Taking cats on holiday with me - am I mad?!

[silverley]

Posting here to check whether this idea is actually reasonable, or whether I've completely lost the plot.

I'm living in Ireland but am hoping to go visit family in the UK around Christmas (2 weeks-1 month). I'll be taking my dog with me, but also have two cats. Looking at catterys today and my heart just sank...most of the ones in my area are essentially weld mesh cages in barns. I can't bear to think of them somewhere like that for a month.

Leaving them at my house and having a pet sitter come in isn't feasible, due to remote location and state of house (renovating at the moment). Would it be mad to take them with me to the UK for the month??? I'll drive and ferry over, then stay with family. They'd have to stay indoors for a month, but at least would be somewhere nice with people they know.

I'm just worried about the stress of travelling and a new place...what does everyone think??

Hello again!

I think it's maybe difficult to illustrate just how rurally I live and the different attitude towards pets/animals in general here! The house is also a real state - part of why I'm trying to get away for a month, as it's really not livable in winter tbh (renovations moving incredibly slowly), and it really wouldn't be possible to ask a petsitter to stay here.

I took them to the vet this week to get their boosters and pet passports - vet saw no problem with the idea, and in fact thought the dog would be more stressed with the travel. The vet is an hour drive away, then an hour spent at the vets, then another hour home - they're used to spending a decent amount of time in the car and the carrier, and are very calm, especially if they're together. A few meows here and there but otherwise quiet.

I have a decent size cat carrier that they can both sleep and stand up in, and during the time on the ferry I'll put them in the bigger dog crate, which will fit their carrier and litter tray (dog will go in ferry kennel) and food and water, so they can stretch their legs a bit. They're friendly and adaptable cats in general - renovations and work on the house don't seem to have bothered them, whereas my old cat would have been hiding somewhere all day if there was someone new in the house, this pair will saunter past them without a care! So, I'm hopeful.

I also found it really interesting - I was looking around online for more information and Reddit is full of posts about people taking their cats on 12-24 hour drives, which I suppose is more the norm in a big country like the US or Canada. But I do understand it's far from ideal, and I really wouldn't even have contemplated it if I didn't feel my options were so limited. I'm going to do everything I can to make this as stress-free as possible for the cats.

Thanks to everyone for the opinions and advice