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Should I travel with my anxious cat? Tips for taking your pet home for the holidays

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Should I travel with my anxious cat? Tips for taking your pet home for the holidays

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Our feline friends are called cool cats for a reason − and we want to try to keep them that way when traveling.

In the worst cases, flying or driving with a cat can be fraught with stress, because cats become threatened by unfamiliar smells and can hate being stuck in a carrier. Airlines also require paperwork ahead of time, including a health certificate signed by a vet. Unless you’re willing to put in the work to prepare properly, it might be best to leave your cat with a house sitter if you can, said Ashlie Saffire, president of the Feline Veterinary Medical Association.

“That’s the big thing,” Saffire said. “Consider how long you’re traveling for, is it worth putting your cat through that stress of traveling?”

For situations where you can’t leave your cat behind, planning ahead is a must and you can purchase some key products and everyday items to help your cat chill out.

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Should I travel with my anxious cat?

Cats as a species are far less adaptable and socialized than dogs, which are used to traveling with humans and enjoy going on walks, said Wailani Sung, a cat behaviorist who helped make the 2022 Netflix documentary Inside the Mind of a Cat.

Most cats get scared in unfamiliar settings, because cats in the wild are solitary predators who must also be on-guard against potential threats from even larger predators.

“Cats are creatures of habit and territory so being taken away from their space is stressful for them, full-stop,” said Max Branch, who works transporting rescued cats daily with nonprofit Flatbush Cats in New York City.

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If a cat is not used to its carrier, it may try to escape, Branch said. That’s what happened last summer, when an orange cat named Tofu Veggie decided to be “Houdini” during a trip from the clinic to the shelter, Branch said.

“The driver turned around to see a little orange head poking up right beside them,” and then had to pounce on Tofu Veggie to try to get him back inside the crate, Branch said.

“He went nuts,” said Rosario Washburn, the volunteer who went after the escaped cat. “He slithered under the driver’s seat and came out at my husband’s feet.”

Saffire, of the Feline Veterinary Medical Association, said our pet cats need to feel at-home in order to feel safe, and smells are the top way they gain a sense of familiarity. That’s why cats rub up on furniture and brush their cheeks against corners in their homes, Saffire said.

Your cat will think its carrier smells “weird” and will likely feel trapped unless it has spent significant stress-free time inside the crate, Saffire said.

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Do not skip carrier training, vets warn

Familiar smells and positive memories of the carrier are the two key things to prep your cat for travel, Saffire said. It’s even important to consider how you hold the carrier, Sung said.

“The best thing you can do for your cat is carry it like a box, with both arms underneath, not swing it like a hand bag,” Sung said.

Carrier training recommended by vets includes:

  • Feeding your cat inside the carrier
  • Placing treats inside the carrier
  • Keeping the carrier in the living room, that way it smells like a space your cat feels safe in
  • Playing with your cat inside the carrier
  • Gently take your cat in and out of the carrier after they’re comfortable inside it
  • Practice carrying the carrier with your cat inside
  • Take car drives around the neighborhood with the carrier

“A lot of it is going slow,” Saffire said. “Each day you do a little more.”

Assess after taking several of these steps, and ask yourself if your cat is terrified or nauseated, Sung said. If so, consult a veterinarian and ask for advice about anti-anxiety and anti-nausea medications. If you have a kitten, you can start getting them used to traveling in their carrier now so that they’re more comfortable traveling their entire lives, she said.

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Calming sprays are a ‘gamechanger’

On the day of travel, calming sprays are a “gamechanger,” Saffire said, because they mimic the pheromones that come from cats’ cheeks when they rub on surfaces. Here are sprays, medications and non-drug supplements Saffire recommends.

  • Feliway spray “makes a huge difference,” Saffire said, and she uses it all the time with cats in her clinic in Dublin, Ohio. Saffire recommends wiping the entire carrier with Feliway while also spraying towels with it to keep inside the carrier during transport. Placing a sheet sprayed with the stuff over the carrier can also help a cat “feel like they can hide.”
  • VetriScience Composure™ supplement treats are non-drug treats made with colostrum proteins, Vitamin B1 and a naturally occurring amino acid, all of which have been proven to reduce stress and improve cognition in cats, according to VetriScience’s website.
  • Bonqat, an anti-anxiety medicine, became the first approved for cats by the FDA in November 2023. Saffire said she recommends it because it was developed specifically to treat “anxiety associated with travel in cats.”

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What cat carrier is best?

Branch and Saffire both recommend hard-sided carriers because your cat will feel more secure inside them and be more able to hide, tucked away in a corner.

Owners may feel more comfortable with a soft-sided carrier because they may be easier to squeeze underneath a seat on a plane. But remember that cats need to feel like they can hide in a secure place, not one that’s closing in on them, said Branch, whose nonprofit only uses hard-sided carriers when sending cats home with foster parents across New York City’s five boroughs.

“Their instinct in a new space is to hide and we have to make sure they’re able to do that,” Branch, 42.

In a car, a hard-sided carrier can easily fit in the back seat. But if you must fly, carefully research your airplane’s seat dimensions to ensure a hard-sided carrier will fit under the seat in front of you. Airline websites also have carrier size recommendations.

You can find recommendations for different carriers on the Feline Veterinary Medical Association’s “Choosing the Perfect Cat Carrier” guide.

How to fly with a cat: Airlines need paperwork ahead of time

Each airline has slightly different paperwork requirements and fees for bringing a cat onboard. In most cases, your cat’s carrier can be considered baggage and placed under the seat in front, but it’s up to you to confirm. Consider buying an airline-approved cat carrier to give yourself extra peace of mind.

You’ll need a vet to sign a certificate of health and submit it to the airline days before traveling, and some travel destinations may require proof of vaccination, especially against rabies, Saffire said.

3 more tips for traveling with a cat

There are a few predictable hiccups you can prepare for ahead of time, Branch said, including bathroom accidents and escapes.

  • Line the carrier with puppy “pee pads” in case your cat has an accident.
  • Don’t feed your cat their normal breakfast and/or dinner the day you travel, because “traveling on an empty stomach minimizes the risk of nausea and vomiting,” VCA Animal Hospitals says.
  • A harness will let you hold your cat effectively when you have to take your feline out of your carrier, especially during TSA screening at airports, during which owners must remove their cats from the crate, Branch said. “You should have your cat in a harness so that you’re not just clutching the cat’s fur during that moment − you’ll feel a little more secure.”
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