Very Long Journeys with Puss

Before too long I maybe taking Hank from the UK down to South/Eastern Spain and was wondering whether anyone has taken their cats on this sort of length of journey (roughly 1000 miles).

I'm trying to decide whether it will be best for him to fly or go for the drive with myself. Of course my worries are how is he going to cope for such a long trip cooped up in the car and how I'm going to get him out to have enough exercise/toilet breaks en route, whether he would be happy to eat & drink in the car or whether he'll be a stressed out wreck of a puss for the entire duration...

Obviuosly not too many people out there have travelled a long way with their cats Dave,when we were thinking of perhaps showing abroad we had decided that the cat would travel the way we first took Merlyn to shows in a cage,room enough for litter tray & water all the while,we have taken him on holidays like that in his younger days & he was quite happy with the five hours plus we done so was sure we could have done more,only trouble is it takes up all the boot room so can't have many others in there with you or if you do they have to travel light !!! Don't think I would fly mine unless we were moving right away to far off countries can always remember seeing cats on an internal flight in America waiting to be loaded onto a plane,once they were in open sunshine & another time it was chucking it down with rain & they didn't get put on until the end but..... could be someone out there with good experience of flying them,might do it if I could have them with me & someone else took the car...!

Its a tricky decision to make, His welfare comes first of course but when they want to charge me £400 to fly him and knowing it won't be quite so straightforward as when us humans fly anyway I'm really considering the drive, as one person I know who flew their cat, had to be at the airport 5 Hours prior to departure time so the airport vet could check the cat was healthy/had proper paperwork etc.. so with that in mind, it won't be a simple 2/3 hour flight.

I'm trying to reintroduce the harness and leash with him so he gets used to it so if we do decide to drive, then at least I can take him out to do his business and have breaks out of the car as well.

Well, we drove 450mls from Dundee to London with 2 x 1 yr old cats in the car with us who didn't know us from adam, though it helped that they knew each other and were in the same cage [actually a dog cage that the 2 jack russells normally travel in] and they were fine.

We had litter in the car and let them out about 1/3rd and 2/3rds of the way, with all the doors closed, which they sniffed at but didn't actually use, and offered them food & water at the same stops, though only small amounts to try and avoid any travel sickness issues. Other than that they spent most of the time curled up asleep - pretty sure they had a more enjoyable time than we did :nod:

I guess at the end of the day only you can know what is best for him as they are all different, but if he is normally ok in the car, I would drive him, at least he will have you there if he gets stressed, unlike the flight versions. On the otherhand if he is not a good traveller, flights might be better, as despite the time in the cage for vet checks, etc, the actually travelling bit is minimised.

Hi Dave

I agree with everybody else, it's a very difficult decision to make and I think that it depends very much on your circumstances as to whether you fly or drive Hank to Spain.

Apologies for the long message, but when we moved to France some 10 plus years ago we left our boys (Ben and Tigs, no MCs then) at our usual cattery for 2 weeks – we had sold our house in the UK and needed to take delivery of our UK furniture etc & organise the rented place a bit before the Boys could join us. We arranged a specialist small animal transporter to collect them from the cattery and take them to the airport … we were then meeting them at the other end - but as you say, it's not cheap and of course we didn't know what went on at the airports.

Sadly we didn't have any other option as we no longer had access to any transport. Unfortunately after having booked everything the rules and regs changed and the direct flight was no longer available, therefore the poor Boys had to fly to Paris and then have another flight on to Bordeaux. They travelled together in the same cage so they at least had each other. When we arrived at the airport they were flat out in their travelling cage looking rather stressed, but were obviously so delighted to see us. If there had only been one flight I think that they would have been OK, but poor Ben (RIP) was terrified of any aircraft noise after that. We ended up having to move 3 times in quick succession before we managed to find the right 'cat friendly' house and they were absolutely fantastic, they both settled in to the new houses literally within hours – I think just the fact that they were with us was enough.

Having said all that, if Hank could be flown direct then that could be good – I'm thinking of the temperatures in Southern/ Eastern Spain … not good for animals in cars.

But ... if at all possible I think I would drive Hank down … do you have air conditioning in your car? As long as 'Dad' is with him I'm sure he would be fine. It is a very long way, but there are motels enroute that take animals, so perhaps you could arrange to stop overnight a couple of times?

A very difficult decision to have to make, but the most important thing is that Hank is going with you :nod:

I have no experience in taking cats at such long distances..but from my experience with cats, I think Hank will be happy and relaxed when he is with his Dad..as you mentioned , it is better to practise him again on leash ..so you can take him out at certain intervals..

Just be prepared to cause disruption when you take Hank out on his leash,Bruce used to go for a walk in some woods on the trip down to brothers,he always knew which roundabout we turned off at because at that point he would sit up & start being very vocal until he was out walking round,left several bemused dogs {& owners}wondering if they were seeing right or not & once had to stop at a service station area on the way home as he wouldn't settle & I hiked him off over a grassy area next thing staff running from all ways,the cameras had picked him up & they thought he was a stray that would get run over so came to try & catch him,think I turned redder than him but after doing a duty tour of everyone he came the rest of the way home in silence......haven't taken him to brothers any more !

You'll know how stressed Hank does or doesn't get by changes to his routine but, FWIW, I would have no hesitation suggesting that you take him with you in a car rather than put him in a crate and put the crate in an aeroplane ...

Back in my University days, thirty plus years ago, we used frequently to commute up and down the M4 between Bristol and London with two cats [moggies] loose in the car with us! I'm pretty certain I wouldn't get away with that today, particularly since they used to amuse other traffic by sitting on the rear parcel shelf and washing their bits in public view! :rofl:

We holidayed in Cornwall with our 2 moggies for about 15 years, travelling down from Staffordshire. They were great in the car, they tended to 'shut down' - refused any water/food/toilet breaks and despite the recommendations about not feeding them straight after a journey, they wolfed down food as soon as they were there! Our 3 coonies on the other hand - terrible travellers, cry for the whole journey to the vets/cattery etc. So I guess it's hard to say...! I'd keep him with you though....

My husband and I travelled every summer and winter for 10 years with our wonderful 22lb MC (RIP). It is a 12 hour car trip each way from Phoenix Arizona to Denver Colorado. We usually drove it at once but Oscar loved checking out hotel rooms when we broke the drive in half. While I wouldn't say Oscar loved the long trip, he managed to keep himself busy by sleeping and growling at trucks. He travelled best in his soft sided small playpen filled with his bed and favorite toys. We had a litter box available but he only used it once in all those trips. (Memorable because the odor was so bad, we immediately pulled over on the side of the rode to dump the dump). :drool1: His favorite place in the car was on my lap or behind my head ( on my shoulders) but that is not an option for you since you will be driving. Does Hank like the car? If he does, I wouldn't hesitate taking him by car. If he's unsure about it, start taking him with you to get him accustomed to it. We had a cat that was so stressed each time it was necessary to go in the car, she would pant, drool and mess her carrier within the first 5 minutes. Not fun! If you and Hank drive, the leash is a must for getting out of the car. Good luck!