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Whether you’re dreaming of taking on the world with an adventure kitty by your side, are moving, or plan to bring your cat home for the holidays, there is a way to make traveling with your cat pleasant.
“Traveling with a cat can be a smooth and enjoyable experience. I think of the journey in three parts: paperwork, preparation, and gear,” says cat trainer, behaviorist, and frequent traveler Albert Colominas, Founder of Outdoor Bengal.
We’ve enlisted feline behaviorists and vets to give you some tips, actionable steps, and suggestions for how to travel with a cat in a car, plane, train, and beyond.
Travel Checklist for Cats
Before you pack your cat’s bags, its important to consider their level of socialization and their tolerance for their carrier. If your cat can’t stand being confined to their crate for the length of time required by your method of transport, it’s better to leave your kitty home with a caring sitter.
If you think your cat is up for the challenge, make sure they’re comfortable with every piece of gear they’ll need on the journey ahead of time. Run some tests, take some short jaunts, and offer your cat lots of rewards for their first voyages to build positive associations.
| Car | Train | Plane | Boat | |
| Carrier | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Harness | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Travel litter box | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Travel food and bowl | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Cat lifejacket | ✓ | |||
| Vet paperwork | ✓ | ✓ |
How To Travel With a Cat By Car
Cars are one of the easier ways to travel with a cat—though the difficulty can escalate depending on how far your journey is.
Advantages include:
- Control over schedule and breaks
- Outdoor potty opportunities
Disadvantages include:
- Longer travel times
- Need to secure cat-friendly lodging for overnights
- Inability to attend to cat needs while driving
Preparations
To make your cat’s car trip easier, make sure to bring the following:
- Their favorite distracting toys, lick mats, or chews
- Lots of treats
- Any travel sedatives approved by your vet
- Calming cat pheromones to put your cat in their carrier smoothly
Secure your cat
To secure your cat in the car, you’ll need a carrier or cat backpack. Good car carriers for cats will be securely buckled down, either to the seat or in your trunk. Your cat should be contained at all times while you’re behind the wheel.
The bed-style Sleepypod carrier is easy to secure with a seatbelt.
Potty accidents might happen while traveling by car with your cat, so make sure their carrier is lined with absorbent training pads. Bring trash bags, cat-safe wipes, cleaning supplies, and pet stain and odor sprays to spot-clean any accidents.
Plan bathroom breaks
If your cat is going to be in the car for longer than an hour or two, it’s a good idea to bring a travel litter box and plan on a bathroom break.
“I don’t recommend a functioning litterbox inside the car while driving. It can be messy [and] smelly. I like stopping at a service area and setting up the litterbox near the car,” Colominas advises. “If possible, I keep all pee and poo outside the car so the cat doesn’t create an association between the car and relieving themselves.”
To give your kitty a potty break, put them into a secured, escape-proof harness, and walk them on a leash. It’s also a good time to offer fresh water and food.
If you need a break, remember to take it safely. Experts don’t recommend leaving your cat alone in the car for long. Even if it’s not the dead of summer, the temperatures in a parked car can rise dramatically within as little as half an hour and reach as high as 160°F.
Plan lodgings ahead of time
Don’t forget to plan your lodgings. “Not many hotels or AirBnbs allow cats,” points out Joanna Wachowiak-Finlaison, owner of High Five Animal Training. That makes it important to have cat-friendly lodgings booked ahead of time.
Quinta, Super 8, and Best Western are popular pet-friendly choices, though it’s always a good idea to call ahead and confirm. AAA has a pet travel guide that can help you find hotels and motels by location. You can also utilize a website dedicated to pet travel like Pets Welcome.
Keep in mind that some hotels don’t allow you to leave your pets alone in a room. And if you let your cat roam free, you’ll need to be careful to make sure they use their litter box and don’t scratch furniture, lest you end up with a hefty repair bill.
How To Travel With a Cat By Train
Wachowiak-Finlaison says train travel, especially compared with plane travel, is potentially the least stressful option for cats.
Advantages include:
- Can offer maximum attention to cat needs
- Lots of space
- Minimal noise and no ear pain from air pressure fluctuations
Disadvantages include:
- Risk of motion sickness or nausea
- Regulations that vary by rail line
Regulations and eligible cats
First, check up on rules and regulations for your railway company. Some require cats to be in carriers at all times, while others, like the Metro-North Railroad in NY, allows for cats in harnesses.
Next, make sure your cat’s vaccinations and microchip are up to date.
There’s no age minimum for train travel, but Colominas says it’s best to make sure the cat is at least 12 weeks old before taking a train with you. Cats who are sick, have certain chronic illnesses, experience anxiety, or are missing vaccinations should not travel by train.
Preparations
There is a chance that train travel can induce motion sickness, so Wachowiak-Finlaison suggests cat caregivers talk to their veterinarian ahead of time to figure out the best options to prevent train-induced motion sickness.
To minimize the risk of vomiting accidents, feed your kitty a very light meal a few hours before departure. Water bowls aren’t very practical for train travel, so it’s best to help your kitty stay hydrated by installing a no-drip water bottle they can drink from.
Using toys to distract and entertain your cat instead of treats can also reduce the chances of your kitty experiencing motion sickness or having any accidents. Unless you’re in a private area of the train, be mindful about the types of toys you bring for your cat. Squeaky, jingling, or other noisy toys might annoy other travelers.
The Fat Cat backpack is a good pick for train travel, since it’s comfortable to wear and roomy enough for even big kitties.
How To Travel With a Cat By Plane
Taking to the skies and traveling by plane with your kitty is one of the fastest ways to reach your destination. But it’s not without its challenges, especially for skittish cats.
Advantages include:
- Fastest way to travel
- Option of cargo or in-cabin travel
Disadvantages include:
- Requires the most paperwork and preparation
- May be most expensive
- Can be stressful for cats due to air pressure, turbulence, and proximity of people
Preparations
Medications, including anti-anxiety and sedatives prescribed by your vet, might help your cat cope with traveling by plane. Be sure you consult your vet with enough time to understand how they work and how to administer them.
You’ll also want to pack plenty of distractions, stop feeding your cat several hours ahead of the flight, and have kitty wipes ready to clean up any messes.
Cargo or carry-on?
You’ll need to decide whether your cat is going to be a passenger on the flight with you or stowed below the flight deck in the cargo hold.
“While having your cat travel in the cargo hold sounds scary, in some cases it may not be as bad as it sounds. The cabin can be noisier and more stressful for some cats,” Lusvardi says. You won’t, however, have as much control over how your cat is handled during plane travel, and some cats might prefer the comfort of your presence.
If you choose to put your cat in the cargo hold, carefully follow the rules and guidelines for animal transport set by the airline. That includes getting the right size carrier and adding the proper documentation stickers.
If you choose to have your cat travel in the cabin with you, look into the airline and airport’s policies surrounding cat travel in the cabin, starting with making sure your carrier is TSA-approved for cabin travel. You may have to buy your cat a seat, which can be expensive.
The Sleepypod Air is one of the most popular picks for in-cabin cat travel.
“The United States Department of Transportation recently changed their rules regarding emotional support animals and air travel. While airlines used to have to waive travel fees for ESAs, they are now allowed to charge a fee for them. Service animals have different regulations, but cats cannot be considered service animals in the US,” Lusvardi says.
How To Travel With a Cat By Boat or Ferry
While it’s not ideal to set sail on a two-week-long luxury cruise with your cat in tow, traveling by boat on a smaller scale, like on a ferry, is an option for cats.
In fact, Colominas says, “From my experience cats really thrive on sailboats. They are quiet, small, and offer outdoor access for them to enjoy, which paired with a good harness and lifejacket, makes for an amazing adventure.”
Advantages include:
- Can offer maximum attention to cat needs
- Plenty of space, including outdoor access for strolls and litter-box usage
- Quiet
- Low stress for cats
Disadvantages include:
- Risk of motion sickness or nausea
Preparations
First, make sure you know what the boat or ferry operator’s rules for cats are so you can prepare ahead of time.
Boats and ferries can be extra rocky, so Wachowiak-Finlaison advises cat caregivers to make sure they talk to their vet about options for preventing and treating motion sickness.
Choose a quiet, safe seat away from engine fumes and loud noises. You may need to pay an extra cost to board early or reserve a seat.
Although cats will have more opportunities to use a portable litter box, limiting treats and opting for toys instead can limit the risk of vomiting or toileting accidents.
Know Before You Go: Cat Paperwork
Traveling with your kitty isn’t as simple as zipping them into their carrier and going off on your merry way. “Paperwork, particularly when traveling by plane, is important to get it right. A mistake here can stop the trip even before it starts,” Colominas warns.
Domestic travel within the United States
Cat parents who are based in the United States and will be traveling domestically to another state or territory by plane typically need to meet these three requirements:
- Their cat is up to date with their rabies vaccination
- Their cat is microchipped
- Their cat is at least eight weeks old
International travel
Cat parents based in the United States who are taking their cats out of the country and into foreign territories, especially if they’re traveling by plane, have more considerations.
Every destination country has specific entry requirements for pets. This might include:
- The traveling cat needs additional vaccinations beyond rabies
- The traveling cat underwent specific diagnostic testing
- The traveling cat has their customs paperwork
- The traveling cat has USDA-endorsed health certificates
To get a USDA-endorsed health certificate for your cat, also known as an “international health certificate” or “veterinary health certificate,” you need to take your cat to a USDA-accredited veterinarian for a thorough exam. That vet will submit the required paperwork to the USDA Endorsement Office in the Veterinary Export Health Certification System (VEHCS) on your behalf.
Depending on the destination country and their requirements, the process could take a few weeks to months. The sooner you get started, the better.
USDA’S APHIS website is the best place to find the most comprehensive and up-to-date details about traveling with your cat to another state or country.
