What sedates a cat for travel by car?

Question

My cat does NOT travel well by car, and I have to drive her cross-country soon. Once, 8 years ago, my vet prescribed acepromezine, which didn't do much. Last time, an ER doctor I worked with who used to be a vet tech growing up (his Dad was a vet) suggested xanax (my prescription). Again, not much better. Today, I took her to a vet, and she basically told me that she wouldn't prescribe anything unless I agreed to let her pull a couple of her teeth (for a cost of $1700 - unethical witch!). Please help!!!

Answer 1

use whatever soothes your cat best. If your really close to your cat, then that's easy to find out. Or if your cats complicated, then whats puts dogs and humans to sleep is the sound of a hum or a ticking sound. The humming sounds like the blood going through the mothers body when they haven't been born yet. The ticking sounds like the mothers heart beating, again from when they haven't be born yet. these two things help almost anything fall asleep. test it out see if it works! It'll work on you i know it.

Answer 2

Prescription medications- blah! I had to do the same thing recently and I bought "feliway" spray. My vet recommended it and it worked wonders. My cats hate the car but they did great on our 850 mile car trip. There's and identical product called "comfort zone" that works just as well. You can buy them on line or from stores like petsmart. All you have to do with the spray is spray it in their carriers 20 minutes before you put them in there. Good luck!

Answer 3

Well obviously, you're never going back to that vet again....   Geez, let's do some pain and unnecessary surgery on a poor animal...???

I think you should mention where you live so others in your area can suggest a better vet if they have one.

I also will be doing a cross country trip soon and was suggested valarian root.  I will do some more research and let you know.  My vet gave me acepromezine as well, but very hesitant to try it.

I'm planning on playing soothing music with a higher vibrational level, since not sure mine will respond well to meds.  I believe in holistic healing and not in meds anyway, but just really afraid of anything.  One of my girls always has a reaction to any and all meds; I had her vaccinated and almost lost her.

Good luck and I'll watch the posting; there's lots of knowledgable cat lovers on this board, so you should get alot of good answers.

Answer 4

Valerian root is great.  You can get it in the vitamin section.  What you do is open the capsule and sprinkle it on you cat's food before you feed them.  It's a natural relaxant and sleep aide.  We used it for our kitties when we moved cross country.

Answer 5

First, get a new vet!

Just wondering how badly your cat travels and if it's entirely necessary to actually sedate her.  Usually our cats calm down after about an hour of travel, and start up again for a few minutes every hour or so after that.  I guess it depends on how much you can deal with really!

If you dont wish to sedate her, you could try Bach's Rescue Remedy to calm her.....or something called Feliway sprayed in her carrier.  And make sure she has plenty of opportunity to have fresh water if you're travelling long-haul!

Good luck!  :-)