If you’re planning a vay-cay destination this summer, you may find yourself wondering what to do with your sweet furry honeybun. Why not consider bringing her along? While dogs tend to fare super duper well traveling by car, cats are notorious for their less-than-sterling reputation with trains, planes, and automobiles. But maybe it doesn’t have to be so? Traveling with your cat can be easy and stress free.
A few years ago my roommate and I drove across the country with my cat, Lula in tow. I was pretty nervous about how she was going to react, as any cat-owner would be, but I was pleasantly surprised by her behavior, and noticed some key things that seemed to make the ride easier for everyone.
Image: John Wright via flickr
First off, keeping her locked up in a carrier for 12 hours a day wasn’t going to fly. Cats need to be able to stretch their little paws every once in awhile, so if you’re gonna be on the road for 2+ hours, you have to take that into consideration – especially if you’re driving from Arizona to Pennsylvania, like Lula. Make it a point to make pit stops and find a place where you can let your babe out of her carrier for a few minutes. (A closed-off room is ideal, especially if you have a very skittish kitty who is likely to dart out of her carrier and try to hide under something.) A 1-person bathroom at a rest stop will work, as it is small, enclosed, and usually lacking in places for Sally Babysocks to hide.
This is also a perfect opportunity to clean her carrier if she’s had any accidents along the way. It’s best to use a large plastic carrier as opposed to the fabric ones, considering the fact that it’s easy to wipe up cat pee from a plastic surface than it is to try to soak it up through fabric. Another trick is to put puppy pads in the carrier as well, that way the clean-up is nearly half done before you even start. Another good idea is to bring a small litter box with you into the bathroom and leave it out for her to use, so that she’s not constantly peeing herself (or, you know… worse).
Image: frankieleon via flickr
Next, make sure you bring a portable water bowl for her and leave it out for her to use while you’re at your rest stop destination. Even if you have air conditioning in your car (you big bourgeois fancy pants, you) it’s still important to help your kitty beat the heat by keeping her hydrated, as it is summer, afterall. Similarly, crack open a small can of wet food for her to eat. Better yet, keep it in a cooler while you’re on the road so that she has a nice cold treat to reward her for being soooooooooo good on her big trip! Yes she is! Such a good kitty! Little sweet traveling nomad baby! Lula was especially grateful for her mid-trip treats.
Lastly, don’t skip over the reassurance. While your smoochyboops is recuperating from the most recent leg of the trip, use this break from the car as an opportunity to give her some affection! Cats are masters at acting like the don’t care about anything (and that’s why we love them), but your kitty travel companion may appreciate a little lovin’ more than you think.
Now, if you’re going to be flying this summer, you’ve got options. You can keep your cat in the hanger, or, depending on the airline, you can take them with you as a carry-on. It’s way, way better to bring your sugarpuss on the flight with you as opposed to keeping them in the hanger, as it is much less stressful for them. The hanger is hot, noisy, and scary, and while there is always the option to sedate your baby, that can be dangerous. In the event of some turbulence or other common flight-related issues, a sedated cat would be unable to react properly to the disturbance, and at that point you run the risk of them hitting their tiny little noggin against their cage and getting a big ol’ boo-boo, or, you know… worse. (That’s totally the second time I said that, right? Quite the ominous article this is turning out to be!) But in all seriousness, if you can, take your kitty on the plane with you as a carry-on. It’s the best option!
And there you have it. If all of this sounds like too much for you or your little kitty love to handle, the next best thing is to have a friend or family member cat-sit for ya. With a little investigating, you can also find some pretty amazing animal hotels who will take the utmost care of your precious pumpkin!
