Going home for Christmas

Each cat is different, but if you think he would be happier going with you than staying home alone, I'd say go for it.

When I only had two kitties I took them with me to visit family, a 3-hour drive away. One of them was great and the other hid in the bedroom most of the time.

Now that I have five it's a lot harder to travel with them. When I left them for 4 days over Thanksgiving I figured they would keep each other company, plus a friend went in every day to feed and play with them. When I got home Miss Patchwillow (the one who hid at my sister's house) was mad at me. She wouldn't even let me pet her for the first little while. I guess that means I'm not supposed to travel. She doesn't like to go with me, but she doesn't want me to go without her either.

Before you head out, take him for short drives in the car now in the carrier. Do not go in the direction of the vet's but go other places. Give him a treat when you leave and when you get back.

Most cats stress because the only time they usually go in the car is to the vet's office! We have show cats. Whenever the carriers come out, Jack (and Charlie was) ready to jump in and go.

I take my cats with us when we go visit my dad. It's about a 6 hour drive one way and they do great. About an hour before I leave, I spray the car with Feliway. This helps them to not be so stressed about being in the car and in their carriers. I also take a hand towel and partially cover the back 2/3 of the top of the carrier so they have a "safe place" that's nice and dark. I put a litter box in the floorboard of the back seat and take along their food, bowls, some toys, water, old towel or blanket from my home that they've slept on, and any medicine they might need.

Once at my dad's I plug in a Feliway diffuser, put the litter box in its place, set out the bowls and put out food, and fill the water bowl with water. I also leave the bedroom door closed! Then I release them from their carriers and they're free to roam the room. Most of the time, they head for under the bed! I just leave them alone and let them calm down. Once we're finished bringing in all our junk, and the front door's closed for the night, I open the bedroom door and they're free to explore the rest of the house. At night, we sleep with the door closed and they're in the room with us. The first night is always the roughest because everything's still new and they're a bit unsettled. Things calm down the next night, though and all is good.

I've been doing this for the past 10 years and we've never had a problem. My older cat likes to hang out on the pile of blankets and pillows in the bottom of one of the bedroom closets in the room where we sleep (my old bedroom). We also have a window perch for them in one of the windows that they love to lay in and watch the world go by.

I've taken my cats on 2 day drive trips before. They don't love it, but they do just fine.

You have such a short drive, I would probably take him unless he just really freaks out in the carrier or car. At your parent's house, I would keep him confined to one room though probably so he doesn't get overwhelmed by all the new people and places.

It all depends on your kitty. If he's happier being with you then take him along, it's not too long of a car ride so he should be fine. At the same time 4 days isn't THAT long of a time, get an automatic feeder/waterer and maybe leave an extra litter box out. I think the longest I've left a kitty home alone was for about 3 weeks. I just had a friend come over once a week to make sure her feeder was filled, she still had water and to clean out the litter boxes. Good luck

I'm actually making a similar trip this Christmas with my boy--for the first time. You might check out my thread (Christmas visit-long) to see how I'm organizing this.

I'm naturally concerned about how he'll adjust to a strange environment, but I adopted him just about 18 months ago from a shelter, and he adjusted immediately to my house--he's a rather 'laid back' guy.

He really likes being with me, so I think this might work out--at least I hope so.

Hey Happily Retired! I just responded to your thread and was going to suggest the same thing!

I make a 5 hour one way trip with my 3 cats several times a year. At my in-laws (my dad's not a big fan of cats so we always opt to stay at my in-laws for the sake of my dad's stress levels) we always set up the cats in the same room. Litter box, food, water, toys, etc. The first couple visits we kept them confined to that room. On a visit when we were there longer than a few days we kept them confined to the room for the first day or two, then introduced them to the rest of the house and the 2 resident cats. Now the trip up there is no problem at all for our cats - they treat it like a second home and we don't need to confine them at all. They know that room is "theirs" and it's a safe place for them to hide/hang out. One of my cats is a little more timid and he prefers to spend most of his time in that room.