Bumpurr
RESPECT The- Star! | 
 | | Purred: Wed Mar 4, '09 3:47pm PST |  | |  | | Not a stupid question, its a very good question. 
Bumpurr is a show cat, since he was 4 months old, we travel all over the
east coast to shows, up to 7 hrs one way.
I know some let their cats loose in the car when traveling, but I highly
recommend, you confine him to a carrier. G forbid, you get in an accident,
and he goes flying thru the windshield, or gets loose, or some one opens
a door or window, and he gets loose.
It should be a good sized carrier, one he can comfortably stand up in,
turn around, and lay down stretched out. The small carriers are too
confining for a long trip. Kinda like, if you had to go on a long trip, in the
backseat, would you rather stretch out in a Cadillac, or squished in a
little car. You should also make it comfortable for him, put in 2 clean
soft towels, and some of his toys, no food/water, they only spill it. Some
show people will put wee wee pads in the bottom, in case of an accident,
and carry extra pads and extra towels, just in case.
He should wear a collor or harness, with tags on him, with your contact
information. Carry pictures of him and you, with you, in case you need to
identify, he is your cat. You also want to have his health papers with you,
shots records, and rabies certificate. Some states mandate rabies shots,
New York is one of them. Make sure his shots and rabies are up to date.
I highly recommend you do not take him out of his carrier, until you get to
the hotel, you run the risk of him getting loose. Cats that are shipped, are
in their carriers for days. They have newspaper or wee wee pads in the
bottom of the carriers. They are not, taken out of the carriers, at all, by
baggage handlers, or in the cargo hold, or if they have to stay overnight,
in the airport, for this very reason.
Make sure the hotel/motel you stay at is pet friendly. Some of the well
know ones are Red Roof, Days Inn, Super 8, Motel 6, Microtell, Comfort
Inn, La Quinta and some Holiday Inns. Some charge pet fees, some do not.
Some pet fees are non refundable, some are refundable, upon inspection
in the morning. Holiday Inn does this. If you stay at a hotel/motel, where
it is refundable, upon inspection in the morning, **always, always, always**,
tell them you want an inspection NOW. There is always some kind of
damage already in the room, and if you don't do it now, your cat will be
blamed for it in the morning, nice racket, for those that don't know. Go
thru the entire room, with the person, and make them write down, any
damage you already see, write it down, and get their name. Insist on an
inspection, now, or tell them you will not pay the pet fee, be firm.
Holiday Inn is famous for that, they hate me, I make them inspect it now.
Some hotels require the cat be confined to the bathroom, but its mostly
the higher end ones, so ask ahead, what the pet policy is.
****BEFORE**** you let your cat loose in the room, check under the bed
to make sure, there is nothing under there, he can get into, the cleaning
ladies do not clean under the bed, look for insect bait, rodent bait, any
holes in the wall, and behind the dressers. You would be surprised, what
has been found under the bed. I learned this the hard way. At one hotel,
Bumpurr found a choir boy, which is a cleaning product, and he chewed it
up. But, the even better part is, this particular choir boy, was not used
as a cleaning product, it had other uses, which Bumpurr could of died
from. The hotel had to pay his very expensive vet bill.
Be respectfull of the room, don't ruin it for other pet people. Put the litter
box in the bathroom, that way, if he spills any litter, you can sweep it up.
Carry a mini broom and pan with you, as well as a scooper, and some
plastic bags, like you get at the grocery store. In the morning, scoop out
his cat box, put it in the plastic bag, tie it up, and put it in the trash.
Don't just put the litter in the trash by itself. And don't just leave any
litter he spilled on the floor. It ruins it for the rest of us.
Carry a spare blanket with you, in case the weather is bad/cold, so you
can put it around the cage, when you take him in and out. When you do
have to stop, do not leave him unattended for very long, and make sure
the doors are locked.
If you do have to stop for a lenght of time, park the car, where you can see
it, and keep an eye on it.
Been doing this a long time, and this is the safest and most effecient way
to travel with your cat. Have a good trip! I am in NY state, if you need
anything or run into trouble. |  |  | |  |
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5
I apologize if this sounds like a stupid question.
We've taken cats with us up to Kansas City before, but that's only a two or three hour trip. We've never taken cats on any trips longer than that.
) Mostly, we don't use the litterboxes, but, if the situation warrants - we do. I have to add: we all *hate* "the trip"! But we're glad when we're with Mom in the mountains. 
uh, I mean KITTY seat, from which he enjoys the view or sleeps as we go. Then I hook the lead (connected in the back of his seat) to his harness, put the back seat in place again and off we go! When I find a good rest stop without wandering dogs, I stop and take him for a spin on the leash. Tag also walks on the leash. He will only poo in his own yard or in his litter box, though, or I’d just let him take care of his business on leash.