Hey everyone, I need some advice. We travel frequently to visit family (approx 3 hours each way including a stop for the kittens) and the first time was okay going out but coming home was stressful. I think we left too late and they were wide awake, which didn't help. They were in what I thought was a large enough carrier but now I think it may not be big enough.
So I just got an extra large dog carrier (it really is nothing more than a mesh play pen type thing that you can strap to the backseat with the seat-belts) that is big enough for them, their bed and a small-ish litter-box with a lid. I'll have to take a picture later and post it.
Anyway, one of my little girls does absolutely fine every time in the car. She immediately goes to sleep or just looks out the window. The other one has some serious anxiety if she is not tired when we start the trip. Last time I had to take them both out of the carrier, leash them and sit with them in the backseat the whole trip. Saber was yowling so bad, and it was a different sound than she usually makes, so I was worried she needed to use the box. So I took them out set up the box and sat with them. It wasn't awful, except Saber kept looking out the window and spazzing out. She wanted to get with my husband because she is a daddy's girl (he was driving, obviously) but she would just get tense and yowl. I had to make a small "kitty cave" for her to hide in with my hoodie and even that took her about an hour to calm down in. I know they need to be tired before we leave, and that may be the answer for this scenario.

My next question is this- cats are known for being pretty hardy. We have a large apartment with two cat trees and tons of toys, a bird feeder set up right outside the window for them to watch, two water fountains, two food bowls and three box's evenly spread around. Trust me, they are very well accommodated lol Anyway, we may need to leave them home for one of these trips and they would be alone from about Friday night until Sunday evening. I am nervous about leaving them that long, even though they would have plenty of food water toys and a cat-proof apartment to run around in. They are very social, but the longest they have been left alone was about 14 hours (when we had to make a day trip back to the family). They did fine and didn't tear anything up for what it's worth, I think I might have more anxiety about it then they will.
Anyway, just looking for some advice.
Thanks!

I have left my crew, see signature, alone for four days. I put down extra food, extra water, extra litter boxes, do an extra good job of putting away stuff they can get in to. I also put something in the top of open doors so no one gets closed in anywhere. They also have plenty of hiding spots to go if they want to be left alone. I still worry about them though.

That being said, mine are all adults and I know what trouble they like to get into and can plan pretty well for that. I don't know if I would leave kittens alone for that long. I will never forget the day I came home from work and my little Yoshi had all for paws worth of claws stuck in the curtain about six feet off the ground! He was crying and howling and who knows how long he had been stuck up there. Or the day one of the other kitten got his head stuck in a tissue box. Kittens do dumb stuff so...

Yea, I don't really have any good advice for you other than if you trust them, you can leave them. Or webcam them so you can check on them or have a neighbor stop in to check on them.