Pet Travel Expert

Recently, I received an All Experts question regarding sedating an animal for pet travel. Since it is a common question, I decided to post it here as well.

Good Morning, I will be pet moving next year and it is approx. nine hours away. My one cat who is approx. 3 years old appears to be terrified of cars. I was thinking of letting him sleep the whole ride. Of going to the vet and letting them give him a sleeping pill or shot so that the ride would not be so impossible for him. What do you think? Thank you. K.

Hi K.,

Thanks for your question! There are a lot of questions and concerns surrounding sedation and tranquilizers when pets are traveling -- I'm glad you are taking the time to consider your options.

For any pet that is flying, it is never a good idea to use tranquilizers or sedatives. This is mainly because the effects of sedation at high altitudes are unknown in regards to how the effect pets. The same way you might get more tipsy having a cocktail on a plane than you would normally, a pet that has a sedative can sometimes be adversely affected.

Your question, however, is regarding whether you should sedate your cat while driving. Please consider the options of why you want to administer the drug to the cat. Is it to make your cat's way of traveling better or yours? A lot of times we try to help our pets but really do them a disservice. If it is just the meowing and crying that is hard to listen to in a car, you should think twice before giving your cat any pills. After the first hour or so, he is likely to settle down and go to sleep (he won't be able to be crying for 9 straight hours!). However, if your cat seems seriously distressed and frightened, then it may help to look into a sedative. One of your options would be a natural sedative that would calm him a bit. I encourage you to discuss this with your vet -- for ultimately it is your vet's decision to whether he should prescribe a sedative or not.

If you do end up sedating your cat for travel, make sure you keep an eye on him throughout the trip. There is a chance he could throw up due to having an upset stomach and, because of his drowsy state, accidentally choke.

Whatever the case, the most important thing you can do to help any pet travel more calmly is to accustom them to their travel crate. Don't just pull out the crate on the day of departure and put your cat in -- help him get used to it ahead of time by feeding him in the crate or putting his favorite toys and treats in. We had a client who said their cat absolutely hated crates and wouldn't go near them. It turns out, she'd only gotten the crate out to go to the vet! Of course the cat would have some sort of anxiety surrounding getting in his crate. Once she started leaving the crate out in the house all of the time, the cat eventually didn't run away from it. She said by the time her cat arrived at her new home, after a long flight and a day's worth of traveling, he would go in the crate regularly to sleep. Pets like having enclosed dens to sleep in -- they just need to feel comfortable in them and not associate their crate with only taking them to strange places.

I wish you the best of luck! Thanks for stopping by.

Happy travels & wagging tails!
Rachel Farris