As you may already know, most cats get really stressed and anxious when they travel since they cherish the comfort of their homes above everything. Therefore, if you set off on a trip with your pet cat, you might experience constant meowing from them during the car ride, and that can be quite distracting, especially if you are the one driving. So, is it possible to stop your cat from meowing in the car, and what is the proper way to do that?
If your cat starts meowing while traveling in the car, you can use some calming medicine to stop the meowing. Synthetic, feline pheromone products are known to decrease stress in cats, so you can spray the interior of the carrier in which your pet is traveling.
Traveling can cause anxiety in cats since they are not fans of this activity, and due to this, they can start meowing constantly and impose some additional stress on you as a result. In order to be able to control this situation, you need to learn ways in which you can make your cat more comfortable during traveling. Therefore, in this article, I have provides some useful methods in which you can stop the meowing of your cat in the car, and have a more relaxed car ride with them.
Why Does My Cat Meow So Much In The Car?
Since cats do not enjoy traveling and car rides, this activity may cause them stress and lead to constant meowing. Usually, when the meowing starts it is really difficult to stop it since cats do not know how to help themselves and calm down on their own. In addition, car rides might cause them to be sick, so they want to signal that they are not feeling well.
Furthermore, if your cat has some chronic disease, the car ride can lead to worsening of the symptoms, so the meowing can be unstoppable. However, there are ways that might help you calm your cat down during car rides, so you can try some of them and see what actually works for your pet.
How Do I Stop My Cat From Meowing In The Car?
In order to make the traveling more comfortable for your cat, you can take some precautions beforehand, so the meowing would not begin in the first place. For instance, you need to choose a carrier that would be cozy for your cat, i.e. it would be safe and the right size, so your cat would feel the comfort of it. In other words, the carrier should be big enough, so your cat could stretch, lie down, and turn around inside of it.
Also, make sure that you put something soft inside of it because cats enjoy comforts, so whatever makes them feel relaxed at home should be used in the carrier as much as possible. In addition, what would make the carrier even cozier are some familiar stuff or smells that will remind your pet of their home. This might really be beneficial to reduce the stress in your cat, and they might not even start meowing.
However, if the constant and disturbing meowing begins, there are several things you can try that might reduce their anxiety and calm them down.
Use Some Medicine
If your cat starts meowing, you can give them some medicine that is known to calm them down. Benadryl is a medicine that is proven to help stressed cats, and it is a safe option as long as you give the medicine in small doses. If you cannot get hold of Benadryl, you might try something similar, but make sure that the medicine you intend to take contains the active ingredient Diphenhydramine.
Make sure that there are no other active ingredients since some additional substances may cause harmful effects on the health of your cat.
Spray Feline Product Inside The Carrier
One other thing that might calm your cat might be a synthetic feline pheromone product. Spraying synthetic feline pheromone products inside the carrier in which the cat travels might decrease the stress your pet is experiencing during the car ride. This is a known method that can quite help your cat, but to be on the safe side, you should also include some of your cat’s favorite treats so they would be amused and distracted while traveling.
Talk To Your Cat
Talking to your cat might really help when they start meowing since they are similar to babies when they get stressed. This is known to produce relaxing effects on your cat and calm them down. This will stop the meowing and you can continue focusing on the road.
Also, make sure that when you take some breaks, you get your cat out of the carrier and show them some love and affection. Cats can be really spoiled, so paying them attention during the short road breaks would mean very much to them, and reduce their stress significantly.
Why Are Car Rides Stressful For Cats?
Cats love routines, and car rides can really disrupt those routines and make cats highly uncomfortable. Cats do not adapt well to changes, so they do not want to be locked up in a carrier for a certain amount of time, and not be able to do their regular activities. Car rides can also make them sick, so that is why they get anxious during travel.
Due to this stress produced by car rides, it is usually recommended that you leave your cat at home if it is not completely necessary for them to travel. This way you might avoid your cat getting stressed altogether.
As you could see, there are ways in which you can stop your cat from meowing during car rides. However, you can also try to avoid the meowing in the first place by implementing some techniques to decrease their stress beforehand.