Now PLEASE DONT make this an argument about travelling with cats/dogs/kids as I have read it all before on my and others posts... I need some real practical advice here
Ok.. for those who have been following my silly posts you will know that hubby,I,3 kids and our dog are planning on leaving Bunbury in July to travel Australia in our series 3 falcon towing a 30yr old viscount poptop... with a 6-8mth stopover in Carnarvon for work.(now are we all caught up!)
We also had 2x 5yr old indoor cats that we were going to take with us but decided against for a million reasons and had them rehomed.
Well as of this today hubby is going to pick up said rehomed 2 furballs as they are not coping at all in their new home.. infact they have not come out of under a bed for a week,chosing to poo under there as well and the lady wants them gone.
SO we MIGHT have to take them with us or have them put down.
Any ideas on how to travel with the 2 cats?
Anyone travelled with cats or know of anyone who does?
Is it easy to train them to a lead?
Can we get a portable enclosure/build one that is lightweight enough to take?
Please only comment if you have a practical thing to suggest.This is so heartbreaking for us to go thru and now we cant rehome we need some help.
Cheers
Katrina

I think anything is possible with some planning.

Sounds as though it is going to be awfully crowded in your van and car when you have your entire family in there (the two legged ones and the four legged ones).

I would perhaps have concerns as to how quickly the cats will cope adjusting to being kept on a lead or in an enclosure.

I would start them getting used to this before you depart if possible - you don't want the added stress of them not coping to the change when you are living in a van vs. a house.

You would want to make sure that the caravan parks that allow your dog will also allow your cats.

I hope you have an annex to house your menagerie when you are setup!


Cheers.



Mike

Hi, we had a similar problem with my mother in laws cat when she went into a nursing home,we had to take the cat and we live on acres and the MIL lived in a townhouse.Her cat was nuerotic, we tried for months to rehabilitate the poor cat, we already had 2 very spoilt cats that didnt really give a rats about the new arrival. finally after consulting with the vet, he said the kindest thing was to put the cat out of its misery.The cat would not even go outside for fear of the unknown, it lived in a darkened cupboard, when it did finally go outside it walked between our feet and meowed most of the time......so have a good think about your decision and maybe talk to a vet? some cats adapt, some dont. We did have a cat that was ok with all our moves in the past, as long as it knew us, it was fine..im not too sure about the van thing though...hope it works out for you..happy travels.....cheers Christine....

Thanks Mike!!
Ok we wont be staying at caravan parks unless we are in a town with work for more than 2 wks as our van is set up with solar
We have a large annex with the full skirt so no little critters can get in and hopefully none get out as our 15yr daughter will be sleeping in there with the dog
I was possibly thinking that during the day they could be in the enclosure so no one accidently lets them out and at night when we are all zipped up they could be free to roam between the van and the annex
we dont move out of the house until the 3rd june so whatever we decide it has to be done before the end of May.
We were thinking possibly 1)once the cats were resettled here put them in the caravan for a couple hours each day to get used to the smells etc... gradually building their time up in there
2)take them for rides around in the car(which by the way is a series 3 au falcon wagon and the boots are HUGE) without them being in their cage so they get used to it.. once they are ok with it throw the dog in with them(the cats and dog get on well now anyway... and the cats are 100% indoor and the dog is 50/50)
3)take them away for a weekend as a trial
and somewhere in between see how they would go on a lead.
The very first caravan that we had a look at (an old millard full size) actually had a cat door in the floor under the dining table as they travelled with their cat!!
If all of the above fails miserably then we will have no option but to have them put down.This is the absolute last resort and only once we have tried everything

L+CA we have moved 4 times with the 2 cats(the joy of being renters!!!) and each time they have been fine.. spent the first night under a bed but by morning they were always out and about doing their usual thing.As 100% indoor cats they have no interest in outside.
I do know of someone who travelled with 3 cats+2 little dogs around australia but they didnt have their kids and they were in a big bus.
So its going to be a hard decision/trial.... thats why I wanted some sort of advice from people who had done it/are doing it or know someone who is/has travelled with cats.

Never, ever, let them out the van unless they're in a cage or on a lead.

I'm sure you love them dearly, and they love you, but they might find something fascinating to explore and not find their way home by the time you move on.

Far too many feral cats already in this country, saw one the size of a Border Colley way out in the middle of nowhere the other day but it managed to evade the tyre of the truck.

I'm sure you can either make, buy, or adapt some sort of cage. There are some quite big patio bird aivery's that come as a flat pack, might be one place to look.

You mention the boot of the falcon, I take it you mean it's a Sedan style body? I personally don't think that it's appropriate to stow 3 animals in the boot of a vehicle, people have died in the same circumstances.

no sean its a station wagon and the longest period of driving we are planning to do is no more than 4-6hrs as our youngest child doesnt travel to well(gets restless and terrorises his older brother and sister!).The car is fully airconned and we have a mesh barrier(a genuine ford one not a homemade one) between the back seat and the wagon boot so the coolness gets it thru the back and the dog doesnt jump over to the kids
all we were planning on having in the back was the dog and the toolbox(not a massive one.. just one with the emergency tools in it) and the first aid box.we used to have another dog (a rotty) that was in the boot with our current dog(a heeler x) and they had more than enough room to lie out on their car beds(we spoil our furbabies)
I have no intention of letting the cats out.. they NEVER get out here at home.. even if one of the kids leaves a door inadvertantly open they are not fussed.They are fat lazy bed occupying purbabies!hehe
Like I said we will be trialling before we go and its 4 months before we leave.

Our daughter had this trouble with her beloved furball moving from Mandurah to Hedland to Albany to Karratha, back to Albany. The best solution she found was to board him until she settled, then collect him. This option is costly but it did save frayed nerves when travelling with a dog and 3 young children.

Before you decide what to do with your animals why not talk to a Vet, maybe he could check them over to make sure they are in reasonable condition to go on this expedition, he could also recommend something that could calm them down if they get upset ect, the last thing you want is to have them get sick or worse, think how this would be with your children if some thing was to happen to them while travelling.

Cheers

Yeah we are going to take them to the vet as well and have a chat about how they would go.. they are only young.(5yrs) and never been outside so their health is perfect.
Someone suggested putting rescue remedy on their paws!