May be moving- need advice.

[Rebecca M]

Okay, here's the situation. I may be moving very soon from the West coast to the Midwest. I'll have to drive and take two children, three cats and five birds in the same vehicle. Now, the cats have harnesses and leashes that they are used to and while the vehicle is in motion the leashes come off and they ride wherever they want in the SUV. Before the doors are opened the leashes get attached to the harnesses. I have a carrier for the GCC but will not have room for a large cage. Will his time out cage work for sleeping overnight for three to four days? It's not crushingly tight but he will not have room to fly. It's big enough that he can sit on two different perches and not hit his head, wings or tail but still, I'm concerned about it. The other problem is the four parakeets. Can I just take them in their normal cage? How should I keep them cool enough and safe from the cats who do like to pull out tail feathers if they get the chance. (It's happened twice before while I was cleaning the cage and it was down within the cat's reach.)
It's going to be a three day drive with hotel stops each night. Should I bottle some of their normal water to take with us? What else do I need to do? I want them to be safe and expereince as little stress as possible.
Thanks a bunch!
Becky

[Lori~D]

MY personal opinion is to carry the cats in crates as well. Sounds like a dangerous situation for your birds esp if you rest stop. A travel cage for the GCC sounds fine as you describe. I carry my Too in a travel cage and then let her sit on top on the overnight stops at hotel or whatever and we also have a larger collapsable cage for longer stays but we dont use that on overnights. If your not running the AC or your worried about stops (lunch ect) we always make it a habit to keep the car running with the AC, eat at drive thrus and/or keep someone at the car at all times. You can also freeze a few gallon jugs of water. Set them next to the cage and they will cool the air around the cage for a few days.

[Heaven]

You can also get one of the dog barriers and block the cats from the birds. We always used drive thrus as well. Take cooler with drinks and snacks. The carry cage will be fine you can always let him out while your travelling if you keep the cats separated. We always let the Too's out when we traveled with them.

Good Luck and be safe.

[Lori~D]

I have had a few of those barriers. They have gaps. i can barley keep a Jack russel behind them much less a cat,lol.

[Rebecca M]

Yes, we always use drive throughs. If we stop to go in to go to the bathroom one adult stays with the running vehicle (ac and all and holding all cat leashes) and the other takes the kiddos to use the facilities. Then the other one gets to go. My cats do NOT like to be crated and will cry for hours. I may try the barrier that you suggest. If we stop and get out to stectch our legs I'm assuming the cats can walk on their leashes and the birds can come with us in their carriers. (I won't leave my children in the car nor will I leave my FIDS in a hot car. I was more concerned about the actual driving time. Will my GCC be okay spending several days transferring from a travel carrier to a smaller cage? His normal cage is HUGE and there is no way to fit it in the SUV. Not with luggage and all. Thanks for the kind feedback.

[kali]

it is much safer to keep your cats crated during the journey for that same reason you keep seatbelts on yourself and kids. if there was an accident you don't want your cats flying into the windscreen or thrown around the car potentially causing head injuries to the people in the car, or even crawling under the front seat and around your feet while driving. sooo dangerous... if you crate them at home for an hour or so each day before you go when they are fed, they may get used to the crates enough to be quiet on the journey exceot for rest stops when they get to stretch their legs.