Is it worth taking her home for Christmas?

[EachandEveryone]

Ive unexpectedly got five days off and of course i want to be in Yorkshire with my young Nieces and nephews. I live in a flat in London and my cat will be one month post op im not sure if i will be letting her out by then so, seven months. My sister really wants me to bring her home so my nephew can meet her and the nieces can fuss over her. Like taking a baby to meet the family! My brother us away and will loan me his flat but, its not practical is it? 30 mind on the tube then three hours on the train. Can they go that long in a carrier? What if sh wees? My neughbour will go in once a day for £20 isnt that my best option?

I'm taking my kitten home for Christmas, she'll be 3 and a bit months by then, and would prefer her to be with myself and DH and know someone then all alone with the empty house and our neighbour

Though she will be restricted to the kitchen and utility only in MIL's house as we haven't let her out in the garden on her own at ours yet

I used to take my cat from Northampton to Glasgow on the train when going home for Xmas etc (4.5hours) and she was absolutely fine. Mainly just slept. Make sure your carrier is roomy and line it with newspaper that can be easily discarded into carrier bags and tied tightly if your cat does the loo.

I wouldn't. What if they let her out by mistake? Pets generally find Christmas quite stressful. What if you are delayed on the journey? Ours hate the carrier anyway and pee and poo after just a few minutes. Not nice on a packed train.
But if you leave her home make sure she can't get out when neighbour comes in.

I would look for a good cattery. I wouldn't leave her alone at a young age with one visit per day.

I couldn't relax with her in a house with kids because she could get let out.

I've always taken my boys home for Xmas if I had one and I was going there. (They were bonded and wouldn't have been happy without me.) That was usually an 8 hour car journey.

They weren't on 'display' though. They generally stayed in their bedroom if there were lots of people around.

My brother is giving me his empty flat

Have taken my boy on holiday to self catering in wales twice. By car though.
Could you take yours on a couple of short journeys first to see how the travelling goes? Start with a couple of tube stops to get her used to it.

When I collected Oneago from his breeder he had to travel back with me virtually the whole length of the UK. The first leg of the journey - I split it halfway - involved two train journeys, one of about 3-4 hours. The worst problem I had on the train was children wanting to 'see the pussy'. (Oneago, trouper that he was, was fine with that though as long as he had time to arrange his coiffeur and himself to look even more impossibly chocolate-box than he already was. )

Empty flat sounds better.

So what if they pee on the train? It's going to be busy Xmas.

Bear in mind also that a cat in a cat carrier is quite heavy and difficult to carry - I would only do it if I had very little other luggage.

That's a fair point. If going by train, I'd restrict my luggage quite severely. Even with taxis either end, you don't need piles of luggage to manoeuvre along with a cat carrier.

Yeah that's the thing and what will she actually need when we get there?

Litter and tray and food and bedding and bowls and somewhere familiar to sleep. (Blanket?)
Scratch post and toys.
I wouldn't!

My brother is very proud of his flat I would hate for her to destroy his sofa or something

I have taken cats home for Christmas. Some are keener than others but I didn't always have the money for an alternative. after my father died I stopped this as my mother is not suitable to look after anything. Yes, use paper in the carrier if a long trip and swap it out. If you can get them to wear a harness, this makes it easier as you can clip them on to a lead while you do it. If it is a nervous cat then probably better to get a cat sitter or neighbour to feed. I have just taken current cat on a short holiday close to home, as he is stuck to me like glue and sits at the door crying the whole time I am away when left with live in cat sitter. However, I have been told this is irresponsible, so obviously nobody should take my advice.

I've just been using the normal rac cat carrier should I be thinking of getting something bigger?

We take CockCat to our farm on the weekend in the car. It's about 3 hours. She's fine.

I'm not sure I could face it on the train if she meowed the whole time though.

I've just popped a towel in a cat carrier before to absorb any pee but generally I've found cats cross their legs if they can.