Calming A Cat In Heat
Watch The Temperature & Food
Make sure it’s not too cold or too hot in the car for your kitty. You also want to be mindful of the sun rays shining through the windows. You may want to put a shade on the windows or a light cover on your cat’s carrier, so she doesn’t overheat.
You might also avoid feeding your cat right before you get on the road but offer water at rest stops . Some cats may have an upset tummy if you feed them before traveling.
Get Him Used To Your Car
Another thing that you can do is slowly acclimate your cat to traveling in your car. You can start by introducing the car to your cat. Let him explore the inside of your car. During this first phase be sure to keep the car in the off position. Once your cat has warmed up to your car you can go ahead and start the engine. Your cat may be startled at first, but he should then calm down quickly after.
You can start slowly by taking him around the block a few times a week. This is the closest experience you can get to seeing how your cat will respond during a car ride. Gradually increase the time he is in the car so he can get used to being in it.
The trick is to slowly acclimate your cat by getting him into a routine. When the time comes to really go out, your cat will be ready and wonât be as shocked like if it was his first time traveling in a car.
I wont promise that this will alleviate all your problems, but it will help a lot more than if you didnât acclimate him to your car at all.
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Tire Your Cat Our Before Traveling
Play with your cat and tire him out before taking him out on the road. Simply expending his energy before a trip will greatly work in your favor. Itâs a trick parents actually do with their kids. The same works with your cat. Get all of his energy out before the trip and he will have nothing left to do but take a nice cat nap.
Just be sure that there is a comfortable mattress or bed in the carrier to keep him from waking up. This is one of the best natural ways to calm your cat down in the car.
If your cat knows how to walk with a leash then this would be a good time to take him for a walk. Walking your cat is a good technique to tire them out. Cats do not have as much endurance as other animals when it comes to physical activities. Hence why the perfect picture of a cat is of them laying down napping somewhere in a shaded area.
Update Your Cat’s Id Tags Their Microchip And Your Phone Contacts
Your cat should be wearing a breakaway collar with an identification tag that has your current information on it. Kitty should also be microchipped, especially when traveling, just in case.
If your cat is already microchipped, make sure the information associated with that microchip is up to date.
Your cat might not normally wear a collar and tags at home. However, when you’re traveling, it’s important to make sure that kitty can quickly be reunited with you should they be spooked and run away.
It’s a good idea to bring along your vet’s information and to look up information for animal emergency care at your destination. Animal Poison Control can be reached 24 hours a day at 426-4435. Be sure to program your phone with any and all information you may need on your travels.
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How Long Does It Take
Getting your cat to be comfortable with riding in a car can take time. I cant tell you how long it will take your cat to get comfortable.
There are several factors that come into play when training your cat. The thing that I can tell you is that if you are consistent with your training, they will eventually enjoy traveling. Of course, some breeds just dont like traveling at all.
But what if you have to go on a long road trip or out of town suddenly without having time to properly train your feline friend?
Well, here are some things you can do if your cat is traveling for the first time and youre both experiencing an unpleasant trip.
Stress And Anxiety Can Be A Familiar Experience For Many Cats When Travelling
Most cats will associate travelling in their cat carrier with a visit to the vets or a stay in the cattery, which can lead to anxiety during travel. Seeing your pet stressed can cause extra worry for a pet owner.
No owner likes to see their cat distressed and there are signs to look out for if your cat is feeling anxious, which include:
- Shaking
- Aggression and scratching
- Excessive grooming
To ensure the journey runs smoothly and to help with your pets anxiety, here are some positive things that you can do to help reduce stress for your cat whilst travelling:
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Try Stress Relieving Remedies
If your cat is displaying signs of anxiety like over-grooming and stress eating, you might want to take them to the vet to rule out an underlying medical condition. Your veterinarian can also help you by suggesting personalized suggestions for your feline friend.
Some ideas that you could try include calming shirts, CBD oil for cats, calming treats, and diffusers that release relaxing pheromones. Remember that some natural remedies for humans with anxiety, like essential oils, are toxic to cats.
Put Your Cat And Her Crate In The Car
Next, take the crate out to the car. Set the carrier in the car with the car door open; give your cat a treat and then take the carrier out of the car. Practice this on a few occasions; once your cat gets used to being in the car, shut the car door and then open it again. If your cat remains relaxed, turn the car on, and then turn it right back off. Next, move the car just out of the driveway, then pull right back in and park.
Keep your pace slow; this will help your cat stay calm, which will make this a more positive experience for both of you. Work up to short trips in the car, like a spin around the block or a stop at the coffee shop drive-through. With experience, your cat will learn that riding in the car is nothing to fear. You can also make the car less unfamiliar to your cat by rubbing a towel over the scent glands located by the side of her cheeks; rub this towel over the inside of the car to distribute your cats smell and make the car a more familiar and relaxing place.
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Every Week Our Vet Expert Answers Your Pressing Pet Questions
Q: My cat freaks out whenever we bring her in the carshe bangs against the sides of her carrier, yowls nonstop, basically throws a fit. Do you have any suggestions of how to make car rides more tolerable for her?
Dr. Chris Miller, AtlasVet DC: The more I think about it, the more I feel like cats that fear cars are very intelligent. Dogs that just jump in a car and hang their heads out the window seem a little cavalier to blindly trust such a wild experience. They dont know what cars are or how they work. I get nervous in planes, and I know how they work. Suddenly, a cat is plucked from its domain, jammed into a carrier, and tossed into a large metal box that hurtles along at 60 miles per hour. This must be horrifying for cats that only leave the house once a year.
Cats do not like change, and the first sign that their routine is about to get shaken up is the carrier. Just the sight of it can cause cats to panic, so making sure it is a safe place by getting your cat used to it in advance can be incredibly helpful. Use the carrier as a place for kittens to sleep, play, or eat as they are being raised. For adult cats, get the carrier out many days in advance of a scheduled car trip and try to make it a desirable destination by placing treats or catnip inside. Using an anti-anxiety pheromone spray like Feliway can help cats distinguish the carrier as a pleasant, more familiar place.
Find Dr. Chris Miller on Twitter at .
Do A Carrier Overhaul
An uncomfortable carrier equals an uncomfortable cat. The carrier that might be perfectly fine for your dog can be a bad fit for cats, and a basic carrier that works for vet visits may be too small for long trips. Because theyre generally soothed by hiding, cats tend to like carriers that offer plenty of shade and cozy darkness. Look for a cloth carrier made with dark fabric, preferably one with at least one panel that can zip or roll up to give the cat a view out. Potty breaks are tough to manage with a cat, so if space allows, consider getting a carrier large enough to hold the cat and a small portable litter box.
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Run The Air Conditioner
If your car has an air conditioner be sure to turn it on. If itâs already very cold in your vehicle you can turn on the fan instead without the cold air. This will help keep your car well ventilated for your cat. Keeping fresh air circulating through your car will help ease your catâs anxiety.
Taking Your Cat Into A Hotel
There will come a time while you are traveling when you will need to stop at a hotel with your cat. Before booking a hotel it would be a good idea to make sure you know what hotels are pet friendly. You might also want to check out how to pet proof your room before bringing your cat inside. You can check out my article here called how to make a hotel room cat friendly.
I have also researched a few hotels for you that are pet friendly to save you some time:
Kimpton HotelsFour Seasons Hotels and Resorts
Best Western
Motel 6Ace Hotel
If you want to do your own research for pet friendly hotels you can check out the following link. You are able to search by city and state:Â
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Ensure All Your Cats Needs Are Met
You should ensure that your cat has been fed and given enough to drink while traveling. Preferably, feed them before you travel. If youre just going to someone for an hour or so, then feed them on their normal routine. For longer trips, you should have a pet water bottle handy for them to drink out of if necessary.
Being thirsty and not knowing when theyre going to drink next can be very stressful for these cats. You should provide them with water often before they start showing signs of stress or dehydration.
We also recommend avoiding feeding your cat right before you leave if they are known to experience car sickness. Often, being a little bit hungry is much better than feeling sick and potentially vomiting all over the carrier. Know your cat and choose the option that works best for them.
Understanding Cat Behavior: Anxiety Fear And Hyperactivity
There are many things that can stress out cats, says Christine Calder, a certified veterinary behaviorist and the director of behavior services for Midcoast Humane. By nature, cats are both prey animals and predators, so fear is a hardwired emotion in cats, Calder notes. As a result, many are easily rattled.
Calder says the most common situations that trigger the need to help calm a cat are run-ins with other cats, unfamiliar people, dogs, noises, new environments, car rides, visits to the veterinarian, and even handling.
Other times, you may need to calm a cat for reasons that have nothing to do with fear. For instance, when he goes on a late-night, hyperactive rampage while youre trying to sleep.
Whether its fear or just hyperactivity, there are steps you can take to help calm a cat down, whatever the root cause.
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Leave Familiar Things In The Carrier
Cat like things that are familiar to them so if you leave anything in there with them such as their favorite toys it may help them relax a little more. Another way you can give your cat this feeling is to make the carrier smell like your home.
What you do is leave the cat carrier open in your house for a long period of time and your cat will get a calming effect from it since the carrier will absorb the smell over time.
Try A Different Type Of Carrier
This tip wont work for all cats, but some cats prefer feeling less restricted while theyre traveling. Of course, we wouldnt recommend leaving your cat loose in the car, but using something like the Cat-in-the-bag E-Z-Zip Cat Carrier can transform journeys into a more relaxed experience. Your cats head is free to look around, but their body is contained by a soft cotton bag. This carrier has a handle that you can secure to your cars seatbelt.
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I Make Sure Her Travel Carrier Is Familiar
Instead of storing her travel crate in a closet, like I used to, I keep it in the living room, near her midday nap-in-the-sun chair. She doesnt go into it often, but I do see her wandering in to explore or sniffing around the outside every few weeks. Before trips, I pad the bottom of the crate with the pillow that she sleeps on every night and a T-shirt of mine out of the laundry basket. The softness of the pillow, along with the familiar smells, give her comfort.
If I know in advance that the trip will be extra hard , I spritz some Feliway into her carrier to calm her nerves.
How To Calm A Cat In Heat
This article was co-authored by Pippa Elliott, MRCVS. Dr. Elliott, BVMS, MRCVS is a veterinarian with over 30 years of experience in veterinary surgery and companion animal practice. She graduated from the University of Glasgow in 1987 with a degree in veterinary medicine and surgery. She has worked at the same animal clinic in her hometown for over 20 years.There are 8 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page.wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. This article received 81 testimonials and 91% of readers who voted found it helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. This article has been viewed 1,306,086 times.
An un-spayed female cat will go into heat, meaning she’s ready to mate, every three to four weeks.XResearch source<i>Reproduction in the Dog and Cat. Christianseen. Publisher: Baillierie-Tindal</i> Usually, this involves howls, screeches, writhing, and attempts to attract or run away with male cats.XResearch source Calming the cat down is hard, and more importantly, it’s only temporary. This is natural, normal behavior for a cat in heat, no matter how annoying it is to owners. If it’s too much to handle, seek a long-term solution instead of a quick fix.
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Spaying And Other Long
Why Dont Cats Like Cars
If youve ever tried coaxing your cat into the car for a drive to the vet, its a safe bet that you noticed Fluffys aversion to road trips. Unlike their canine counterparts, most cats simply dislike traveling in cars.
According to livescience.com, there are several reasons, based on feline behavioral characteristics, that explain kittys distaste for moving transportation.
Cats are primarily creatures of habit and they love their routines, becoming easily stressed when forced to engage in unfamiliar activities.
They are also intensely territorial so new spaces make them cranky and anxious.
Extreme stress and anxiety often lead to motion sickness, a common occurrence in cats that makes the car trip even more unpleasant.
Overall, any sudden change in the environment is likely to upset your cat, and this can result in a traumatic event, for both of you.
If you need to hit the road and cant leave your cat at home, here are some survival tips that might help.
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Approaching An Excited Or Nervous Cat
Introduce Cat And Carrier
Get kitty comfortable with the carrier well in advance of travel day. Start by placing the carrier in a room where the cat spends time. Place a favorite small blanket or an old piece of your clothing inside to make the space smell familiar. Occasionally place treats inside for the cat to find. After a few days, place the cat inside the carrier.
Let the cat spend a few minutes inside the carrier to get used to the experience. Over the next few days, have the cat spend longer and longer periods in the carrier and start taking short car trips around the neighborhood with the cat and carrier.
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Introduce Your Cat To Its Carrier
You can often reduce anxiety by introducing the cat to its carrier before starting your trip.
Owners often put boxes away, bringing them out only when theyre needed so its no wonder cats are nervous right off the bat. Try to integrate the carrier into your living space.
Bring it out a few weeks before your trip if you can. Let the cat get used to seeing it. Curiosity may get the better of them eventually and youll probably see them climbing in and having a good sniff. Anything that encourages the cat to explore and to add its scent to the inside is good.
Add a much-loved blanket or towel inside to start things off. You could also have a few favourite treats ready to hand out as a reward. You want your cat to have either a positive or neutral association with its carrier.
Youre not always going to have advanced notice of when you need to use the carrier. This is especially true if your cat becomes ill or is injured and needs to visit the veterinarian in a hurry. So wed recommend taking the cat carrier out and putting it in a common area of the house periodically. If you have a kitten, then its important to get it used to the box before any fear or anxiety develops.
The carrier is the cats main point of contact inside the car so allowing a cat to explore inside will encourage feelings of safety, security and familiarity. Getting your cat to feel comfortable in their pet carrier gives you a massive headstart on helping them to cope with car journeys.
Moving Your Cat By Car
Avoid giving your kitty a big meal before taking a trip. A light breakfast to settle the stomach is all thats needed until you stop for the night. Use a seat belt to secure the cat carrier in case of sudden stops or turns. Most cats will be fine without a litter box for trips under 6 hours. If you are going to be in the car for longer periods, bring along a disposable litter box that you can use in the car or hotel.
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