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I'm moving back to California for a better job opportunity after a failed year in Colorado. I've already got an ESA letter ready to go and found a place. Just trying to decide which would the best travel option. My cat seems to calm down after not too long driving. I know the flight would shorter for her, but I don't know about leaving her with my parents for a week or how she would like being confined in an airplane. My cat also tends to calm herself quicker in the car if she sits up front with me. I usually have her in a harness in the car.
I'm moving back to California for a better job opportunity after a failed year in Colorado. I've already got an ESA letter ready to go and found a place. Just trying to decide which would the best travel option. My cat seems to calm down after not too long driving. I know the flight would shorter for her, but I don't know about leaving her with my parents for a week or how she would like being confined in an airplane. My cat also tends to calm herself quicker in the car if she sits up front with me. I usually have her in a harness in the car.
Ok, it does sound like you've answered your own question, but you follow up with a reply that you're not 100% sure. Which is perfectly natural. You're thinking of doing something you've never done before, and wondering how someone ELSE (your cat) will respond to something your cat has never exactly done before.
So I'll ask this question: have you ever left this cat with your parents for an extended time before? If the answer is "no", then you've got an unknown either way. If the answer is "yes", then you have two knowns - an extended stay with parents and a car trip.
I'll ask another question. How does your cat respond to other novel situations? "Novel" meaning new and/or strange. After all, since you know how the cat responds to auto trips, your cat has been with you on auto trips before. So, an auto trip may be stressful, but it is also, to some extent, no longer new and strange to your cat. Meaning it is LESS stressful to your cat than it might be. An airplane ride isn't much different, in some ways, than a car ride, but they aren't the same either. I've had cats who were totally chill in novel situations, and cats who were totally wigged out in the same situations. I've had cats I could travel with, and allow outside in a new place after a few days, and cats who would be airborne in absolute terror.
You could try this: take your cat, in its carrier, to the airport, and walk around the terminal, with all the strange noises - people, take-offs and landings - all the strangeness. See if your cat chills in a timeframe similar to how your cat responds to an auto trip. But no harness - you've got to leave the cat in the carrier - just like you would have to if you were flying. Besides, if your cat really takes a mind to getting out of a harness, it probably could - and that would be potentially disastrous.
You should also put the cat in a carrier in the car, to get her used to traveling in the carrier. You can put the carrier on the passenger seat if you like, but I'm thinking you should get her used to traveling in the carrier.
The only thing that I can add is that long trips in the car sometimes lead to accidents because cats are in carriers and unable to use a litter box. So, if you go that route, be prepared.
That said, I would never leave my cat with someone I don’t completely trust with their care. IMHO, this trumps a long car trip.
Our last long cat trip was 2000 miles. Your experience may vary.
We had a KIA Soul, back seats folded, small litter box in back. Not a big car by any stretch bug good space in back.
One cat sat on the cargo cover and watched the world go by. The other settled onto the floor and let the rhythm of the road send her off to big time sleepy land. We'd secure them for gas stops, we found pet friendly motels. They'd have HATED being caged, most cats I've known hate cages.
Personal choice, but I would not fly with a kitty. If you're able to drive and your kitty settles down during the drive, do that. Longer, but you can control where and when you stop.
Ok, it does sound like you've answered your own question, but you follow up with a reply that you're not 100% sure. Which is perfectly natural. You're thinking of doing something you've never done before, and wondering how someone ELSE (your cat) will respond to something your cat has never exactly done before.
So I'll ask this question: have you ever left this cat with your parents for an extended time before? If the answer is "no", then you've got an unknown either way. If the answer is "yes", then you have two knowns - an extended stay with parents and a car trip.
I'll ask another question. How does your cat respond to other novel situations? "Novel" meaning new and/or strange. After all, since you know how the cat responds to auto trips, your cat has been with you on auto trips before. So, an auto trip may be stressful, but it is also, to some extent, no longer new and strange to your cat. Meaning it is LESS stressful to your cat than it might be. An airplane ride isn't much different, in some ways, than a car ride, but they aren't the same either. I've had cats who were totally chill in novel situations, and cats who were totally wigged out in the same situations. I've had cats I could travel with, and allow outside in a new place after a few days, and cats who would be airborne in absolute terror.
You could try this: take your cat, in its carrier, to the airport, and walk around the terminal, with all the strange noises - people, take-offs and landings - all the strangeness. See if your cat chills in a timeframe similar to how your cat responds to an auto trip. But no harness - you've got to leave the cat in the carrier - just like you would have to if you were flying. Besides, if your cat really takes a mind to getting out of a harness, it probably could - and that would be potentially disastrous.
You should also put the cat in a carrier in the car, to get her used to traveling in the carrier. You can put the carrier on the passenger seat if you like, but I'm thinking you should get her used to traveling in the carrier.
I would trust my parents to take care of her. Eh yeah I don't know about her being in her carrier for so long, even its like 3-4 hrs. The flight is 2 hrs but id have to be at the terminal like 2 hrs early. But taking her to the terminal could be a good test and I like that idea!
But taking her to the terminal could be a good test and I like that idea!
It's a great idea, and I wish I'd thought about it when we moved 2000 miles or so, maybe 20 years ago. We went by air, and our three cats came with us, in their carriers in the cargo hold. The cats are gone now, sadly, but their carriers remain, and they still have the baggage tags stuck to them.
Anyway, we had to wait a bit for the cats to be checked in through Special Baggage, and it was interesting to watch how they reacted to a busy airport, with people they didn't know, smells they had never smelled before, and all kinds of noise, from people talking with each other, to announcements on the PA.
One was extremely frightened, and hissed at anybody passing by. Another just curled up and went to sleep. The third was interested and engaged to the point where he happily greeted a little girl who said "Ooh, Kitty!" and ran over to say hello. Lots of purrs and licks through the wire door, and the little girl was delighted.
So there are three cats and three feline reactions to an airport. Like I said, I wish I had thought about a "test run" in the airport before the actual flight. An excellent suggestion, and I'd heartily endorse it. Try a "test run," with your cat at the airport, and then you'll be better informed as to your decision.
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