How Suzanne Survived Taking a 10-hour Road Trip with her Cat

Let me introduce Peddy, my beautiful black and white 7 year old cat. Ever since our eyes met at the animal shelter, it was love. Once I had her in my arms she never wanted to go back in her cage. Let's just say we both needed each other and we have been together ever since that day 5 years ago.

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Peddy is a very special cat...well, to me anyways. She is curious, always seeking affection and adventurous. She also is like a little puppy, she follows me around everywhere and comes when I call her. When she hears me coming home, she is always at the door to welcome me. As soon as I sit down to watch TV or be on the computer, she jumps up on me for attention.

I am never lonely with her in the house!!

Our first road trip

Peddy and I had our first road trip together when I brought her home from the shelter. Fortunately, I was not driving and could be next to her cage to comfort her. She does not travel well though...

Once we are on the road she meows, then howls, and pants and scratches at the cage trying to find a way out. I thought that we may have to stop the car because she was in such a stressed out state. Fortunately, this was not a very long trip in the car.

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As soon as she was let out of the cage, she readily explored her new home! I was surprised how well she adapted and was at ease right away.... I guess you could say we were made for each other. And here she has lived a happy and full life being my sidekick and also spending her days sleeping.

We have made a few other short trips together since then...always the same scenario of panic. I have dreaded taking her on trips in the car because of her reaction so I have avoided it as much as possible. But now I have no choice... For once last time together.

The 10-hour Road Trip!

I do have a huge advantage this time around with the TRAVEL SICKNESS product from Zumalka. Since this will be my first very long trip with Peddy and also the first time using the Travel Sickness product, I wanted to share my findings with you throughout my trip with Peddy.You guessed it!! Peddy is NOT going to be happy about this upcoming road trip, but we have no choice. So let's do like her: close our eyes and get this over with as smoothly as possible.

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Here is Suzanne's experience with the Zumalka's
Travel Sickness Homeopathic products with her cat 

Day #1-Tuesday Morning

We are in countdown mode! 2 days out! I am taking advantage of having the Travel Sickness product and starting to use it  now to find the perfect dosage for her before the trip. The bottle indicates 1-2 sprays that can be started a few days before the actual travel date. I started by giving her 2 sprays....Mistake!

My observations: She seems more active and excited! She does have those moments of wanting to play around and have fun, but it's not really what I expected from a remedy that is supposed to calm her down!

So I decided to contact the Homeopath from Zumalka to see if I am doing things right. She recommended only starting with 1 spray at a time. If she gets too much remedy for her system, then she may start getting stimulated by the remedy instead of the calming effect.  

It's here that I understand how true it is that all animals are very different and react differently to homeopathic products. So, I have to take it slow with my baby girl, I guess her body absorbs the products very fast!

Let's see how the other days go.

Day#2-Wednesday Morning

Sure, she normally does sleep a lot during the day, but I hope that the product will help her stay this way for the long trip ahead tomorrow!! I'm so glad I had access to this product from Zumalka and look forward to the final and biggest test. Today, I only used one spray. Right now, this is what she looks like:

The Big (Long) Day

Here we go!!!! The big day has arrived and I am very nervous. This morning I gave her the Travel Sickness product (1 spray) in hopes that she will be as calm as yesterday. She is not fully aware of what is going to happen so I am trying to keep my cool so she can't feel my stress.

The car is loaded up and I have intentionally put some luggage on the backseat where I want Peddy's cage to go so she will be at a level to see outside. So, in the cage she goes and let the trip begin!

Timeline and observations:

7:00AM- We live in a rural area and so, before we can get to a highway, we must drive through several winding roads. I keep an eye on the backseat where Peddy is safely in her cage. She is a little uneasy and calls out to me almost as to say: "where are we going?"

I was afraid that this calling would progress into the usual howling, scratching and panting from anxiety. But after a few minutes, she would only miaowed at me if I turned my head back to look at her.

9:31AM- Our first pit stop and it has been over an hour that Peddy has not uttered a word. The pet mother in me was still worried even by the silence. So while we were stopped I let her out of the cage for a little exercise. She seemed a little bewildered by all the new surroundings, so after a few minutes I put her back in the cage not to overwhelm her. She did not fight getting back into the cage and happily stayed quietly in her cage until our next stop. I was surprised that she was so willing to get back into the cage because she usually is not so cooperative.

11:50AM- I AM SO HAPPY. So far so good. She is calm, lying in her cage just looking outside and not saying a word. I let her out again and she is more willing to explore the car and look outside the windows. She seems completely at ease with the process already. My worries are completely replaced by relief!

2:45PM- By now I want to make sure she is well hydrated and not in urgent need of a litter box (just to avoid any mess). I had scheduled a little more time for this pit stop so I could set up a little litter box and food and water for her. She happily ate some food which surprised me because in the past she has been so upset during travel that even her favorite treats stay untouched. The litter box however stayed untouched, which I am just as happy about. Seeing how well she is doing, I am happy to get back on the road faster than expected.

5:00PM- We have pulled up to our destination and Peddy is the first thing I carry into the house. She has been sooooo good, I want to reward her with some nice fresh water, food and litter box as soon as possible.

Happy Trails and Happy Endings
 

This is Peddy after the trip, happily sleeping off the long hours on the road. This trip has been an eye opener to me! I had never honestly expected such an easy trip with my cat. Had I known that this product worked so well, perhaps I would have contemplated bringing her with me on my move overseas.... To be honest, this will be my last trip with Peddy. I recently got engaged and will be moving overseas, so my happiness is dampened by my sadness to leave such a big part of my family behind. This trip has very mixed emotions for me, but I could not be happier with how she has been today! I will definitely be using more of Zumalka's products in the future once I adopt more animals.

Until then, my cat's new family will be well equipped for any future trips with Peddy or Zoe their dog.

I will also share my experiences about the difficult decision to give my cat away and the adoption process for those of you who sadly cannot keep their pets or for those welcoming new pets into their homes. Keep an eye out for that article coming soon!

Happy trails with your pets this summer!!!

About the author

Suzanne Simard

TEAM LEADER AT ZUMALKA

Suzanne Simard has loved animals all her life and now being part of the Zumalka family’s ‘Customer Happiness’ team means being able to combine her love of animals and homeopathy all-in-one!

Homeopathy has been a great influence in her own life so she now has full confidence in it’s power to help pets as well.

She also spends a lot of time in underdeveloped countries doing volunteer work. Wherever she goes, animals have always brought her so much joy and satisfaction. Helping them to be happy and healthy is a joy beyond compare.