stupid stuff happens. Im on a forum to help people find lost pets and its truly heartbreaking - and eye-opening just how often this happens. Its bad enough if your cat is lost around your neighborhood, much worse when its 500 mi from home. This risk combined with Zachariah's unhappiness and stress of being transported would make me think twice. It doesn't sound like it would be much of a vacation for him!

That said training a cat to tolerate a carrier is good for any cat ... along with other skills like tolerating nail trim, etc. It has to be done very very slowly - inch by inch increasing time in the carrier, picking up walking around the house with the carrier, taking carrier to car, then perhaps driving around the block and returning home, etc. And based on the no. of times Ive heard of carriers breaking or crate doors opening unbeknownst to the person, I would be sure to keep these tied these shut securely as an added safety precaution. Ok maybe this is too much information - but Im telling you its a very sad thing when this happens.

Russian cats regularly travel in the car every weekend to the dacha. You see them peacefully sitting on the ledge behind the back seats quite frequently. Cats hate to be caged, so keep him out of a cage.

If the cat only goes in the car to the vet, of course he hates it. To get him used to the car, take him to the car and sit with him, talking and offering a treat. If he can put up with sitting in a parked car for a few minutes, let him out the minute he asks. If he yowls immediately, then let him out, but next time, put a ticker with a very soft alarm and let him out after a few minutes, building up to more time. After that, take him on short rides, building up to more time.