On Holiday With Your Cat

It’s that time of year again, your off on your family holiday, and second to booking your holiday, you ring the cattery and book a place for your cat. Think about the money and inconvenient this can cause, having to sort your cat out a few days before you go, paying extra if you are late back, the list is endless.

But did you know that you can take your cat with you, on your holiday? This doesn’t really apply for overseas holidays unless your cat has a pet passport. All over the country holiday accommodation owners are starting to realise there is a whole market of people that they’ve over looked – the pet owner.

If you use a travel agent, ask them to provide a list of accommodation that accepts pets. If you book your holiday online, there are plenty of websites out there that will list places in your country that will accept you cat. You’ll find these are no more expensive than your normal accommodation, simply because you don’t have to add the price of an extra room, just make sure you take your cats bed with you.

Before you on holiday make sure you take your cat to the vet and get it checked over. The last thing you want is to have an emergency with your cat while you’re away. Once you’re sure your cat is in good health, make sure you’ve got everything you need; make sure you cats travel box is clean and comfortable especially if you’ll be travelling for a long time. You may also find it useful to take an extra blanket and cover the travel box with a blanket while you travel, as this will calm your cat down and it will probably sleep most of the way.

Pack sufficient food and cat litter for the entire holiday, as if you run out you may not be able to get to a shop easily, and you’ll have a very upset cat.

When you arrive to your holiday destination, let your cat out and let it investigate the accommodation, once its done that it should settle in just fine. Show your cat where you are going to put its food and litter so there are no accidents. And if you are on a short break, say about 1 week, then keep your cat indoors, the last thing you want is to loose your cat when your on holiday. If your there for 2 or 3 weeks, that’s not so bad, and your cat should be fine roaming about in the garden (if there is one).

Not all cats will accept holidaying with the family. Elderly cats can find travel difficult and may get very upset when not in their own environment. The same goes for any sick cats. Some timid cats may find it hard to settle in to a new environment so quickly, and it may be disturbing for them. But for the average, boisterous, family cat they’ll enjoy the experience of exploring new places.

So next time you have to fork out for cattery fees, consider taking your cat on holiday with you.