Traveling with Cats

Has anyone traveled with their cats? Have any tips to share? I had one trip with mine when I moved across country and spent a few days driving them to our new home. A litterbox in the back seat and a printout of pet-friendly motels were lifesavers for me. Anyone else had experience with cats and travels?

 

I have only had one experience of traveling long distance with a cat and unfortunately it was horrendous. It was a few years ago when we moved house and the vet gave us a sedative for the cat. It did not knock her out completely but made her body pretty unresponsive, so she was extremely confused and distressed. She cried for the entire 4 hour journey and was very shaken up. So best to check out all options and probably consider whether your cat is normally a good traveler or not.

 

We used to take our three cats on drives in the car regularly, and they really enjoy it. One of the cats takes about 20 minutes to calm down and enjoy it, but all he'll do is walk around and look out all the windows until then. Most cats don't like it, but we got them used to it at a very early age.

 

When we moved house earlier this year we obviously had to move the cats too. Three of them were fine and seemed to enjoy it, trying to see out of the window from their carriers. Unfortunately the other cat hated it and cried all the way - fortunately it was only a short trip!

 

I have only took my cats on a trip when we moved, and they all hated it. They was all scared to death, hiding under the seats and making all kinds of sounds. It was kind of funny, not so good on the long moving trip though.

 

My cats do not like to travel at all. In fact, they will stay in the house all day if I don't go out. So once in a while, I will take a walk outside so that they will also get some exercise and fresh air.

 

I brought Sunny with me from Puerto Rico when I moved back to New York, she was fine until I had to take her out of her carrier for security to check the carrier. All the people and noise seemed to make her nervous and she just about tried to climb on to the top of my head! My moms dog, Gizmo, cant eat before traveling, he gets motion sickness, so I would advise anyone traveling with a pet for the first time to limit their food intake in case they do get motion sickness.

 

I put my two cats in a carrier together. It's a snug fit but they feel more secure. I know this because they don't cry as much as when they each had their own pet porter.

 

So what do you do when the cats need to go to the toilet? Do you let them out one by one or both together?

 

I have only traveled by car for about 3 hours. So this was not an issue for me.

 

I traveled with my kitten (and my dog too, for that matter) over Thanksgiving. 18 hours straight, both ways. When we first left, my cat cried for about 2 hours and it didn't help that it was still dark out. I eventually just let him sit with me in the passenger seat and he was fine after that. It got a little annoying having the passenger always have him on their lap, but it was better than crying and he slept most of the time anyway. As for the litter box, I just put a smaller amount of litter and put it on the floor between the seats.

 

I try not to travel long distances with my cats. Usually I make other arrangements for them. Their longest car trip was 50 minutes. The first 10 minutes my cats tried to unlock their carrier. It took them about 15 minutes to calm down. I heard about Pet Airways, has anyone used this service before?

 

The only advice I could say is earplugs and catnip. You know how after a cat goes nuts over catnip for awhile, they are that kind of hungover calm or passed out cat. Well doing this or just over playing with them before your about to hop in the car is a good way to keep them less anxious in the car. Less anxious in the car the more they will sleep, much like children.