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I'm moving from SW Florida to Colorado Springs in the next few months. I will be using PODS for my household items and taking my two dogs in the car with me with my younger son. One is tiny and the other is 50 pounds. My car is not big enough to also take the two cats and I would like some suggestions/advice on how to get them there.
I received a quote from one of those pet transport services and it was $2600! Has anyone used one of these services? I'm thinking I might be better off flying there with the two cats as long as they don't get put in cargo. Cats hate change as we all know so I want to do what is least traumatic for them.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I really don't want to spend almost 3K but I also want Binx and Grayson to not be freaking out. Grayson already overgrooms due to anxiety (according to my vet).
I used a pet transport service to bring my late sister's cat from Idaho to Virginia. I was unable to fly with her and it would have also been a lot of driving from the airport to my house due to my location at the time. The people driving her drove non-stop, alternating drivers, and Kassumi (the cat) was allowed to snuggle on the non-driver's lap at times. They also brought her cat tree, bed, favorite toys, etc. so she would feel more comfortable in her new home. I will say that she arrived in a very calm state and adapted very quickly to my (then) 5 cats even though my sister had no other cats. It was expensive, but worth it to me.
For $2600 you can rent a minivan or other large vehicle that will hold all your critters. Then you'd have to ship your vehicle.
We flew a dog once, she wasn't very happy about it but was overjoyed to get out and back with her fam.
You could look at chartering a small plane, big enough for dogs and cats but lots smaller than an airliner. I've looked into that, IIRC it ran under 10 grand for a small jet.
There are boocoo jet charter companies, they'll give you a quote. Good luck with this. It's the eternal problem of people moving with pets.
We moved 2000 miles and took our two cats with us aboard a KIA Soul. We let them out of their carriers because they were miserable in them. Had a small litter box on the rear floor.
One cat settled down on the rear floor and the rhythm of the road put her to sleep el quicko. The other one sat on the cargo cover and watched the world recede, with great interest.
Obviously we had to secure them to get out for gas and pee breaks. It worked pretty well. Maybe also leash the cats when the doors are open, even though they're secured, to make sure.
No room in my vehicle for two dogs AND two cats. I think driving with four animals would stress me out to where I would be committed on my arrival in Colorado. We would have to stay in a hotel at least two nights and rounding them all up.... I don't deal with stress well anymore.
I'm moving from SW Florida to Colorado Springs in the next few months. I will be using PODS for my household items and taking my two dogs in the car with me with my younger son. One is tiny and the other is 50 pounds. My car is not big enough to also take the two cats and I would like some suggestions/advice on how to get them there.
I received a quote from one of those pet transport services and it was $2600! Has anyone used one of these services? I'm thinking I might be better off flying there with the two cats as long as they don't get put in cargo. Cats hate change as we all know so I want to do what is least traumatic for them.
Honestly, I'd fly with Binx and Grayson (they should be able to ride in a carrier under the seat). Most airlines let you put two cats in the same carrier. Because you mentioned this as an option, I'm guessing your younger son could drive the vehicle with the two dogs to Colorado?
Maybe see if you have a friend or (trustworthy) acquaintance who'd like to take a small trip and pay for their ticket. Seems like that would be cheaper than a transport service.
If it were me, I would rent the biggest SUV you can find, pack all of the animals in, drive them to CO and have a car transport company transport my car. If you can find a friend who’s willing to drive your car out for you (either with you on your drive or separately), so much the better.
However, I could not put the two cats in one carrier. They barely tolerate each other. The fur would be flying. I might have my son (the one who lives with me) take the cats on a plane and then get my other son who lives in CO to fly down and help me drive from Florida to Colorado. The only wrinkle in that plan is the son who lives with me has severe anxiety issues when he's around too many people.
This sounds like the riddle of the farmer crossing the stream with a fox, a chicken, and a bag of grain.
If you had a spouse in the picture, I imagine that simply renting another vehicle for a one-way trip in addition to your own car would solve the issue. I'm guessing no spouse.
Just spit-balling here...can you kennel the cats locally in Florida, drive to Colorado, unpack/offload, then kennel the dogs in Colorado and either drive or fly, with young son, to Florida to retrieve the cats, then back to Colorado. Lot of movement, but kennel costs total for all four pets might be $1200, and can't speak to either driving costs or air-fare costs.
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Just noticed the other son in the picture. Sound like another option is having older son fly down, rent a small vehicle for one-way trip from Florida to Colorado, older son and cats in the small vehicle, everybody else in the other vehicle, then drive to Colorado.
I'm moving from SW Florida to Colorado Springs in the next few months. I will be using PODS for my household items and taking my two dogs in the car with me with my younger son. One is tiny and the other is 50 pounds. My car is not big enough to also take the two cats and I would like some suggestions/advice on how to get them there.
I received a quote from one of those pet transport services and it was $2600! Has anyone used one of these services? I'm thinking I might be better off flying there with the two cats as long as they don't get put in cargo. Cats hate change as we all know so I want to do what is least traumatic for them.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I really don't want to spend almost 3K but I also want Binx and Grayson to not be freaking out. Grayson already overgrooms due to anxiety (according to my vet).
Thank you.
Flying out there with them seems the least stressful perhaps. However, each passenger can usually have just one pet /carrier. You could possibly buy two seats with the smaller cat in the carrier under the seat and the larger cat in a carrier on the middle seat as a "passenger". You can also board as a passenger requiring special assistance to lessen the stress level. Still costly, but way less than $2600.
Car is not big enough for two cats-you sure about that? They don't take up much room in a soft side carry bag.
My wife and I will be flying tomorrow for the purpose of transporting our daughters' two cats all the way from JNU to BOS, and then beyond in a car.
The things parents do for their kids....
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