Taking cat with us to in-laws over Xmas

[Hypercatalectic]

Is this a bad idea? We’re away for Xmas then again for Betwixmas. We’d leave the cat for Xmas Eve to Boxing Day and our neighbour will pop in to do food and have a play (where we’re going have dogs).
Then we’re away again for a few days until New Year and we thought we’d take the cat with us. It’s about a 3.5 hour drive each way. The house is quiet, she’s 2yo, a majority-indoor cat and we’d take her litter trays, igloo etc.

Would this be a mean thing to do, would it likely stress her out? Is it always the best thing to leave them in situ and get people to come to them?

How well does your cat cope in the car? My cats would get too stressed and wouldn’t cope with such a long journey so I would leave them at home and have someone to pop in. Also being somewhere unfamiliar they would be nervous, it would take them a few days to settle so for me it wouldn’t be worth taking them along.

I would absolutely not take a cat to a house where a cat already lives.

My cats hate the car so this wouldn’t work for us. But I have had cats previously who don’t mind at all - and my aunty used to bring hers on holiday to Cornwall every summer!

Sorry - I think I misread your post, they don't have a cat?
We have done this with one of our cats. He was a horrible traveller so yowled the whole time (oriental) and PIL house had a good air lock arrangement so you could go in and out of the house without risking him getting out. I think he quite enjoyed his trip away.
I wouldn't risk this with any of my current cats. I think it depends a lot on temperament. Some cats are more portable than others!

It totally depends on the cat.
One of mine was absolutely fine travelling.
He'd sit on my knee and look out of the window. (It was many years ago)
He was fine at my Mum's for a few days and then back home.

None of my other cats would have stood for it. Hated traveling.
Hated new places .

You need to be sure that your cat is a totally laid back type. Otherwise, it will be very stressful for your cat and you.

Have you asked them? I certainly wouldn't want anyone to bring a cat to my house.

cat will be far happier at home with care visits. Leave the radio on for them, too.

Not yet, wanted to gauge if it’s a good idea or not first.
It sounds like the car journey might be a bit much. She’s quite a laid back cat and we have a harness for her… Never done it before though, so hard to know how she would react to it all!

None of my cats would have been happy with that. Both the journey and the unfamiliar surroundings would have totally stressed them out.

Then add the stress for all the humans involved who'll have to constantly be wary of it escaping, and it's a terrible idea.

Cats are far happier in their normal surroundings without their owners, than they are in unfamiliar surroundings with their owners. The exact opposite of dogs, in that regard.

Depends on the cat.

My rescues went with me at Christmas (my mum adored them). They were happy and no issues. The oldest got over his fear of cat carriers by visiting my mum rather than just the vets. They would have hated being left.

Maybe I was lucky, most of my cats were dog like and wherever I was they were happy. Other people tell stories of cats running away after house moves.

Only you know your cat. Maybe do a practice run visiting a cat lover for an hour or two and see how that goes.

Are the ILs happy to have the cat?
I wouldn’t be. Apart from anything else (fur, dander, extra hoovering afterwards, clutter of igloo and tray etc) every cat I know has toileted in different rooms when in a new / unfamiliar environment. Including on beds.

My cats would HATE this! One gets easily stressed, the other is flighty and I hate the thought of him potentially escaping somewhere away from home (are the IL’s going to be trustworthy with doors and windows?!)

Our late Bengal would nof have coped well at all, even going to the vets 10min drive he would be meowling his head off

If the cat runs out that house, it won’t have any idea on how to get back. Not a risk worth taking.

I had a kitten from my sister's cat ( that just turned up and adopted them) . I used to take him " home" regularly to play with his brother and other assorted farm cats. He travelled brilliantly in his carrier, about a 3.5 hour journey. One of the other kittens went to a couple who took their cat on holiday with them all the time.

Recently moved 250 or so miles. Nearly 5 hours in the car, non stop yowling from the cats!

My cat yoweled every two minutes of a 12 hour drive when I moved house with him, despite the vet having given him a sedative which was meant to make him sleepy. And then hid behind the kitchen cupboards at the new house for 5 days before he was willing to come out - probably incase I put him back in the car again.

You couldn’t pay me enough to take him on holiday!

Apart from anything else, asking your hosts is putting them on the spot and very unfair. I wouldn't want someone else's cat in my house.

That is such a risk in a house full of people at Christmastime, with all the distractions involved. People nipping in and out to get things from their cars, opening a kitchen window to let out cooking smells and steam... I could name a whole list of things that could lead to a stressed cat escaping. You'd never forgive yourself.

I wouldn't want a cat as a house guest. We no longer have pets, but I'm very much happy to see dogs out and about but not so excited about having them visit either. Cats, as I udnerstand it, are easy to leave home for a few days?

I would leave the cat where she is. In her home.

Assuming you have reliable neighbours who will feed her etc. That or put her in a kennel. The cat might not like it but at least you know where your cat will be.

Also, some people are allergic to cat fur. If there are guests where you are going unless you know they are not allergic I would not bring it.

The cat is more likely to be distressed than not.
Imagine if she got loose ? She would not know how to get back. She wouldn't know where she was.

“Betwixmas” A new word for my vocabulary!
I wouldn’t do this. Not fair on the cat. Especially with a dog involved.

Cats are territorial animals, unlike dogs who are pack animals. This is why dogs don’t generally mind where they are just as long as they are with their pack. Cats on the other hand really do mind where they are. I also think a 3.5 hour journey would be incredibly stressful for a cat.

We take our cat to my parents at Xmas (and when we go on holidays too). Shes elderly, house cat only and loves my parents (and their extra space and generosity with treats) dearly. However. She gets extremely travel sick and 20 minutes is our limit. They live 15 mins away. I try to coordinate routine vet visits with the drive to theirs. She wouldn’t tolerate 3.5 hours at all. I’m not sure I’d risk it with our other cats previously who have travelled much better. She took about a week to settle in after we took her for the first time so factor that in too. I’d want some sort of plan for water access / potential litter tray stop but I have no idea how you’d do that!

Oh and absolutely not with a dog involved. Our cat would have a heart attack at that !