Long-distance driving with cats

Moving with CATS - Huntington Beach to Seattle

After a 19 hour drive, the move across several states is complete. Wasn't sure how to carry Zuma and Max in the car but previous experiences in earlier parts of their life suggested that a cat carrier is not that comfortable for them and they would meow nonstop.

Inside the car

Created some space around boxes and let the cats move around however they wanted - worked out perfectly. They meowed for the 1st hour and tried to crawl around everywhere, but then slept almost the entire rest of the way. Max crawled to the back in/under boxes for an hour but later I noticed he started panting- it was hot in that section and A/C didn't reach that far back. I re-packed some boxes to make sure they are only in clear space, and with no chance of boxes sliding/falling.

With 5-6 short stops along the way, they never went to the bathroom, never drank water, and never ate. We had a hotel stop half way on the trip and that was the only time they did their normal routine.

Sneezing (upper respiratory infection?)

Zuma was sneezing the entire moving week, probably got some dust in her nose, but was fine as soon as we were in our new location. Also gave them 1mL each of childrens benadryl general store brand, since I read that could help kitties go to sleep, their mouth foamed up just a bit at first. Maybe it helped but I forgot to give it to them after the hotel and they were still fine driving without the drowsiness.

Not sure if it's legal to have a cats without a carrier in a moving vehicle but I'm happy I did that. Hopefully no long-distance moving any time soon!

Cat hug and handshake

Cat hug and handshake

Crystal Vortex CAT Eyes Activated

Eyes of a ‪Supercat‬
#catsofinstagram #funcats #Kitties #cats

Look at Meeeeeeeow

Look at Meeeeeeeow

I am here in front of you (Remix version) LoLKatz

I am here in front of you (Remix version) LoLKatz

A+ for effort, F for job done

A+ for effort, F for job done

Max face-rubbing his favorite wall corner

via Instagram http://ift.tt/142FKEL

Pets rubbing face on walls

Cat allorubbing and scent leaving behaviors are common. The best way to explain it is that kitties like to use almost all of their face/body parts to rub against almost everything else. Well, maybe a better explanation is that certain cat areas have glands, being strong secretors of hormones. The residue is obvious, likely with some mixed-in cat food and dust adsorbed to the chemical structures. Many pet owners are grossed out by the leftover marks, but we’ve always been reluctant to clean the hard-earned, face-scratching efforts on the wall.

The function is to let others know who the territory belongs to. The cats also wants to leave a trace for others to know that ‘Hi, I was here a bit earlier’. For our kitties, they may be doing it as a sign of attention and affection. Maybe they are hungry, asking for pet food. They are constantly in the same area (the vicinity of the house) and walking by the same walls, corners, and furniture, so the function is likely not the traditional one to get other cats aware, since it’s just Max and Zuma here.

We’ve noticed they do the rubbing and head bunting around the time when they look back-and-forth directly into our eyes. They want some social and playing time...

Here's a bit more cat behavior info: http://www.petplace.com/cats/why-do-cats-rub-up-against-things/page1.aspx