Do you travel with pets?

I travel with my orange tabby cat Tom-Tom who is 5 years old.  My first trip was not a good one as he was all over the car in a panic getting under the peddels, climbing up on me, to trying to get on the dashboard, and each hotel we were at he would find a place and hide not eating or drinking.  I was a little worried at first.  I took him out of his home of 3 years to live somewhere different every few months, what was I thinking!! 

Since 5 trips later he's a traveling kitty, he still gets a little nervous leaving but I think he's knows the plan by now.  He can't wait to get in the car and go and can tell when it's time to leave.  I even take him to the store if it's a quick trip or cool out, he loves it and to see people's face as I drive by and Tom-Tom looking out the window on my shoulder is even more funny.   I have my car packed to the limit and  his travel carrier sits in the back seat in the middle of everything looking out to the road.  Sometimes he comes out and sits on the console like a patio in the car from his box, I leave a cover there for him.  He loves to watch the cars and trees fly by.  As I'm driving his sleeping the whole time, but I soon as I stop he's out and looking around.  So I try to make long hauls if I'm travel cross country.

Traveling with cat(s) is somewhat a little different than dogs.  I have his cat box, which is covered up but undo it if it's a long haul for him and he knows that means do it now or else.  It's worked great but at times it can be like taking care of a child.  Hotels are a little harder to come by with pet fees and when it's not to hot or warm out I leave him in the car and he has done so well.  Of course I sneak him in most places, don't tell anyone.  LOL.  I think traveling with Tom-Tom has made my trips better and it's nice to have a friend to come home to.

Pets are great !!!!!!!!!!

Manda:

So time for some harness and leash humor.  Before I first started to travel, I too went out and got a harness and leash for Tom-Tom hoping that I could walk him around.  Wrong!!  I put on the Harness on him and he fell over like I put my finger up and shot him Bang Bang your dead.  He didn't move, he acted like a toddler that lost their legs.  I almost died of laughing to hard.  So I connected the leash and draged him around the living room floor, still no movement from him.  It was too funny, he looked paralyzed from the neck down.  So I took back the harness and leash to PetsMart and was told that you have to train them very young to use a harness and leash.  Ok that idea was out.   A year later I got him a collar just in case he might run off. I put the collar on him and he ran and stayed under the bed for a day untill I took the collar off.  I haven't used it since.  It looked like I tortured the poor thing.  Now I'm looking at microchip because he's not having it any other way.  LOL.
 

OMG. Only cat owners can appreciate this. Cats have such a mind of their own. Mine has had 2 trips here recently. The first time, she didn't use the box before leaving the house (not like a kid where you can lock them in the bathroom until they go). Needless to say, my coat required laundering after travel. The 2nd time she did better, but still gets panicky a little. She doesn't like the louder vehicle we were in. We should be in a quieter one the next trips. She's had a harness before, but actually crawled her way out of it. It was almost so tight it was cutting into her, but I should have renamed her Houdini! This was after she was "checking out" the bottom of the neighbors truck. It's always exciting with cats. They don't have the listening and pleasing desire that most dogs have. So independent. But she is my child and entertainment. It's lonely when she's not around.