Have you ever noticed that dogs ride so well in vehicles but most cats do not? My kitties hated going places in my car in their cat carriers. They yowled every moment that my car was moving. Well here is my theory as to why cats do not travel well in vehicles. Dogs, being larger for the most part, are not upset by the motion of the vehicle because they can see out of the windows as the vehicle is moving and they can see that they are “going” somewhere. Whereas cats are put in cat carriers which are placed on the floor of the vehicle, or on the seat - neither of which offers your cat the “view” that a dog gets. Well think about it… they are not only confined in a box, but they feel the movement of the vehicle and don’t know what is happening or where the movement is coming from - thereby making them so terrified that they in yowl in fear!
I had to find a solution to the problem soon because I was getting ready for a big move – from Florida to New Hampshire and I didn’t even want to THINK about sedating them. I decided that I had to find some way to make sure that my kitties could see out of the windows when traveling in my car. I put my cats in their carriers, and I put the carriers on top of the boxes that I had packed for the move. I made sure that the carriers were securely wedged between the boxes and the roof of my car. This allowed my kitties to see out of the windows as we traveled. As I drove from Florida to New Hampshire, my kitties were quiet and spent the long trip gazing out the windows and napping. Every now and then one of them would voice a quiet meow but never once did either of them make the noisome yowling that they used to.
Even now, when I take my kitties on short car trips to the vet or to visit family, I put the carriers on top of a couple of thick quilts that I’ve laid on the back seat and then buckle them in. It puts them high enough to see out of the windows, they’re traveling safely, and the most amazing thing is that they no longer yowl when traveling!