Covering a cat in the car - opinions?

poconnor16

Just looking for opinions on covering my cat while transporting her......

She HATES the car, and gets quite stressed. So firstly, I've bought a smaller, fabric carrier so that she can feel more secure. (She loves climbing into tesco fabric shopping bags so I thought this might be similar! )
I will try her with this - but I was also thinking of then covering this with a light blanket so as to keep her calm. Anyone ever tried this?

She has a trip to the cattery for 4 days this week, and is off to be neutered in 3 weeks, so as you can imagine I want her stress levels as low as possible.

Thanks in advance guys

Wisco

Taking her on short trips where nothing bad happens (ie, not to the vet) may help desensitize her. You could start off by placing her, in her new cage, into the car and not going anywhere or even starting the car, and then working your way up. Feliway spray (calming pheromone, you can get it at most vets) in the cage may help too- apply it just before you put her inside.
Probably no quick fixes, but hope this might help.

poconnor16

Thanks Wisco,
I've tried taking her for mini 'spins' around the block...seems that anything longer than 5 mins and she starts to get uncomfortable.
Feliway - I must take a look around for this....I wonder do Maxi Zoo sell it?

planetX

I wouldn't bother - cats are going to hate any journey, so I wouldn't make any extra ones. I have a one hour drive to the cattery I use, and it's awful. I have two carriers, one which I got from Argos is a lot bigger than the regular ones and the lucky cat who gets that one is always happier.
I wouldn't cover them in case they get stuffy, I usually have a window slightly open (it helps with human car sickness....), and don't feed them before travelling. It also helps them settle into the cattery if they arrive hungry.
Oh, and put on some calming music to drown out the wailing.... all good fun:D

babychuckles

Dear op
I always cover all the cats carriers when they are in the car. Lots of newspaper at the base of the carrier for those that pee during a journey. Definetly cover them. Each cat is different so while some travel well others just dont so its nothing you are doing wrong as long as the carrier is escape proof as thats the most stressful thing. happened me once but thankifully it was the journey to home so kitty jumping out of the boot was not an issue but there have been instances where someone has arrived at the local vet with an insecure carrier and kitty has not been seen again.

The Sweeper

I recently did a 25km trip with eight older shelter cats in separate crates in the back of the 4x4. They were relocating from one shelter to another. They were frightened, certainly - but the miaowing from the cages in the stationary car stopped when I put towels around the cages, and then covered the top with a windscreen shield (a large sheet of cardboard would have done the same thing).

Once we set off, two of the kitties peed in their crates on the drive, which isn't unusual in itself and is a relatively low number out of the eight that were in there.

The saddest thing about the drive is there was barely a peep out of them for the duration. These are adult cats who have spent quite a while in the shelter - they get overlooked for kittens. So they're used to being in an enclosed space with a lot of other cats, and they've sort of accepted that life's a bit crap, so for the 25kms on the road they were completely quiet.

By comparison, my own cats wail like banshees in the car - because a car ride is such an imposition on their spoiled lives they need to let me know how dreadful it is for them to have to suffer a trip in the car.

Almost wish the rescues had kicked up the same fuss.

poconnor16

Cheers guys - I think I will try covering her carrier box if she starts getting upset. She has the run of the house and always has had so yeah I guess he is showing how spoiled she is! In fact I hope that she will be ok in the cattery...
Its funny, I have a 4 month old little guy too but there is not a word out of him. He spent a long time in a shelter before I got him...maybe it is related....
We're off to the cattery anyway tonight, so will update you all next week as to how it went. Oh how I hate leaving my babies