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cat on speedferries


Fay
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Hi

My regular trips to Picardie with the cat are up in the air after the tunnel fire, so I am looking at alternatives.

Speedferries is the obvious choice, being so fast, but I am worried about leaving her in the car on the car deck. She's fine in the car on the tunnel but it's reasonably quiet and I am there with her. If she's on her own in a noisy, strange environment I don't know how she will react and don't want to freak her out. She is (up 'til now) an excellent traveller.

Has anyone taken a cat by this or any other ferry route - how have you got on?

I don't image they let you lug a cat basket up to the decks with you...

Thanks for any help or advice.

Fay
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We took our 2 cats in separate cages Portsmouth- Caen a few weeks ago. It was their first journey further than the vets!

No problem for either of them.

I think I'd rather go on a regular ferry -it's longer- but less bumpy.

Fed and watered- but they didn't touch any of it.

Opened windows for fresh air of course.

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Ours travels with no problem at all on the car deck.  If you are concerned, ask your vet to give you a tranquillizer tablet to be given about an hour before the ferry leaves.  Depending on which make he prescribes it will sedate a cat for between 4 and 8 hours, perfect for a journey.  Or just cover the cage with a blanket and leave a window partially open, the cat will sleep.
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Interestingly....I asked my vet about tranquillizers and he said that they'd had too many bad experiences of cats 'freaking out' on them- and it was now their policy not to prescribe them.

Hope all goes well Fay- your calm advice helped me to prepare mentally for my cats first trip abroad.

We're going for 3 months next weekend with them. No worries this time.[;-)]

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Thanks again everyone.

I think given that Pye is such a cool dudette I won't need to go the tranquilizer route. Her basket is a big cowled wicker thing so a jacket slung over the cowled bit should do the trick. Fingers crossed.

As our next trip will be November I shall nonetheless hope that tunnel crossings are improving by then.

Oh, and Catalpa - I just found your picture of Wacket! What a beauty! Pye occasionally gets called Miss Wacket. On formal occasions. :-)
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We've used tranquillisers for ours on several occasions.  I think it probably depends on the care with which they are prescribed as our vet weighed each cat, double checked his options in several books and finally offered me the choice of two types, one longer-acting than the other.  Actually, other than making the cats slightly dozy they don't do a great deal - they certainly don't knock them out.  Ours are Siamese so prone to being very "vocal" in the car.  Anyone with a Siamese knows what that can be like on a long trip - ear-splitting.  They actually do become used to travelling and ours just squawk for a few miles now and then just settle down so no further use for the tranquillisers!  We DO cover them on the ferry but that's because we discovered the deck crew "play" with them if they spot them in the car.
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[quote user="Fay"]Oh, and Catalpa - I just found your picture of Wacket! What a beauty! Pye occasionally gets called Miss Wacket. On formal occasions. :-)[/quote]

My Wacket now weighs over 8kg... they are big cats but I'm beginning to think he may have to go on a diet. [:-))]

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