Is it a good idea to travel with a cat?

Do any of the people responding actually have animals? I travel with my dog and know several other people who travel consistently and successfully with animals (mostly dogs, but I do know of a cat that lives in a caravan :)).

I worry that a lot of the advice here, while coming from a kind-hearted place of caring about the cat, is a bit misinformed. There are many many countries that don’t require quarantines. Some animals handle flying and moving around just fine (while others don’t - and you need to be in tune with that). And I’m sorry, but telling someone flippantly to re-home their cat is like telling someone to leave their kids behind. It’s unthinkable for most of us and quite a crap thing to do to an animal that you’ve committed to take care of.

If the cat is so very important to your life, I guess nomadism isn’t really an option for you at the moment. One of the core bases for nomadism is minimalism and detachment. Traveling with a cat/dog/pet is just a frustration-generator, IMHO.

Not to beat this to death, but one thing I don’t think anyone has mentioned is that many countries require pets to be quarantined for a period of time, even if all of the paperwork is up to date. It could be up to a month depending upon where you’re going. So, you might not even get to enjoy the time with your cat at all for longer than you might expect if this happens.

This is your own choice. I recommend you give more weight to the opinions of people who actually have experience traveling with cats than to comments of people who haven’t tried this.

My girlfriend and I took our cat with us to Chiang Mai, stayed there 5 months, then spent 6 months on Koh Samui and then 2 in Chiang Mai again. As much as I love my cat, I hate traveling with it.

It’s small enough to travel in a cat carrier in the cabin, between the seats. It behaved really well on the Madrid-Moscow flight, but got very annoying on the Moscow-BKK stretch. Poor thing. My girlfriend jokes that –because I feel so much for our cat– I have a worse flight experience than our cat actually does.

When flying between Chiang Mai and Koh Samui (stopover in BKK) the cat traveled in a kennel and it was a much more pleasurable experience for me. As for the cat – as soon as we let it out of the bag/kennel once in the apartment/house we were renting, it was fine. It loves exploring new places and birdwatching, but it hates the traveling part.

By the way, I feel silly talking about my cat in the neutral sense, even though she was neutered.

I didn’t want to chime in because I’m heavily involved in Animal Welfare.

It really depends on many factors.

##What type of traveller are you?

Here are some general answers:

###a) You’re planning on just travelling within your own country:

If you’re venturing on a road trip or moving city to city then it’s not so bad. Cats can handle being moved around a relative amount but like @wanderingdev says, they’re territorial and they can get lost easily within the first few weeks if they’re outdoor cats - so just be aware.
###b) You are planning on being an expat.

If you’re looking to settle down for extensive periods of time (years, preferably) then I approve of taking your pets rather than leaving them.

###c) You’re changing countries constantly.

Not good. Quarantine, vaccinations, stress of flying/long distance travel on a regular basis is not good for a pet - 6 months is too often. Lots of pets die from flying every year. Be careful how much stress you put on him.

Second cat

Introducing a second cat to a home can be extremely stressful. Like said before, cats are territorial. To introduce a second cat to a home requires at least 3 weeks of restraining the second cat to a room and building up the scent/contact. It’s laborious and takes forever. Whenever someone wants to adopt or foster a second cat, we have to explain in detail the best approach. It’s not for the faint hearted and it’s not recommended to put your cat under stress before you subject him to travel (secondary stressor).

I also disapprove of you wanting a second pet because you’re too busy to exercise/entertain him. It seems like your lifestyle is not suited for a pet at this time. If you want to travel and you don’t have time to play, the best thing you can do is rehome him to a household who have time for him. We all make sacrifices for our pets: yours should be to either play more and travel less (frequently) or rehome him to a better suited household.

I think this is a really bad idea. So many things will be harder not just on you but on the cat. Cats like routine and to know their territory. Constantly uprooting them would mean they’re constantly being traumatized. It doesn’t seem fair to me. Plus you will have to deal with international vaccinations, quarantine in some countries, vets in various languages with various skill sets, finding places to live that accept pets (most I have seen don’t), etc. Do both of you a favor and find a loving permanent home for your cat.