How To Treat And Prevent Travel Sickness Of Your Cat

by Ruth Anoya
(Manchester)

Travel sickness is a very common condition in cats during travelling. This is due to the fact that cats do not adapt to sudden changes very well. Sudden changes in their environment cause stress and anxiety. This causes cats to drool excessively during a trip. Panting, restlessness and vomiting are other signs of travel sickness in a cat.

On extreme occasions, some cats experience bowel movement and urinate because of stress. Below is a list of tips on how to treat and prevent travel sickness of your cat:

Prevent Anxiety
Anxiety is one of the main causes of travel sickness in cats. Most people think that physical stress is the only cause of travel sickness but anxiety also plays a major role. Most cats become extremely anxious about travelling or being in the car resulting to travel sickness. You can reduce anxiety by either of the following ways:

1. Giving your cat some familiar items to play with, this diverts its attention from the movement of the car thus suppressing anxiety.

2. Placing the cat in its carrier without moving it much. This gives the cat time to adapt to the new environment in the car.

3. Taking your cat on short regular trips, this helps your cat adapt and get used to travelling.

4. Maintaining the right temperatures. Cats don't have the ability to add or remove layers of clothing if they feel cold or overheated like human beings. It is thus your responsibility to ensure that your cat is not exposed to extreme temperatures during a car trip.

Extremely hot or cold temperatures during travelling trigger vomiting. You can ensure your cat isn't exposed to extreme temperatures by doing the either of the following: If it is the cold season, add a throw blanket or old towels into the carrier of your cat. Alternatively, buy a carrier that is fitted with electrical warmers.

If the temperatures are high, ensure that the air conditioning system has cooled the interior of your car sufficiently before you put your cat inside the car. Since the position of the car will also change during traveling, place your cat where the sun light won’t fall on her directly. Alternatively place a sun shield on your car window. Ensure the vehicles settings and the vents are not exposing your cat to extreme temperatures.

Correct position of the carrier
It has been discovered that movement in a vehicle is more exaggerated at the back than the front. It is thus advisable that you place the carrier of your cat up front if possible.

Food Control
Just like other animals, cats are known to have a very quick vomiting response. This vomiting response is mostly triggered if your cat eats shortly before traveling. For this reason, ensure you feed your cat several hours before taking it on a road trip. This will reduce discomfort during the whole journey thus reducing chances of your cat vomiting.

Medication
Acepromazine is the mostly recommended medication by many veterinarians. It calms anxious cats and reduces chances of vomiting and nausea. However take caution since some cats are very sensitive to this drug. If your cat is highly sensitive this drug might make it extremely sedated. With all the above tips plus Esta authorization to travel, you and your pet will really enjoy your trip.