Travel in a Car with Your Pet Cat: Pet Travel

Cat lovers hate to leave their feline buddies behind during car trips and holidays, but usually even a short car trips prompts cats to become almost feral – moaning, pacing, hissing and clawing. And yet these short trips to the vet or a petsitter’s house are an unavoidable part of a cat’s life. So how can we make the trip and pet travel as painless as possible for them and for ourselves? You can learn a lot about general cat care - including cat behavior tips that will help you reduce your companion's travel stress - from the excellent guide Cat Care Secrets.

Here are some pet friendly travel tips to help you learn how to travel in a car with your pet cat.

Cat carrier. A free-ranging cat within a car is a recipe for disaster. Contrary to what we might assume, the confinement will actually comfort your cat as she embarks on this strange journey. And if you give her the entire car, you will find safe driving to be far more challenging.

Before you take your cat for car rides, try to get her acclimated to the inside of her pet carrier. Put a blanket in it and place her inside for brief periods of time each day for several days. Lengthen the period of confinement each day until your cat seems at ease resting and smelling her scent in there.

Prepare for longer car trips by taking short, easy trips leading up to the big one. Your cat will grow more accustomed to not only the motions and noises of a car, but also the confinement within a cat carrier.
Make sure she’s not sitting slanted. Many car seats are actually slanted a bit and, if you place the cat carriers down the wrong way, it makes for a rather uncomfortable kitty car ride. While it’s true that cats have incredible balance and coordination, no cat wants to be constantly fighting against a slope as she also tries to compensate for the movements of the car.
Avoid loud music. Your car will already be filled with some startling noises for a cat. Don’t add to them by blasting music in the confined space as well.
Steer clear of bumps and potholes as much as you can. If there are smooth roads that can serve as an alternate route from the bumpier way you normally travel, opt for those alternates when traveling with your cat in the car.