Question
Galahad
Dear Jessica,
I am about to move my 6 Maine Coon cats from France to the UK, a car and boat journey of about 11 hours. None travel well but one is totally terrified, hyperventilating, hypersalivating (even a 10 minute trip to the vet leaves him soaked and he is stressed for days after. I have tried Feliway but with no success. Do you have any suggestions that would help him as i am very concerned that the journey will be very traumatic for him. Thank you
AnswerHi Caro. Galahad certainly is handsome! Maine Coons are among the most striking breeds, in my opinion.
As for calming him during travel, you could try using diphenhydramine (Benadryl). Many people use this to help reduce anxiety during car rides and other stressful events. However, cats are quite resistant to it, and it's more effective in dogs. But it is considered safe, so if you wanted to try it out with a short car ride before your trip, you could do so. The dosage is not more than 2 mg per pound of body weight. Note that if you use a liquid, ml is different from mg. Liquid Benadryl generally contains 2.5 mg per ml, so a 10-lb cat would get 8 mls (20 mg), a 15-lb cat would get 12 mls (30 mg). This is a massive amount of liquid to give a cat, so I would recommend the tablet version. Give it about an hour before the ride. The treatment will need to be repeated in about 8 hours. Remember that ANY medication also has the potential to cause adverse effects, so you may want to have your vet on alert before trying the treatment.
Because Benadryl isn't the most reliable sedative for cats, I go with a prescription sedative from my vets when the situation clearly calls for it. This is usually a medication called acepromazine. It's excellent but powerful, and you can expect your kitty to be a little loopy (and very affectionate) from it. The medication is used for anything from grooming excessively fidgety cats, in low doses, to part of anesthesia protocols, in higher doses. It's very safe, and I have never had a negative reaction with any of my cats. It reaches its peak efficacy about two hours after you administer it.
Good luck with your trip!
Jessica
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