How to Travel with Your Cat
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Most people with pets identify themselves as either a dog person or a cat person. Without a doubt, I’m a cat person. My hubby and I have taken in several rescue kitties over the years. We’ve kept a couple, and the rest we’ve domesticated and given to friends or family who want them. It’s no secret that cats don’t like riding in the car and taking them on trips can be a challenge. Today I’m sharing tips on how to travel with your cat.
Meet Bella … our newest rescue kitty who is such a little sweetheart. Her pink and black cat carrier for traveling matches her fur and collar. She’s enjoying SHEBA® PERFECT PORTIONS™ cat food.
Here she is shortly after we found her outside. There are a few feral cats in the neighborhood; we’ve caught a few and taken them to the vet to be spayed or neutered. Then we release them back outside. They’re too old to domesticate. Bella was one of their offspring. We try to catch any kittens early on so that we can acclimate them to humans and give them to good homes. We decided to keep Bella for our own.
Here’s Bella at the window looking nervous while I’m getting her kitty items ready for a trip. I don’t know how cats know something is up, but they always do.
I love these single-serve portions of SHEBA® PERFECT PORTIONS cat food. They’re the perfect size for a meal when traveling and ensures your cat doesn’t over-eat. Bella loves chewing on the savory Meaty Tender Sticks with Chicken, too. Chewing on them tends to calm her nerves.
I found SHEBA® PERFECT PORTIONS™ and Meaty Tender Sticks with Chicken in the cat food aisle at Walmart.
I also pack a few favorite toys, a cat brush (because cats shed more when they get nervous), and kitty wipes for easy clean-up if needed.
Look how content Bella is now after eating her special treat. Although she was a feral kitten when we found her, she’s learned to trust us and is quite loving and friendly.
It’s best if you can find someone to take care of your kitty while you’re gone. But sometimes you have to take your cat with you. Here are some of my favorite tips on how to travel with your cat:
1. Put your kitty in a cat carrier when traveling by car. It will help her feel more secure. Secure the carrier with a seat belt, if you can.
2. Be sure to take your cat out of the carrier for exercise or to go to the bathroom every 4-6 hours. When the car is parked, you can let her out of the carrier to roam around the car.
3. If you take your kitty out of the car, make sure she has identification and that she’s on a harness under your control.
4. Don’t overfeed your cat when traveling. The last thing you want in the car is a sick cat. Ideally, you shouldn’t feed her in the morning before driving. Feed her after you’re done driving for the day.
5. If you plan to stay at a hotel, call ahead to make sure they let cats stay in the room.
Find more cat inspiration about caring for your pet. SHEBA®. WHAT CATS WANT™.
What are some of your favorite tips to help when traveling with your cat?
I moved 2 kitties this summer, a 9 hour drive! The vet gave me a tablet to give them to help them to relax plus some wipes that have a scent that helps to calm cats. They did great! They actually had a couple of days once we got here that they hid under beds, but then they got curious and came out to explore! Your Bella is beautiful!
Great tips! While I don’t have a cat, I think #4 works well for a dog, too! It makes so much sense and I can’t say I remember to do that before we take our Riley on the road. Thanks for the reminder! #client
So happy to see that you are a cat person. I am awash with feral and semi-feral kitties. I have a dog who doesn’t much appreciate cats but has accepted one old abandoned former house cat who I rescued from the neighborhood during an especially hard winter. Outside, I have provided shelters for the 9 that I feed on a daily basis and have made sure that they are all spayed/neutered and have at least one round of preventive shots while in surgery. I’ve had no luck socializing kittens since the mothers have not brought them out of hiding until they are well past weaned and she has taught them to be suspicious of humans – plus, once again, my non-appreciative dog has a say in the matter since she was here first. I do have a few one and two year olds who are beginning to allow me to pet them when I am feeding. They are all healthy and well fed and sheltered, but none want to be house kitties. I wouldn’t be able to choose one to try to domesticate – they are all so precious. Thanks for the reminders of how to travel with a pet cat.
Bella is gorgeous. I lost my lovely black cat, Layla, much too early a year ago and I still miss her so! I had a black cat 30 years ago as well. I have quite the soft spot for black kitties. Enjoy Bella and I wish you many happy years with her.
We will be moving in a couple of weeks, and our Nita is coming also, of course!
I plan to have her bowls and litter pan in place, along with her toys and a blanket or
towel that we have recently used for her to cuddle on. That way, there are familiar
things around her, and something that smells like ‘home and family’ in the new place.
When I adopted a rescue kitty, I told the foster not to even wash the litter box. I wanted her to without a doubt know where to go. I kept a glad bag of the old litter & sprinkled it on top of the fresh. That was before clumping litter.
Thanks for the info!! I don’t have cats, we are dog people but still a good read 🙂
There’s that beautiful tiled kitchen floor again! Add Bella and you’ve got two real winners!
She is beautiful!
Aw kitty! That looks like a cute and comfy carrier for her!
Bella is so cute! Love your tips ♥
summerdaisycottage.blogspot.com
Where did you find that cute pink carrier for Bella? I love it, it’s so cute!
Oh Bella is SO pretty! We have a Harry, who is a cantankerous old diabetic moggy. When we were moving to OneandSeventy, we had to time everything around Harry’s needs, especially as we were moving three hours away. Beloved brought him up the day before in a carrier (although his is not nearly as nice as Bella’s!) and settled him into a spare room with a special plugin called Feliway. It’s supposed to help keep pets calm when travelling. It seemed to work – Harry was SO calm in the car, that Beloved thought it was a good idea to let him out. BAD idea. He was screaming at the passing motorists and poor Beloved had a hell of a job getting him back in his carrier! I’m sure it was very stressful for them both, but the way Beloved tells the story, makes it very funny! lol Thanks for stopping by The World of Suzy Homemaker and your lovely comments about my Kitchen makeover, Jennifer. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Sue x
Bella is so precious. I have had some cats who don’t mind riding in cars but the ones I have now hate it. You offer excellent tips for travelling whether a short trip to the vet or a longer car ride.
We have a three year old female calico/tortie named Neko we have been traveling regularly with for 2+ years. Neko started having seizures when she was about 6 months old, which we eventually discovered were/are caused by a congenital brain cyst. Neko has to take meds twice a day, so traveling with her became much easier than finding a sitter or a boarding facility. Most of our trips have been 3-5 hours at a shot, with Neko enclosed in a medium sized dog crate in the back seat. It has a litter box in it as well as her food plus a shelf my husband rigged get she can get up on and look out. She also walks in a harness on a lease, which seems to “wow” everyone.
Motel 6 and Super 8 allows all pets to stay for free!
We use them frequently as I’m traveling quite often due to a momentary long distance relationship. Motel 6/Super 8 are cheap, pets stay free, and they’ve all been remodeled nicely!