Ragdoll Cat Forums

We'll be driving to be with my family for Thanksgiving, leaving on Wed and returning on Mon. It's an 8-hour drive, mostly by interstate. My only available neighbor to care for her is elderly and probably would not take the time necessary to play with her a lot each day (and she really needs that time). So my choices right now are boarding her at my vet (for$25/day) in a medium-size cage, or driving her with us, where we stay at my parents' house. At the vet she'd be cooped up, but at least I know she'd be safe, and she would not be too lonely, with other cats to meow to. Not sure about the long drive, but her carrier is a large one, and roomy for her. Previous drives to the vet have gone well, she doesn't seem to get carsick, and after some initial meowing, she settles down and relaxes. She also did very well on the 2-hour drive home with us from the breeder, when she was 5 months old.

I guess I'm leaning toward driving her with us, but I thought I'd bring it up here to see if I can gain any knowledge or ideas from the collective cat think tank that is this forum.

Any thoughts, or something else to consider that I am not?
Thanks, as always, for your wisdom!
Mary

My personal thought is....if you can't leave her at home, then take her with you if you think she'll tolerate the trip well. Just in case, you might want to buy some feliway spray and spray in her carrier to help her relax a little more. Have a wonderful trip!

Be sure that she either has enough room in the carrier for a small litter box or, if you let her out of the carrier to use it at rest stops, make sure ALL of the car doors are closed and locked, and do not open them (and make sure that nobody else opens the car door) until she's finished her business and is securely back in her carrier. And in case you end up needing to get from the front seat to the back seat or vice versa to grab her if she runs around while out of her carrier, make sure that you're agile enough to climb over the seats rather than getting out of the car (or that someone is in the car who is able to do that)! Also, at your parents' house it might be a good idea to keep her in one room so as to reduce the chances of her getting outside during all of the comings and goings over Thanksgiving, since there will be people there who aren't used to making sure that a cat doesn't get out when they enter and leave the house.
Also, for future trips, when you get back you should ask your vet to recommend local pet sitters (that's how I found mine and she's great), so that you have one "on call" for future trips... or even more than one, so that you have a back-up. I realize it's probably too late in the game to line that up for this weekend, but for future trips...