Driving with Bunnies by Car from California to Virginia

Moving is one of those life experiences that can be exciting (or not!) but is almost universally stressful. Whether moving down the street or thousands of miles, there’s so much to do, plan, and just so much to remember that it’s no wonder it’s such a stressful event. And if you’re moving with pets, that adds another layer to the whole thing. But don’t panic! You will survive, and you can move with pets without too much extra effort. I’ve done local and cross-country moves with two bunnies (and fish, but that’s another story for another day!), and there are ways to make it easier.

Moving locally? This was surprisingly easy for us. We knew there would be two or three days of packers, movers, and then cleaning the old place, and that’s a lot of noise and stress for two rabbits. So, Evie and Cream Puff were packed into their carriers and spent a couple of days boarding at SDHRS. We knew they were well looked after and would be much happier than they would have been in the center of the action. Suppose you don’t have a boarding facility or trusted friend/family member to keep your bunnies for a few days. Another way is to choose an “off limits to humans” space for the bunnies to hang out in. An empty walk-in closet or a spare bathroom works well; set them up with blankets, a litterbox, water, hay, toys, and maybe a radio or a white noise machine if they tend to be reactive to strange noises outside their space. Close the door and put a few strips of painter’s tape across it (painters’ tape won’t damage walls/doors) with a sign to stay out of that space. They should be all set. Make sure to brief the moving supervisors not to go in there and check in on them during the day to ensure they are doing okay and have enough food and water. 

Moving further away and worried about keeping your buns happy for a long-distance move? You can do this! We recently moved from San Diego to Virginia, and while it needed some planning, it went surprisingly well. We opted to drive, but some options exist for flying long distances with your rabbit in the cabin. This wasn’t a choice for us because none of the airlines that allow rabbits in the cabin flew to our destination airport, so we would still have had to rent a car and drive with our bunnies. Also, we had the fish as mentioned above, and to the best of my knowledge, there’s no way to fly with fish in the cabin. If flying is something you are considering, check the airline’s rules about rabbits in the cabin, including whether there is a limit on how many are allowed and how far in advance you need to book your rabbit’s “ticket.” I would strongly discourage anyone from putting their rabbit in the cargo hold. It is incredibly stressful for pets, and rabbits are particularly fragile and should not be in cargo. 

Driving cross country with our pets needed some advance planning but nothing too onerous. I bought a plastic tote with a locking lid for their hay; no one wants to sneeze from hay dust for a cross-country drive. Make sure it will fit in your trunk or cargo area. We also put together a little emergency kit: gas drops, critical care, a syringe, and some old towels to burrito any bunny who needed syringe-fed. The final part of our emergency kit was a banana- I knew my girls wouldn’t turn down a banana unless they were really sick, so it would be a good measuring stick of whether we needed to find a vet. We also pre-prepped salads: 5 days' worth for each bunny, washed, wrapped in a damp paper towel, sealed in a plastic bag, and added to the cooler in the backseat. This was easier than finding a grocery store with acceptable veggies at the end of a long day of driving. 

In the car, we stacked their litter boxes with newspaper/litter in the boxes (and a sealed plastic bag of pellets) to prepare for the next stop. We also had a tote bag with blankets, water dishes, toys, and several kitchen-sized trash bags (you will need them, and the tiny hotel trash bags could be more useful when dumping litter boxes!). In the backseat, the girls were in carriers that were belted in (in case of sudden stops or an accident). In their carriers, they each had a blanket, hay, and a treat or toy. 

When we stopped for gas/breaks, the two adults took turns staying with the car so that Evie and Cream Puff were not left alone. We had the car running (we moved in the summer and did not want to risk them overheating).

With each leg of the trip, we stayed at Marriott suite-style properties (Residence Inn, Fairfield Inn, town suites). You can filter in the Marriott app as to hotels that allow pets. Most said at check in that they charge a pet free, but I would hold up whichever carrier I had and was like “oh, wee little bunny would never damage anything” and the check-in person would “Ooh and aww”- and we never paid a pet fee, haha. We didn’t prebook anything but would start looking around noon for where we wanted to end up that night - it worked out well since we had a couple of days where the weather slowed us down and we didn’t get as far as we wanted. The suite-style hotels at night offered sufficient floor space for two playpens and all the stuff we were carting. I bought two travel playpens that would fold flat into their carrying bags, which was much easier than wrangling a couple of X-pens (and no rattling in the trunk like an X-pen would!). Cream Puff would regularly rage at the indignity of being in a pen in the hotel room, thumping and biting the pen’s fabric. But a hotel room is not bunny-proofed, and I wasn’t willing to risk letting them roam around in a potentially unsafe space. They did have supervised play time in the room where they could run around and relax after being in a carrier all day.

While Cream Puff handled the travel like a champ (apart from the rage at being penned), Evie is known to be anxious and did not handle the drive well. We kept an eye on her, and while she was still eating and pooping, she was clearly very stressed out and started biting herself. Since we were stopping for a few days at my parents’ house before continuing on to our new home, I got her in to see an exotic vet. The vet prescribed some antibiotics for the bites and suggested we let Evie relax and decompress for a few days in a quiet space at my parents, which helped significantly. We also went ahead and made her a vet appointment in our new town so if she was still struggling when we arrived, she’d be seen quickly. She was fine after a few days of R&R and antibiotics. You know your rabbit best; if you think they will struggle, keep a close eye on them and be ready to find a nearby vet if necessary.

Ultimately, we all safely made it from San Diego to Virginia, and it was not as stressful as I had feared. With some advance planning, moving with rabbits is manageable, and you and your rabbits can settle into the new home together.