#Tips for long road trips with cats pdf#
#Tips for long road trips with cats trial#

But don’t stress if you’re not able to research in advance. Abigail Pines, a veterinarian at Animal General, a pet clinic in New York City. If you know where you’ll be stopping each night, it doesn’t hurt “to plan ahead and know where the closest emergency vet is,” says Dr.

#Tips for long road trips with cats pdf#

You can save digital paperwork on an app such as Xodo PDF reader, which is free and compatible with Apple and Android phones. One way to take care of this requirement is to request and carry paper copies, but it’s even easier to ask your vet to email a PDF and “have it in the cloud,” Glass says. Plus, some states require proof of rabies vaccinations, and a vet may not be able to see your cat without it. A cat’s medical records will show blood test results and other health information that can help a vet know what to look for and even rule out certain diseases, she says. It’s not only immunization history that’s important, says Glass. This will all help if you have any reason to see a vet on the road.

If your cat has been in the family longer, call your vet and get copies of your appointment history. For Thursday, my new kitten, that meant locating the digital copies of his adoption records that showed his immunizations were current. Take the time to get your cat’s medical records in order. “He’s such a good boy.” Prep for Emergencies “I’d take him out on his harness, and he’d use it,” she says. On the trip, she pulled the Forester over on quiet roads to put a disposable litter box outside. “He doesn’t go for walks, but he goes in the yard with us,” she says. Wright trained Finn as a kitten by having him wear the leash and harness around the house until he was comfortable with it. This preparation makes pit stops easier on the road. If you’re even thinking you might travel with your cat at some point, Wright recommends training them to accept wearing a leash and harness, a process that can take months. They also acclimated Finn to his travel carrier by leaving it open in the bathroom for months, lined with his favorite blanket “so he’d think of it as a cat bed,” Wright says. “They were our cat sitters, and Finn loves them,” she says.įinn napping in his carrier during a ride. She and her husband began car training, putting Finn in their Forester for 15-minute drives, usually to their friends’ house.

“As soon as you get on a highway, he just loses his mind,” she says. When Kelton Wright, a writer in Colorado, was moving cross-country, she knew her cat, Finn, would not take well to the 17-hour drive. You can also give your cat treats while they’re exploring, Glass says, so they’ll associate the car with rewards. Aziza Glass, owner of Personal Touch Veterinary Clinic in Houston, Texas. “Without even leaving the driveway, they get to explore the car, smell it, examine it top to bottom so it’s not this completely alien environment,” says Dr. To help your cat adjust to the vehicle in small doses before a long trip, drive your cat around the neighborhood or just sit together in your parked car. Follow this guidance from fellow feline owners and vets to make your trip manageable – and maybe even fun. With the right preparation, a long-distance drive with a reticent cat doesn’t have to be a slog. When family responsibilities called me back East earlier this year, I vowed to do better by my new friend, a 14-month-old kitten named Thursday. We arrived at our new home intact but frazzled.Ĭats are resilient creatures George and Miku were the embodiment of the word “trust.” They forgave me for feeding them emergency truck-stop kibble, but my lack of planning made the trip more difficult for everyone involved. Miku squeezed halfway out of her poorly latched cage.

#Tips for long road trips with cats trial#

I expected that the drive would be a learning experience, but I was not ready for trial by fire. George and Miku had no idea what they were in for, and neither did I. There was a lot to consider, including the travel itself: Moving across the country would mean an over 2,500-mile drive with my two cats. With the goal of trading my mittens for flip-flops, I began to plan a move to Los Angeles. After 30 years of living through Pennsylvania winters, I was ready for a change.