Traveling w/Pets in Covered Ranger Bed - Advice Please!

[Baz]

Hey gang -

In a few years (2 or 3) I will be traveling from California to the east coast, either Canada (the Ottawa area) or upper New York State.

I don't have much furniture, so I'll pay to have a commercial mover take it for me.

I DO have cats... and instead of flying them* I'd like to drive across country with them, because I love driving my Ranger and I want to take my truck across country.

I HAVE traveled across country with 1 cat, and have owned cats for years, so I am well aware of their needs.

The advice I need is this: Would pets be comfortable in a pickup bed with a shell, nice carpet, screened vents for fresh air, etc? My major concern is the smoothness (or lack thereof) of the ride. As I understand it (and I am new the the world of pickup trucks) pickups have a tighter suspension in back in anticipation of a heavy load. If I do not have a heavy load, just some animals, will they be bounced around like crazy back there and hit the roof of the shell every time I hit a bump?

Has anyone traveled with dogs or cats in a camper/shell?

Any advice would be welcome.

My other option is removing the passenger seat (I'll be traveling alone and it is very, very bad to pick up hitchhikers, according to all the slasher flicks I've watched anyhow) which I will ship with my furniture, and installing some kind of custom built cage.

Aside from the fact that you probably think I'm nuts, what are my options? Thanks for the help. I got great advice here a few months back in a post that is now gone.


* The airlines have a pretty impressive kill rate when it comes to transporting people's pets.

 

[PARKINGLOT]

do you plan to let them "free roam" in the back, or will they be in carriers?

 

[Sunk]

I've traveled with a dog in the back of a truck with a shell. It wasn't cross country, but it was at highway speeds. She was used to it, and moved about at her leisure, but pretty much sleeping because there wasn't much else to do. It might be a bit loud for the cats, but they would probably get used to it.

 

[RobbieD]

A lot of the equation involves what your cats are like- some cats are good "travelers", and some make any trip, even a short 5 minute one, a trip from hell even with them stuffed in a pillowcase. I don't know if you've taken ALL of your cats places in a vehicle before; how do they do in general? If they're ALL "good traverlers", I think that something in the back is workable. If not good travelers, you may be better off going with the front plan. Is your truck a standard cab? Another thought, have you the time for it, is to make some short "dry runs" with the whole load of 'em, to see how they do, and to acclimate them. I don't think the bumpiness of the ride in the back would be problem; mainly a question of how they do in a vehicle in general.

 

[MAKG]

There are a gazillion variables, but I think your cats are going to FREAK OUT if you put them in any unfamiliar place and move them around in an unfamiliar way, even if it's gentle. Comfort is not the issue. Unfamiliarity is.

I'd put them on the passenger seat in carriers, carefully secured (to the seatbelt or seat frame) so they can see YOU and preferably each other. Be prepared to listen to pitiful whining for a week.

They won't get bounced around too much, particularly if you put quite a bit of padding around and secure your load. Some of us used to ride around in pickup beds in the 70s. Not terribly comfy, but not nasty.

They are not at all like dogs, so dog advice might as well be martian advice.

I do have to wonder, why are you planning this 2 or 3 years out? You don't know if you'll have a passenger then. You could be married with two kids by then. Seen it happen.

I don't like to take my own cats to the vet (and they don't leave for ANYTHING else), let alone cross country. The big firepoint has to be sedated.

 

[Baz]

Some good tips, thanks to all of you.

MAKG, the plan is to pay of some debt, sell my house, and head east to be closer to family. I'm kind of a pain in the ass, so the wife and kids thing probably won't be an issue.

I'll do some test runs with the cats.

They all get along just fine, btw. I was simply hoping to find the best balance of comfort and safety, but if I stress safety that may mean the old 'carriers in the cab behind the seats' routine after all (as I do on vet trips) but I don't know if they'd like that for 6 or more hours.

Of course I could do it in runs of 4 hours a day, but then I'd make worse cross-country time than a Conestoga wagon.

 

[skippy]

Some good tips, thanks to all of you.

MAKG, the plan is to pay of some debt, sell my house, and head east to be closer to family. I'm kind of a pain in the ass, so the wife and kids thing probably won't be an issue.

I'll do some test runs with the cats.

They all get along just fine, btw. I was simply hoping to find the best balance of comfort and safety, but if I stress safety that may mean the old 'carriers in the cab behind the seats' routine after all (as I do on vet trips) but I don't know if they'd like that for 6 or more hours.

Of course I could do it in runs of 4 hours a day, but then I'd make worse cross-country time than a Conestoga wagon.

set out from whidbey island w/4 cats,2brothers,2sisters and mom/dad in old vw van without a/c in 1966 going to granny's in iowa.i would not do it!if you do,you will definately have some stories to tell when that special woman comes along and turns your world on it's ear.

 

[MAKG]

set out from whidbey island w/4 cats,2brothers,2sisters and mom/dad in old vw van without a/c in 1966 going to granny's in iowa.i would not do it!if you do,you will definately have some stories to tell when that special woman comes along and turns your world on it's ear.

Oh, jeez. That's bad.

Brings to mind Chevy Chase.

Baz, watch it if you haven't. Especially the first Vacation movie.

 

[Disturbed_Ranger]

My only tip would be to not feed your cats before the trip and give them pepto bismol or any anti-nausus (sp?) medicine. Give them a kid quantity and all will be fine. Trust me, i do that to the dogs at my work all the time.

 

[fordman49450]

put the cats in a carrier, put a fan in there (12V) so they have air. when I transported my dogs, we talked to the vet and we got some tranquilizer pills. they lasted about 12 hours. all it did was make the dogs tired and sleepy for the whole way. they were always conscious, just too drugged up to do anything. that was the only way for us to do it. They didnt like to travel.

 

[LittleBigFoot]

My friend read this and said "The dude should clam bake a room with the cats there, that'll chill em out enough to travel, second-hand-high, man!"

But he's an idiot.

 

[JohnnyO]

The big firepoint has to be sedated.

I second the drugs. The cats will feel safer and more secure in the bed if they are in carriers (and drugged up). A cap with roof vents is better because it will not let in carbon monoxide from the exhaust. Especially don't open the back window of the cap.
My parents drive to Florida and back once or twice a year with the cat. They drug her up in the morning, by the time they stop for the night the cat is coming around. Then in the morning she gets snowed again.
The cat has a number of health problems, my dad is eagerly awaiting its passing so they can fly instead.

 

[AllanD]

My brother moved himself his two cats and his three children to Wyoming from pennsylvania in June.

The children went into their V10 Excursion (with my sister-in-law driving accompanied by her sister) with A/C and individual DVD players and a shiny new Gamboy each, they left a day and a half before the two trucks to follow...

The cats went into cat carriers and it was intended that the cat in the carrier would ride on the front seat of one pickup truck driven by a friend and on the front seat of the other pickup truck driven by my brother.

the cat riding with my brother tolerated the first 20 miles of the trip then got himself moved to the camper towed behind my brother's truck, where it could STILL be heard CLEARLY HOWLING CONSTANTLY for most of the 1850mile long trip, inside the cab of BOTH trucks, with the windows rolled up and the A/C on....

If my brother had been in possession of a garbage pail full of water he'd have arrived one cat short...

The other cat was very mellow and laidback and tolerated the trip well.

There is no telling how your cats will tolerate travel, I agree that taking them for a test ride might be an important first step...

But planning three years in advance? you might find yourself with fewer cats, one might get hit by a car, killed by a neighbors dog, run off to points unknown...

OTOH If you are a man living with three indoor cats you should seek psychiatric help.

I have ONE cat, a cranky old unaltered tomcat that like all tomcats shows up only when he feels like it, I've never taken him anywhere, I like my fingers where they are... I did not choose to have a cat this cat (as a kitten) chose to have a human (me) he seems content with his choice



AD

 

[LIMA BEAN]

Man do I have some stories. I am a US Army (RET) Army brat and we crisscrossed the states and other continents with our pets all the time.You should try to aclimate the cats by taking them on rides around town to see how they do but alot of cats tend to bolt when you let them out so watch that. Make sure they have collars with all the info and have them Chipped for sure in case you do lose one, might show up years later with a mullet like Joe Dirt haha. Our dogs loved the rides and so did the cats after they got used to it but for sure have a slider window if you let them free range if they feel dis connected from you they most likely will panic. We had one that traveled from Ft.Polk La to Cali to Oklahoma and all the way up here to Alaska and just loved it. My dad Transfered to Alaska ahead of us and my Mom, 2 sisters, the Cat and I drove all the way, we got thrown out of a motel once cause the dam cat was behind the curtains on the window sill when the manager walked by we slept in the car that night cause back in the 70's it was pretty tuff on a GI's budget to lose that 40 bucks for the room and we wanted to make our Soldier Dad proud of us that we could do this trip and we did CAT and all, all the way to Ft. Greely Alaska 100 miles south of Fairbanks, we all still live here and the cat is buried on the back 20 of the homestead. Good luck with your trip and the dam cats haha.

 

[Baz]

Jesus, that's a cool story Lima Bean, and I can relate. My dad was Canadian Air Force, dragged me and my bros all over Europe. Got to see a lot of really cool stuff for free.