Traveling with cats

In 2012 my husband was getting out of the Navy and we had to relocate from the cozy and beautiful Whidbey Island, Washington and drive all the way to Arizona

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On top of all the regular worries with relocating and all the changes that come with moving, things can be more stressful and challenging when you have pets to bring along for the ride.  After doing a bunch of research on products/information years ago, I thought I would share some of the information I found and things we did years ago.

For starters, we wanted a carrier that would be comfortable for our kitties.  The standard one at the local pet store is just the typical rectangle shape and seems too confining for cats.  The good thing about traveling in a car is that you can really be picky and find what works best for you and your pet, there are no restrictions to the comfort they demand! 

I discovered the Sleepy-pod.  The first thing I noticed about the design was the genius dome shape design of the lid.  If you have cats.. you know they like to curl up in a ball, arch their back, stretch, etc.  The Sleepy-pod gives them plenty of room to do just that.  The netting on the dome lid also provides great visibility to satisfy the curiosity of your furry friend.  A zipper opening at the top and on the side of the lid provides for easy access to place your furry friend inside.  The lid can be completely removed once your travels are over and then you have a warm and cozy pet bed that will become a place of security and comfort, just what you want to be associated with your carrier when you do have to take those trips to the vet or out of town.  Our cats absolutely love the sleepy-pods, they sleep in them all the time with the lid on or off, they just climb through the opening at the top of the dome and sleep for hours at home.  We own a pink one, brown one and blue one and two of those were purchased in 2012 and they all look brand new and have given us no problems.  

Another thing I like about the Sleepy-pod are the additions you can purchase.  Going from 50 degree weather in Washington to 110 or so in Arizona, we knew we wanted our kitties to be cool and comfortable.  We purchased the airmesh attachment, this mesh suspends your friend in comfort providing circulation all around them and it easily zips inside the bottom of the carrier.  

Not heading somewhere hot?  Easy:

Air Mesh bedding for hot weather along with Ultra Plush shearling and electrical warmer for cold weather completes the Sleepypod system for 4 seasons of everyday use. This is the most complete pet bed ever developed. Your pet will be comfortable and content either at home or on the go.

With such precious cargo safety is a big concern and one of the great things about the Sleepypod is their commitment to keeping your furry friends safe and sound during their travels.

Once buckled in, the only place this sleepypod will be going is dream town!  No worries about the carrier slipping around your car.  If you think sleepypod may be right for you, go to their website to figure out what size would be best for your needs. I would also suggest inserting a doggy pee pad under your air-mesh liner in case of a bathroom accident.  Luckily Sleepypod's comfortable inserts are safe for the washing machine!  

Yummy Bowls

Finding Sleepypod's website crossed another necessity on my to do list: bowls made for travel.  What I liked about these is that water can be contained in the bottom with the dry food on top and a lid to secure it altogether without become one big mushy food mess.  The water never touches the bowl and it is easily contained together.  

My husband and I feed our cats raw chicken, as their main source of food we were wondering how we were going to bring food that had to be frozen in a vehicle for 3 days or so.  Being raw chicken, there are obviously safety concerns and we would never want to put our babies health in jeopardy. To fix this problem we got two styrofoam coolers for our trip.  We kept one of them in the back of the car full of dry ice.  The other one was placed in the front with regular ice.  The raw chicken has to be frozen so we would keep the chicken frozen in the back with the dry ice and then the morning of our travels we would take one out and insert it into the regular ice in the front of the car.  We only had to find a gas station once during our travels to refill our supply of dry ice, it did fantastic.  The chicken stayed completely frozen and it was thawed out and cold by the time we arrived at our hotel in the evening and the kitties were ready to nom nom on food.

A week or so before our road trip we decided to use organic oils to help calm our kitties beforehand. This are made for animals for an array of problems/concerns.  I feel like they did make a difference and help the overall trauma of a 3 day car ride and the overall transition.  

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One of the most common anxiety conditions we see in animals are those related to travel. Whether by plane, train or automobile, motion sickness is no fun for them, and definitely no fun for you. The vomiting, pacing, drooling and whining can all be calmed with the help of Easy Traveler. Try using it in their travel water, on their bodies, orally and most of all, mist the remedy in their kennel or trailer for extra energetic support.

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For adjusting to major life changes, such as moving, the arrival of a new baby, new roommate, or other long-term or permanent situations. We all know how hard these upheavals are on us - just imagine the stress from the four-legged perspective! Help them to move forward with confidence and peace.

Now let's talk about the litter box.  Cats like routine, they hate changes and since there will already be plenty of changes during your move, or just the stress on your cat from traveling, you want to try make everything as easy as possible.  We brought their litter box from home and we brought enough bags of litter for each day at the hotel along with litter box lining bags.  These were great because the next day all you have to do is tie up your bag and throw it in the trash at the hotel, done.  Our cats had no problem using the litter box at the hotels and I think they appreciated it being one that they were used to.  

If you are going to be on the road more than 12-15 hours stay at a motel for the night so that your kitty can rest on non moving ground.  It is also important to not feed your cat the morning of your travels (a few hours before) so that way they have time to use the bathroom before you leave and it will reduce the risk of an accident in their carrier.

Traveling can be stressful for everyone but I hope with these tips you will be able to provide one of the most important pieces of your family a pleasant experience and I am sure you will get a few meows of love for all the extra thought you put into making their trip just that much more enjoyable, our cats actually seemed to have fun at the motels and loved exploring.

Oh....and PS.  If you happen to stay overnight in Vegas like we did, and your cats decide to go into the shower and party like ours did, do them a favor and remember: what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.

*All the opinions posted are my own.  I was not endorsed by any company to review their product.  This article is no way intended to discriminate against dogs ;)