Moving... with cats!

Well, as you know, I have relocated to the Oregon coast. I have now been an Oregon resident for one week (plus a couple days). Two weeks ago today, we had movers, cleaners, and carpet cleaners at our house! We hired a rental truck and the movers packed it for us. (Thank goodness we had their help! We would not have gotten everything in there that they were able to. As it was, we had to leave some stuff behind... including our giant "cat tree"!)

Through all of this moving process, one of our biggest worries has been the cats. We had to make a very hard decision regarding our Miss Girl. (We did euthanize her. I'll go into that in another post. It was the best and hardest decision.) We also had to figure out how to get our three boys (Ben, Oscar, and Henry) safely to Oregon, with a minimum of stress for humans and cats!

The trip usually takes about 20 hours by car. With a moving van, towed vehicle, follow-behind vehicle, four humans, and three cats, it took about 30 hours total. We did the drive in three days, with scheduled evening stops. We made reservations before leaving in hotels that accepted pets. (Super 8 motels are good about accepting pets for a small amount extra.) With those reservations made, we then proceeded to figure out how to crate them for the trip.

We have three soft-sided carriers for the cats, but they aren't very big. They wouldn't allow them much room to wiggle. For such a long drive, we knew we needed another plan. I looked into buying larger, dog crates, but they were VERY expensive, so I fell back to an idea I'd heard somewhere along the line. Laundry baskets, and bungee cords. It worked - cheap, effective, and easy to use. Also - we will use the baskets for other purposes now rather than just having to find storage space for the expensive crates!

Here's what I did: Hunted down some cheap laundry baskets. Target worked great for this! They had their "dorm" life stuff on sale, and the baskets I found were only about $2 each. They were also smaller than most laundry baskets. I bought 6 baskets, and several bungees. By putting two baskets together and using a bungee (or two for our Houdini cat, Oscar) we were able to have the cats safely in the car - each with their own space. They could stand, turn around, etc. And each set up wound up costing only about $9 total (instead of the $80 or $90 each a crate would have been!) **I wouldn't recommend this laundry basket method if your animal will be spending any amount of time where escaping from the baskets could be a problem. They ARE NOT fool proof ways to contain an animal. It worked for us to carry them safely from car to motel, and back. (All three cats fit in the backseat of our car - a Hyundai. Henry and Ben are pictured - Oscar hadn't gotten loaded up yet!)

The cats were amazingly quiet for the whole trip. Henry is just about the only one that "sang" very much and it wasn't all that much! Once we headed out on the first day of the trip, they settled down and slept in their baskets. After about 2 hours of driving, we decided to see how they did out of the baskets. My friend Andrea (who came along for the trip, as well as Mike's dad) and I undid the bungees with all the car doors closed! The cats came out a bit to kind of see what was what. Then each of them found a comfy place to curl up. Ben chose to stay in his now open basket.  Oscar liked the floor of the car. Henry roamed around the most, but usually wound up in the lap of whoever was the passenger. Ben also decided that he loved Andrea and spent a lot of time cuddling with her! We had a portalbe litter box, and water and food available, but they didn't eat or poo until we were stopped in a motel.

It was truly an amazingly easy trip. I worried so much about how the cats would do... needlessly it seems! They have continued to adjust in our new place, and are doing well! They LOVE being able to go out on our balcony with us.

So... travelling with these cats wasn't so bad. In fact, it was kind of pleasant to have a fuzzy buddy to curl up in your lap while riding!

And just for your enjoyment - a shot taken from our balcony and one of the nearby shore. We look over Devil's Lake State Park, and it's about 1/2 a mile to the shore from our place!

--Tammy

Comments

[turtlecookie]

Tammy, I'm glad your trip went so smoothly! Your worry may have been for naught (thankfully), but all the planning sure paid off! (Did the worry fuel the planning?) I love the idea of the laundry baskets. Our move was only 1/2 mile, so we didn't need to go to any great lengths. I remember though, when Zip and Jazz were kittens we took them to Colorado Springs, a trip of a little over two hours. Zip had eaten/scratched his way out of his cardboard carrier before we even got out of Fort Collins! We now have plastic carriers for them. Wish I'd know about the laundry baskets back then. ;-)
Congrats on a successful move with your kitties! I admit to being envious of your new environs. :-)

Turtlecookie

[Dana]

Hi Tammy, It was so great to hear from you! What an experience you've had! It sounds like you did a great job in moving your cats with the least amount of stress. Good for you guys (I LOVE the laundry basket idea)! I look forward to hearing more about Oregon from you soon. Take care

[jan]

Well, aren't you clever? The crate idea is one I will certainly pass on. Can't wait to hear more about your new home.

[Laurel]

Oh, I can smell the ocean! What a view! I am so impressed with your commitment to making this move. You made the scary, difficult decisions and leaped! Way to go!

It's strange not having you here in town and popping into the office, but wonderful to have the technology that keeps you part of the World by the Tail family. More pictures, please!

[Ingrid]

I'm so glad your trip went so smoothly, Tammy! And the view from your balcony, as well as the photo of the beach, are stunning. May you be very happy in your new home!