LONG car journey with cat - advice please

[Catcatcat12]

We are driving to the south of France this summer and we are bringing our indoor only cat. We’ve done a 5 hour journey once before but this would be considerably longer.

I would love to hear your best travel tips. How do we best sort out the litter tray and food for the journey? How do we keep her comfortable and happy?

Thanks in advance

I really don't think it is a good idea. What if she accidentally gets out of the holiday home?

We take our cats on holiday to the south of France every year (and we took our last cat too). It’s as much a holiday for them than us. Probably more so, in fact. They’re indoor cats here, but down their they can pretty much come and go outside at will (rural location).

i suspect each cat will handle it differently, depending on their individual temperament. But our cats all settle down after an hour or so (one does so pretty much straight away), and tend to just sleep most of the journey away. What seems to help, is in the proceeding days/weeks, is to take them out for short journeys in the car, and then steadily build up the time, so that they’re pretty used to it by the time you go.

How many hours is it? You said considerably more than 5.

And will you be 'at home' a lot when you're there, or would she be left on her own a lot, in an unfamiliar place as you dk all the normal holiday things?

I really think that cats are so deeply territorial that it is an incredibly bad idea to move them so far for such a short time. And if the drive there's awful, you still all have to suffer the drive back.

You say breeder, is she a Persian or similar with compromised breathing? If so, there is obviously that issue, made wose by the heat, to contend with too!

Our cat cried, vomited and did a stinky poo on a 15 minute journey to vet. South of France would be my travel nightmare

Please don't subject your poor cat to this. It's totally non essential and just not worth the upset, cost, drama and worry.

I get a cat sitter to come in twice a day to look after our indoor cat when we go away. Our cat seems to really like her and she's an experienced cat owner. She feeds him, scoops the litter and plays with him if he's up for it, or fusses him on her knee if he wants that. She sends us photo updates which are very cute & reassuring!
I'd go with this option if you've got friends nearby who will do it.

He is always pleased to see us when we come home, but seems to have been ok with this arrangement.

My dcat has just got back from the cat prison happy as can be - they fed her as much as she wanted, gave her lots of cuddles and let her out into the office area because she was friendly. I honestly think you are overthinking it, the trauma of the car journey, the temperatures in france etc are far worse than good licensed catteries.

If it helps, op, I've used catteries several times. First couple of times cats were quite content there but I'd never use the last one again. They wouldn't let me go with with them to the enclosure when it came to picking them up and my laid back cats were obviously unsettled and unhappy for a few days when we got them home.

Some catteries are great safe environments for cats but in person checks and lots of questions necessary - and personal recommendations if possible.

What did you cats hate so much about having a cat sitter? If you can find someone to come in and feed a couple of times a day, I think its infinitely preferable to other options.

Use a timed feeder and they might not even need to pop in every day to top it up.

Also harnesses are fine if your cat tolerates them. I've never had a cat who would and its the stuff of nightmares to have one fighting to get loose - and managing it- at a motorway service station!

Mine go to the cattery as they are orientals and so need to be around humans alternative would be house/cat sitters which we can’t afford. They don’t love it but a lot better than a horrendous car journey. I’m sure the breeder thought you were going on holiday a few hours away not the south of France. The cattery keeps them safe they are not traumatised by the experience and bounce back after being clingy after a couple of days.

We found our regular cat sitter from catinaflat.com. You can book as many visits per day as you want or even book someone to come and live in while you're gone. All sitters are vetted, insured etc.

Do you honestly think your dcat won't push a net door open?

Have you ever taken your cat to another house closer by? How did she get on?
My cats get incredibly stressed in the car and would absolutely hate it. I would also be terrified of them getting on in an unfamiliar location and not being able to find her again.
Is she lead trained?

I'm another who thinks this is cruel. It would be different if you were moving that far away but for a holiday this doesn't benefit the cat at all. The breeder is wrong here, cats are typically more attached to their territory than their humans.

What sort of pet sitters have you used? Was it just pop in visits or someone staying for the duration?

Has your cat had its rabies jab? You need to have it at least 21 days before travel in order to get a health certificate which in turn has to be signed with off not more than 10 days before travel. Tbh I think you're better having a cat sitter to visit twice a day

I'm sorry OP but if you are interested in your cat being happy and comfortable you'd abandon this idea immediately.

Unless the holiday is of a substantial duration this is incredibly cruel.

What were the plans when you are there? Stay in 24/7 or leave dcat alone in a strange place?
I wasn't struck on cattery ideas and ndn had fed ours previously but 1 year we used the cattery and dcats were fine. I knew they were safe.
Can you really think your dcat will be safe op?

My friend brought her cats on a 24 hour journey from Europe to the U.K. and they hated it. Howled all the way. I wouldn’t put my cats through it just for a holiday.

Have a look at Cat in a Flat for sitters, we found an an amazing cat sitter on there.

Another here agreeing it's a bad idea. It's much too long a journey, then being in a strange place, alone most of the time unless someone is going to stay and keep cat company, then there's the journey back.
You're going to go through hell if it's a bad journey there and it'll ruin everyone's holiday knowing it's going to be the same going home.
Leave the cat at home where you know she's safe, pissed off yes but certainly not traumatised by a journey that long and being away from home.

If it's a holiday, even a long one, I'd go for boarding here instead, as that would be SO stressful to a cat. Or if it's a permanent necessary move, ask the vet - maybe a sedative would be advisable but also you need to think about the heat - maybe a cool gel pad in the cat carrier?

Also I remember when I had a cat, she was yelling 'YEEEOOOW!! the whole of the 15 minute journey to the vets each time. Will drive you all nuts!

Hahah! Cat prison

good to hear your cat seemed ok with the arrangements

We tried them one year and it was so bad, the whole family including the cat were traumatised by the end of it. The lady would FaceTime us during her visits but we got the impression that she was really rushing things and probably not spending the agreed amount of time socialising with our cat, who was very cautious around her - she is usually super friendly.

things culminated when she called us to say that the cat had done her business in our bed, and what should she do. This was completely out of character for our cat, and a clear sign that she was stressed and unhappy as she had never done this before with other sitters.

We got a friend to come over and have a look, and it turned out that dcat had done about seven or eight number twos on our bed, so this had been going on for a number of days. The whole house stank and the cat sitter apparently hadn’t even noticed, which tells me that she probably spent about two minutes in each visit, just doing the absolute bare minimum.

so I’m really worried about booking anyone whom I don’t have a personal recommendation for!

If your cat was so stressed when you went on holiday OP that she repeatedly soiled in your bed how on earth do you think she'll cope with a long car journey and being in a completely new environment when she arrives?

Unless I've missed it you've not actually said how long the journey is. It would be interesting to know what you are thinking of subjecting the poor cat too.

Mine used to curl up on my lap. No cage. Caged all that way in a small cage will be very uncomfortable for her. I'd say lap or not at all. Personally no way would I take my cat to France on holiday it's utterly bonkers