Travelling 1500 Miles......... Ugh

My husband and I recently did the same cross-country trek down to SA from Michigan while I was 6 mo preggo, with 2 cats, a 16-ft moving van, 5 people and 2 cars. Here's what we did:
Re cars:
We hooked one of the cars onto the back of the moving truck, which was great, especially since the other car died halfway there (Missouri - during the heat wave last summer!)

Re cats:
Put them both in a large carrier. Had small food bowl for them and froze some water in a tupperware container for water. My cats did not really eat or drink while we were on the road (~8 hours/day) We didn't provide the cats with a litter box in the car, we just set one up each night at the hotel - cats will hold "it" in for a very long time. My cats are EXTREMELY vocal, but honestly, after about the first 15 minutes, they calmed down and slept. We did mostly drive-thru food until we got to the next hotel and then deposited the cats and went out to a sit-down dinner. I highly recommend investing in cat collars/harnesses with tags identifying the cats and your cell phone # on them.

That's all I can think of for now. Let me know if you have any more questions - like I said, I just did this less than a year ago.

I am traveling 1700 miles under the same conditions! What a stressful situation!
I tend to relax more when I have some serious plans in order.
I went to randmcnally.com and created my own road trip plan with hotels and stops along the way for breaks.
Do you guys have two cars? My husband and I will be splitting up the circus act (i.e. three cats and a baby) for the trip. We will NOT have the cats free roaming because cats can get very car sick and can vomit in places you may not be able to reach to clean. My vet recommended that we cover their crates with blankets so they cannot see anything.
I am not completely sure how we will do their bathroom breaks at our pit stops. My husband has a truck with a lid on the back so we may let them use the litter box in there.
There are websites full of pet friendly hotels too.
Then I will fill my bags with toys and food for the baby. Lucky for you she is 4 months old, so she could sleep for most of the trip. Maybe you guys could do the trip during her bedtime? It would switch your "clocks" around but it would make the trip easier on your princess.
Did I help?

I totally understand! We moved in January 1100 miles with 2 vehicles and a cat as well! Here's how we did it. I flew with my 3 month old (plus I talked my best friend into flying with me for some help) while my husband drove our truck while pulling my small SUV. The cat was in a cat carrier in the truck. We got the type of carrier that is fabric (the type suitcases are typically made out of & mesh) that would fit on an airline. We thought it would be more comfortable for him. Also, before the trip, our vet gave us sedative pills for the cat to take. We "practiced" at home figuring out the dose (1/2 a pill vs. a whole pill) to see how long it would keep him calm. My husband took a small litter box & would stop every so often to give the cat a chance to use the bathroom & get something to eat & drink, but with the sedative pills, he didn't have much need of doing any of the above. The whole trip actually worked out a lot better than I thought it would. Trust me, I laid awake many nights trying to figure out how you move across country with a 3 month old & a cat! It works out. I promise!

B.,
I did this with 2 cats and 2 little boys. I put the cat box inside a larger cardboard box to stabilize it and it worked fine. More importantly, I got some veterinary valium, smeared it with butter and dropped it down the cats' throats before the trip. They did very well.

Take it from someone whose daughter has had 5 homes in her 4 years of life, it's not that big of a deal. We have moved all over the state of Texas following my husbands job and it is a pain, but manageable. We have an indoor cat that hates carriers so we just let her walk around in the car if we have to take her somewhere. To tell you the truth she usually just hides under the seat the whole ride anyway. I do put in a small litter box made from one of those aluminum baking pans so we can just throw it away when we get where we are going. Also, if you use the crystals it keeps it from getting everywhere. We also have 2 rottweilers we carry in the other car so just think....it could be worse. My daughter slept a lot, but did get fussy if we didn't stop every so often to stretch our legs. You will be stopping to change her diaper anyway, so that won't be a problem. Good luck and just remember, it's only a couple of days, it will pass and everything will be better for it.

When my husband and I, our 1 year old, two dogs, and a cat made the 2000+ mile treck from New England to Texas, our vet suggested a sedative for the cat, who rode in his carrier, to eliminate his stress. This worked well. He slept most of the day, got out in then evenings when we stopped, and we used a litter box in the hotel bathroom where Nate did not go. The dogs had free reign of the back seat. They did well, but were used to traveling. The biggest challenge was finding lodging along the way in motels that accepted pets. Try to look this up ahead of time. We had to take many breaks to get out, stretch. We stopped for all meals, got out, relaxed a bit. It made the trip longer, but more enjoyable. We were able to spend brief moments enjoying the scenery along the highways. It was a nice, long, long trip. Good luck.

Ugh, is right! We travelled from Amarillo, TX to Corpus Christi, TX (800 miles) and that was no picnic! I suggest a cat crate with the litterbox in it. We moved with three kitties and had their food and water in it too. However, we should have left out the water and only given it to them on breaks since it sloshed everywhere in the crate. The next time we moved (within town), we did not use the cat crate and oh boy! One of the kitties peed in the car and even after removing the carpet, we can still smell it! Good luck to you!