2 minute read
Pet Corner - Road Trips with Cats
Road Trips with Cats
Resident Submission by Valene Gammo, 12 years old
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Trying to plan a roadtrip with a cat can be stressful and challenging, but it doesn’t have to be! If you can learn the basics, in no time at all, your cat can learn to be totally chill on your drives. If you’re thinking of going on a road trip, you can get your cat familiar with being in the car by going on short drives to get them acclimated with the motions and smells. In my experience this has really helped. Here are some things you’ll find handy: A small kennel, catnip, puppy training pads, a cat harness, a thin blanket, a small cat toy, and a frozen water bottle (optional).
Catnip is always helpful if you want something to calm your cat down. About ten minutes before getting into the car, spoil your feline friend! Treat ‘em to catnip. It’ll usually just put them straight to sleep after the ten minutes. If your cat doesn’t like catnip (like mine), sneak about 1-2 teaspoons of catnip into your cat’s food. Use 2 teaspoons for a full can, and 1 teaspoon for a half a can. (Note: Catnip has no effect on cats under 6 months old.) Mix thoroughly so the cat will actually eat it. If you just let the cat smell it, he’ll get hyper and more anxious. You’ll want the cat to actually consume the catnip. You don’t want to overfeed your cat before, or too much during the actual drive, or he could get an upset stomach. You’ll want the puppy training pads to line the bottom of the kennel just in case your cat gets super anxious and has an accident. (Learned that the hard way… *nervous chuckle*.) Depending on how long the drive is, you’ll want to change out the pad so he isn’t sitting in that. Yuck. It’ll only have to be changed once or twice a day.
You’ll want a harness in case you’re tempted to let the cat out of the kennel, ‘cause lemme tell ya, my cat tried to go straight for the trunk portion of our family van.
If your cat really isn’t having it, you could drape the thin blanket over the kennel to reduce stress and motion sickness.
You can put a small cat toy in with your kitty if he’s getting feisty.
One last thing you’ll want is a frozen water bottle. Set it in with your cat so he can lick the condensation off if needed. You might want to avoid hard food so your cat doesn’t get too dehydrated during the drive.
After a few drives, you’ll see how easy and fun road trips can be with cats! Just don’t forget the training pads. Good luck to you and your feline for road trips to come!
