Taking my cat to London

misslt

Hi there,

Hoping some of you lovely people can help me!

We're moving to just outside London later in the year and we're taking the moggy with us (naturally )

We're just wondering what the best way to do this is?
I initially thought the boat, but I don't want to leave her in the car by herself all day (we looked at Dublin to Liverpool which is an all day sailing) and then the drive from Liverpool will be another 5+ hours on top of that.

I think a flight would be less traumatic for her, does anyone know of any airlines that will transport pets London - Gatwick?

Or any other suggestions? I love her to pieces and want this to be as painless as possible for her so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!

Alun

Some years ago, we moved from the Netherlands to Ireland, taking our cat with us in the car and had no problems. We stopped over at a relative's place in Kent on the way, and did the journey from there to Dublin in one go via Holyhead. We got sedatives for the cat from our vet, which zonked him out and kept him curled up asleep in his bed on the back seat of the car. We did stop off once on the way and let him out on a harness (having trained him to accept it in the weeks before) to do his business, but that was it really until we arrived in Ireland. We took the fastest ferry option at the time which was the Stena fast ferry, and just carried him on board in his carry box. I'm not sure whether that was strictly allowed or not, but we weren't going to leave him on his own in the car, and nobody said anything.

Any option that involves paying someone to move a pet for you, regardless of the mode of transport is going to work out quite expensive I'd imagine.

Layinghen

There are much quicker ferry sailings between Ireland and the UK. Dun Laoighre to Holyhead on the fast craft is about 2 hours. The sailing you were looking at is definitely the longest. Stena Line and Irish Ferries from Dublin Port are about 3 hours crossing time. You still have a long drive on the other side but with Services every few miles there are plenty of opportunities to stop and take care of your cat. Best of luck with your move.

biko

The boat will be best imo, much less disruptive than a flight.
Just keep her in the cage in the car at all times.

Train her by putting her in the cage in the house for a while, then in cage in car and so on.
Once she feels safe in cage in car she'll just sleep all the time anyway.

Bring 3-4 towels for the cage, if she wets one you can change it.
Nothing to eat but plenty of fluids.

A vet can give you a tranquliser but tbh once she feels safe in cage in car you'll be ok.

misslt

Thank you so much guys!

If we leave her in the car are we allowed to go down to see her?

I'm just terrified of leaving her on her own all day

She's not a great traveller, so I may need to look into some form of calmer for her!

This is easily the scariest and most stressful part of the whole thing

ABajaninCork

I did the opposite journey. No airline will take the cat to the UK, although it's possible internationally, of course. Unfortunately, the only way you can get the cat across is to take it on the ferry.

I got some sedatives and Feliway spray (which I thought was useless!) for the cat, and had to stop at regular intervals to 'top up'. You won't be allowed to take the cat from the car either, so what I did was to throw the travel rug over his box, so that he would sleep.

Once I landed at Rosslare, I stopped briefly in a layby, took the cat out, let him sit on my lap for a bit, then put him back in. Seemed to settle him down, and I didn't sedate him any more until I got to my destination. It'll be easier for you as there's service stations along the route, which there aren't here. So you can stop at regular intervals to check the cat. Once we got here, I then took out the plug in Feliway to help him settle in. That I have to say, worked wonders!

One tip I'd give is NOT to wash his blankets, cushions or toys before you leave. The scent will also help him adjust too.

Hope this helps!

Alun

biko wrote: »

A vet can give you a tranquliser but tbh once she feels safe in cage in car you'll be ok.

TBH that depends a lot on the particular cat ... some are quite happy like that, others hate it.

Layinghen

Once sailing has commenced you cannot go down to the car deck. But if your sailing is only 2 hours it shouldn't be too bad for the cat.

biko

misslt wrote: »

If we leave her in the car are we allowed to go down to see her?

Usually - no.
No passengers allowed in car area during crossing.

She may get a bit scared and upset but so will the whole move be.
After a couple days in the new place she'll be right at home.

I've moved several times with cats (inside Ireland) and although they don't like the move itself they settle in fast at new location.

I've also made the mistake to only use a leash in car and not cage. Took ages to get the wee stains off everything.

misslt

Layinghen wrote: »

Once sailing has commenced you cannot go down to the car deck. But if your sailing is only 2 hours it shouldn't be too bad for the cat.

Yeah I suppose 2 hours will be okay.

Thanks so much for all your help

Alun

To be honest when we did it, we didn't even think that it would be an issue so we just carried him on with us anyway, and as I said nobody said a word. No guarantees that they wouldn't though.

misslt

biko wrote: »

Usually - no.
No passengers allowed in car area during crossing.

She may get a bit scared and upset but so will the whole move be.
After a couple days in the new place she'll be right at home.

I've moved several times with cats (inside Ireland) and although they don't like the move itself they settle in fast at new location.

I've also made the mistake to only use a leash in car and not cage. Took ages to get the wee stains off everything.

Yeah we have one of those too, I was thinking of putting her on that when we stop, and letting her roam around the car.

Just hate the thoughts of her on her own crying her wee heart out in the car (I'm a huge softie)!

We've moved once and she adjusted to the new place very quickly so I hope it'll be the same again, it's just getting there that's the problem!

andreac

I wouldnt let her roam around the car at all!! That would be a lot worse than being safe and cosy in her travel box.

She could panic in the car and destroy your car so i really wouldnt advise to leave her loose at all.

At least if shes in the box it can covered and kept dark and quiet for her.

Baybay

You can ask permission once you're parked to bring your cat, in its cage, up to the seating area with you. If it's not too busy and the cat isn't a yowler, sometimes they say yes. Of course, they say no sometimes too!!
Longer ferry journeys have timetabled slots to visit/feed your pets.

When we have room, we put a litter tray in the rear footwell and have our cat on his leash when we're travelling. He still only uses it when we stop the car but he likes to pay it a visit from time to time when the car is moving. Otherwise he reclines on the rear parcel shelf in various poses. Make sure though that you don't use a snap collar for travelling with your leash!! Our cat has a buckle travel collar with a bandana attached, totally unsuitable, IMO, elsewhere but so cute!!

biko

Have a read of the various ferry policies like
http://www.irishferries.com/ie/faq-pets-passports.asp

mymo

I brought two kittens to Somerset last summer by car.
We went through rosslare and I used a large dog crate in the back with seats down and tied it in. I had litter tray in one end and bed in the other. I had a bottle of water and a bowl, and some dry food. I stopped and fed and gave water before the boat and straight after, didn't leave the bowl full all the time as it would spill and wet their bedding.
They were fine and slept most of the way. I had been keeping them in the crate at night before hand as they were tiny when I took them in.
I also travelled overnight as it was cooler but I think I'd do daytime in future.

ISDW

We moved from the UK to Ireland with 4 cats. we used 2 large dog crates, litter tray in, bed and a climbing tree. The cats were all absolutely fine. On the ferry crossing I left a cd player on, with speakers, to try and drown out the noise of the ferry. I would suggest that on the ferry you cover the crate, so that the cat feels safe, or make sure they have a box in the crate so that he/she could go into it and 'hide'.

Its really not a huge deal, if you get the faster ferry, you will be in the car with the cat for most of the journey, and he/she should settle down and sleep while you're driving. I wouldn't recommend letting a cat out of the crate during the journey, just in case they get out of the car (I'm paranoid)