Thread: Very Long Journeys with Puss

Its a tricky decision to make, His welfare comes first of course but when they want to charge me £400 to fly him and knowing it won't be quite so straightforward as when us humans fly anyway I'm really considering the drive, as one person I know who flew their cat, had to be at the airport 5 Hours prior to departure time so the airport vet could check the cat was healthy/had proper paperwork etc.. so with that in mind, it won't be a simple 2/3 hour flight.

I'm trying to reintroduce the harness and leash with him so he gets used to it so if we do decide to drive, then at least I can take him out to do his business and have breaks out of the car as well.

Well, we drove 450mls from Dundee to London with 2 x 1 yr old cats in the car with us who didn't know us from adam, though it helped that they knew each other and were in the same cage [actually a dog cage that the 2 jack russells normally travel in] and they were fine.

We had litter in the car and let them out about 1/3rd and 2/3rds of the way, with all the doors closed, which they sniffed at but didn't actually use, and offered them food & water at the same stops, though only small amounts to try and avoid any travel sickness issues. Other than that they spent most of the time curled up asleep - pretty sure they had a more enjoyable time than we did

I guess at the end of the day only you can know what is best for him as they are all different, but if he is normally ok in the car, I would drive him, at least he will have you there if he gets stressed, unlike the flight versions. On the otherhand if he is not a good traveller, flights might be better, as despite the time in the cage for vet checks, etc, the actually travelling bit is minimised.