What have you personally used that helped a cat through a long road trip?

Talk to her vet. See if the vet will give you a couple of mild sedatives. I’ve NEVER had a cat that liked to travel & given a ½ second opportunity, they WILL jump out of the car I don’t care how careful or fast you are!!! I know that you have NO other option, but she’s probably NOT going to use the litter box nor drink any water as they will be too close to each other. So, sleeping through most of the trip might make her happier in the long run. If she’s not asleep, she may very well yowl the whole trip which can be very distracting for Mom!!!

@LadyMarissa Given her age and thyroid problem,I’d rather not use a prescription sedative.She will not be able to get out. Her kitty condo is secure and folds down into a carrier. Whether she uses the litter box or not, I do want her to have the option.
I know there are natural type calming items you can buy. I was hoping someone may have had some experience with those.

I drove across country with my cats and dog, from Denver to New York. The cats were in a dog crate, with a litter box and water, and had no problem with the accommodations for the 4 days that the trip took. I didn’t need to sedate them, but they had each other and that may have been why.
Your vet may know of some herbal relaxant that would not be contra-indicated with her medication.

Good luck with this! Have a good trip.

Hey….as long as you’re there I bet she’ll be fine. We spent months, almost a year, dragging Vanta from one camp location to another. She rode free in the back of the camper. How we didn’t lose her is beyond me. But she’s safe and settled in our new home now.

My suggestion is to put a harness, leash and collar on her, so if by chance she tries to escape, you can grab her. Even though she’ll be in the kitty condo, you just never know and better safe than sorry.

30 years ago I drove from San Francisco to Tacoma with my cat (“Mr. Spock”). I stopped at every other rest stop and took Mr. Spock for a walk on a leash. He liked that.

I’ve never owned a cat that likes car rides. Part of that is that I never got any cat adapted to the idea. I had a customer once that took their cat on car rides ALL THE TIME…and as such, the cat not only didn’t panic, but even LIKED the car rides as it was a time when the owners were paying extra attention to her.

You could try acclimating your cat to the situation by bringing her into the car and playing with her there and petting her there with the doors open. Give her treats there. Get her to have a positive association with the car. Then maybe slowly escalate. Doors closed, but otherwise everything is still happy. Then short drives.

But that presupposes that you have time AND that you can make each step along the way a good experience for the cat. Both are BIG ‘ifs’.

I think @Entropy offers excellent advise if you have the time. Cats like things that are familiar not sudden changes. Good luck on your journey and for your best friend, she is very special :)

Try this. I’ve used it and it works. Says it’s for travel right on the box.

https://www.chewy.com/rescue-remedy-stress-relief-pet/dp/135502?utm_source=partnerize&utm_medium=affiliates&utm_campaign=1100l22691&utm_content=1101l94500&clickref=1101lwufkr2G&utm_term=1101lwufkr2G

Mine complains and the kindest thing I can do is ignore it and not try to calm her by talking because it just keeps her from settling in. I have used gabapentin rx when taking her the vet which seems to just take the edge off. She is still alert.

What are you going to do with the cat when you get to your destination?

Thank you all for the advice and help. I think I am going to look into Rescue Remedy that snowberry posted about.