It only takes one bad experience to leave your cat scarred when it comes to long car trips. Every cat owner knows that when setting out for long trips, you want your cat to have a good experience, so subsequently, they wouldn’t have a problem with getting into your car. Without a shred of doubt, the first step towards this is planning to ensure your cat is comfortable during long car trips.
Hence, in this article, we have explored how you can achieve the aim of keeping your cat comfortable while taking long car trips. Well, here are the tips you must know:
Focus on Giving Your Cat the Best Experience
Making your cat comfortable does not begin on the day of your trip. For best results, start preparing a week before your trip. Cats are very territorial; this is no news. Hence, they prefer to stay in environments that they are familiar and comfortable with. This is a major reason why they prefer to stay at home. Thus, it certainly takes a while when you embark on training indoor cats to stay outdoors.
Before taking them on a long trip, they have to be familiar with the environment too. Days before the trip, allow your feline to move around your car, cheek rub, and even allow their scent settle into the car. Do this severally, and also before you start driving on the day of your trip. This allows your kitty to see your car as a personal territory, giving them a generally better experience during travels.
Additionally, days before your trip, allow your car to have their mealtime in the car. This basically allows your cat to see car time as a time for a positive experience, especially if you have fed your cat with their best meals in the car, for almost a week leading up to the day of your trip. High-value treats would also be an added advantage here.
Ensure your Feline Rides in a Carrier
In the case of an accident or a very bad road, a cat that is merely in a car (and not in a carrier) easily becomes a projectile, thrown all over the place. It can be very distracting to have your cat thrown all over the place while you are driving. With cats, you have to think of it like you are driving with your baby. Just like you would use backseat carriers for babies, to keep them safe, you need to use a carrier for your cat too. This would save you a lot of trouble by allowing you to concentrate on driving, and keeping your cat injury-free.
Drive at a Speed Your Cat is Comfortable With
Before now, during short trips around your neighborhood or to the vet, you should know the speed that your cat is comfortable with, and that which would make your cat worried. Hence, drive with a speed your cat considers to be safe. Remember, the last thing you want is for your kitty to be scared to embark on another trip. Your cat already feels the same at home especially if you have provided one of the best cat caves for them. So, trust me, you want to drive at a speed that is fine for them, so they do not retreat to that cave forever.
Allow for Regular Stops
You don’t want your cat to feel like they are trapped, especially on a long car trip. Hence, you want to make regular stops and just ensure that your cat is happy. Allow your cat out of the car on these stops, so they can experience nature and just take in some natural air. Also, you want to check their carrier to see if they have defecated or urinated. Of course before setting out, you must have placed absorbent potty pads at the base of your carrier for this purpose. So, on your stops, you will only have to check if your kitty has soiled the pad, dispose of the pad (if they have soiled it), and replace it with a new one.
Conclusion
Now that you have all these tips, your trips should be a lot easier!
