Cats vs Dogs while moving

Yet another post from me and Chase.

I was going to include this in my previous blog post but I decided to make another instead.
My fiance and I adopted a cat last year and named her Daisy. She was in a shelter and needed a home. When we adopted Daisy we made sure that she was good with other cats and dogs. I knew that I would want a dog in the future when we had the space for one.
We discovered that the information that they gave us on Daisy was completely wrong. She hates cats and dogs. We have been working on getting Chase and Daisy to get along, but no luck so far. She growls and hisses, then runs and Chase chases her into the next room, barking.

The biggest issue we have now is that we are getting ready to make a big move at the end of the month. (Pennsylvania to Florida) We will have Daisy in a crate and Chase and my mom's Yorkie will have (somewhat) free roam of the backseat. Chase rides better in the car without his crate. I digress.
I can only imagine how this car ride will be with Daisy continually growling until Chase discovers her and barks his brains out. I am not sure what to do about this.

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Comment by Kaitlyn & Chase on May 2, 2012 at 10:25pm: I have thought about returning her to the shelter but my fiance would be heart broken. I would rather teach Daisy and Chase to get along and I am hoping that it is possible. We have bought her a cat tree and we intend on getting a few more once we move. She uses them to get away from Chase and she has her own space. The tree seems to be working pretty well.
I think I will talk to the vet about getting something to knock Daisy out for the majority of the trip. I think she would be much less stressed out that way. I have to drop by there tomorrow to pick up some meds for Chase so I will check on that.

Comment by Chris, Kadi & Brodie on May 2, 2012 at 7:31pm: Sedate the cat for the trip. Cats generally hate travel and it will make it easier for everyone. Talk to your vet and get something to give Daisy for the trip, then keep the crate covered, but make sure she has plenty of air.

Comment by Di, Pazu, and Mochi the Bunny on May 2, 2012 at 6:23pm: Does your shelter have a return policy? The one that we have out here does and they will allow you to return a pet from their facility at any point in time no questions asked (though generally first few weeks for assessing behavior) is usually when the returns happen.

Comment by Anna Morelli on May 2, 2012 at 5:05pm: Good suggestions from Bev. We will have a similar situation, a two and a half day drive with our 3 dogs and a cat, who is an outdoor cat and only comfortable with one of the dogs. The cat will be crated, the dogs will be in a harness, so they will be able to move some, but not able to access the crate area.... and I'm going to pray a lot!!!!

If you work on the chasing and barking now, you'll have a much easier time.

Comment by Bev Levy on May 2, 2012 at 3:51pm: First, do not allow cat chasing. If he won't stop when you tell him then attach a leash so you can grab him and reinforce your command. Allowing a chase is the reward so you have to stop it. Good luck with the car ride, most cats are awful in the car but a towel or sheet over the crate might help.

Comment by Kaitlyn & Chase on May 2, 2012 at 3:02pm: Those are both very good ideas. I think I will combine them :)

Comment by Jane on May 2, 2012 at 2:44pm: Maybe a dark towel over the crate so they can't see each other? My cat hated the dogs originally but after about a year she's pretty indifferent.

Comment by Emily & Scout on May 2, 2012 at 2:32pm: A lot of the time, it is the chase that excites the dogs so much. Maybe kitty being in the crate will not cause any problems. Maybe try to do a mock move where everyone is in the car and see how they all behave... Just an idea.