Travelling with Cats

A lot of us cat owners know how it goes down when it's time to take out little angels anywhere. Charles is an absolute nightmare when it comes to travelling and getting him his cat carrier is a good 15 minute long event that results is one stressed cat and a human on the brink of an emotional breakdown. This is because Charles lived a very settled life in the countryside where his entire world was his little cottage and garden and small surrounding area. He didn't need to go into a carrier nor did he need to go in a car so when it came to moving house at the age of two you can only imagine how traumatising it was for both parties, so much so that the mere site of a cat carrier turns him 2D and wide-eyed in fear. 

This was something that I didn't want to have to but my boys through or go through myself so having learnt my lesson from Charles I put some plans in place to make travelling a little easier. Although we keep Cecil and Albie in their harnesses as much as possible, there are instances where having a carrier is essential as a back up for their protection and safety especially whilst they're so small, busy areas can startle them as they get used to the big wide world and having  a carrier gives them somewhere to snuggle up in the car if they get tired of my knee. 

When choosing a carrier I decided that I wanted a soft one rather than the hard plastic boxes most commonly used mainly because it needs to be practical to use anywhere and I find the hard boxes create too much distance between the human and the kitty. I spotted this little number in the Bedford Jolley's pet store from Cheeko Pet Supplies. This carrier is advertised for small animals rather than cats but it fits Albie and Cecil in with plenty of room to wrestle as they have demonstrated on numerous occasions and for £8.99 it was a bloody bargain. 

As well as being made of a water waterproof material, the carrier has mesh vents that work as perfect little windows to let kitties have a nosey at what's going on, it also has to access points for those awkward kitties and a pocket at the back (big enough for an Iphone 6+). Another advantage of this carrier is that it is foldable and comes with bag to slot it into and store away - a much better option when you consider the amount of space plastic carriers take up. 

Once we'd chosen our carrier, the next step was to get the boys used to it. Rather than taking that easy fold away storage option, I decided to keep the carrier in the living room with the door open. Making it a normal day-to-day toy / den / nap spot ensures that they are completely familiar with it and makes the carrier a comfort in new situations rather than a thing of terror that poor Charles connects his carrier with. As you can see, Albie and Cecil love their carrier and don't bat an eye lid when it gets zipped up and they get carried around - to be honest, lazy Cecil would rather be carried around all the time.