20+ Traveling With a Cat Tips
Here are 20+ tried and true tips when traveling with your Cats.
Let’s face it, yes there are a few, but most cats don’t travel well. They don’t like change and enjoy their “go-to” safety places at home.
Small weekend trip tips
⦁ If it’s a short trip, we recommend leaving them home and have someone look in on them. We usually set up their cat feeders and water bowl if we’re gone for only a few days. If it’s going to be a long trip or one-way, your job is to make them as comfortable as possible. If they need to come along on the trip…read below “long trip tips.”
⦁ Our cats don’t drink out of the toilet, so we leave a second water bowl in a different spot just in case they play around and accidentally knock one over.
⦁ We also make sure the door of every room is in the open position with something substantial in front of it. We had issues where the door accidentally closed for whatever reason, and a cat was locked in. Another time the cats got locked out of the room where the litter box was. We came home 3 days later to a…MESS!!
⦁ We usually put a 2nd litter box out if we are gone for 3 or more days.
Long trips – Driving with a cat
Pre-trip
⦁ About a month before we left on this journey, we went to the Vet and made sure both cats were up to date on their shots and got a prescription for Gabapentin to help mellow them out during the 6+ hour daily drives. You’re supposed to give it to them the night before your trip and the morning of your trip. Please note: different Vets may prescribe different medications.
⦁ The Vet recommended doing some practice runs. Take some shorter trips leading up to the big trip.
⦁ Our cats don’t wear collars but are both microchipped. We made sure all of our contact info, their pictures, and any other info needed was updated on the microchip company’s website.
⦁ We also brought all of their paperwork with us.
⦁ We bring the carriers out and leave the doors open a few days before the trip. So it’s not as new to them when we actually put them in it.
We started this trip driving from Columbia, SC to Denver, CO. that’s 24 hours on the GPS and 1600 miles. We broke up the trip in 6-7 hour driving days.
⦁ Put a seatbelt on the cat carrier(s) or make sure they are in a secure spot like between 2 seats.
⦁ During our first few trips, the cats would be able to see us. We’d talk to them, and they’d start meowing. This would cause our toddler to meow too. It was cute for about 5 minutes! We learned that putting a blanket over the carrier so they couldn’t see us, but close to the window so they could see out worked best. This also helped our oldest cat (I asked her), because she isn’t fond of our toddler due to his unpredictability. So I’m sure she was stressed being so close to him and being locked up at the same time.
⦁ Check on them every few hours. We stopped every few hours anyway because my wife’s bladder is the size of a pea.
⦁ Our Vet, who had extensive traveling with her cats, didn’t recommend giving the cats any water or food the morning of our trip or during. We had food, treats and disposable litter boxes handy just in case.
⦁ We didn’t realize how many pet-friendly hotels there were around the country. There are a ton. There’s usually an upcharge for the cats. Some hotels charge an extra $50 per night. Some forget to bill you. Bonus! I couldn’t try to sneak them in because between our son constantly pointing and saying “meow meow” and the cats actually meowing they would’ve blown our cover!
⦁ The cats were always the first thing offloaded. Take that handy food, water bowls, and disposable litter boxes in ASAP. We locked them in the bathroom so they could have some peace and didn’t run out while we were bringing our luggage in.
⦁ Check over the hotel room for any hazards to the cats. Make sure there aren’t any crawl spaces where you may not be able to get them out. Also, make sure you put up a Do Not Disturb sign so that housekeeping doesn’t enter and accidentally let them out.
⦁ We did have an issue where one of our cats was trying to scratch at the rug by the front door because he knew that was the way out. We also bring a scat mat with us. We had used this as a training tool in the past, so they recognize the mat as soon as we bring it out.
⦁ We NEVER took the cats out of the carrier while in the car. We were too afraid they’d take off at some random gas station in Timbuktu or cause an accident while we were driving. Safety First!!
⦁ We have, Tinsley, a large 23lb cat who needed a dog carrier. The smaller ones weren’t sturdy or roomy enough for her (she told me). Alvin loves his smaller carrier, it’s a perfect size (he told me too). We put their blankets from home inside the carrier to help with their stress.
⦁ Make sure your vehicle is temperature-controlled. It is crazy how many stories of animal cruelty are out there. If we stopped for lunch, we made sure we were parked somewhere that I could see our vehicle and also kept the car running and locked. We kept the car temperature controlled.
⦁ I like to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. So just have a plan B if the air conditioning or heat goes out and you’re stuck in the car. Maybe have some iced bottles of water or freezer packs in a cooler so you can place in their carrier. Have some extra blankets in the winter.
Flying with a cat
⦁ We have never flown with them and don’t plan on it. I’ve heard of too many stories where people have lost pets.
⦁ If you do fly, they recommend that you remove the knobs and replace them with stronger zip ties (see picture). We had an issue one time where I dropped the fat cats’ carrier, and one of those knobs broke off. If multiple had broken, the cat could’ve gotten loose. So these zip ties work perfectly!
If this article was helpful, please share it. If we have missed something, or maybe you have some tips to share, or more questions, comment away!
FYI, All of the Cat items that we brought on this trip are Here.