Take kitten with me on weekend trip or leave at home?

Hi, I have a 3 month old kitten that I got a few weeks ago. This weekend I have to go to my hometown for my cousin's wedding. It will be an 8 hr drive Thursday to where my boyfriend and brother are, then another 3 hr drive Friday, the 3 hr drive again on Sunday and 8 hr on Monday. I don't know how he'd handle that much driving. Would it be ok to leave him home alone? I work 12 hr shifts so he's used to being home alone for about 13 hrs. Unfortunately I'm in a new city and don't know anyone to come check on him. Or would it just be better to put him with a boarder? 

Personally, I wouldn't think that much driving would be good for the little guy, and if you don't have anyone who can check on him, I'd opt for boarding him.  

If you make a lot of road trips, and you want a travel buddy, I think its never too soon to start training him... but you also have to ask yourself certain questions regarding his safety

1.  Will it be too hot or too cold for the kitten?  When we travel to see my mom, even though we get a hotel room, there are always severals hours here and there that we have no place for the cats except in the car... so in the dead of winter and the heat of summer they just can't go.  Even 15 minutes unattended in a vehicle is dangerous.

2.  Will the kitten have a safe place to stay where you are staying? are there dogs, other cats or young children that will pose a danger to your kitten? what is the chance she could accidentally get out and get lost in a strange place?

3. How does your kitten do in the car?  Is this going to be a major stressor for it, and does it have any prior experience in the carrier?

We never used to crate train our cats.. and as a result, they never got used to it and it was a huge punishement to be in a crate.  All our cats now are crate trained, and its wonderful.  We leave the crates out and the cats often decide to go in for a little quiet time and a nap, so crating them for vet visits and road trips is no big deal.  Our cats also like to travel with us.  Tati gets a little too hyper, but she loves walking on the leash and is not scared of new environments at all, she likes to explore, so frequent stops with her are a must.  Snowy just likes going for rides, you can put her bed in the backseat and take off for 10 hours and she will be like, oh, are we here already - but she is deaf, and new places are not as much fun for her so she doesn't explore as much and likes to stick close to her humans.

When you get to your destination, how much time are you going to have to spend with your kitten?  

Does your kitten eat dry food, or do you feed it wet food.  If you leave the kitten alone, the biggest things are of course who is going to keep up on the litter and the feeding.

I am not sure what the conditions are where you would board the kitten and to me that makes a big difference. What is the size of the place where she will be kept? Will she be in a small kennel, or free roam of a whole room.  As for pet sitters, do you have a regular vet?  The vet techs at my vets office will do pet sitting for extra money, and will also come to your home twice a day to feed and play (or even once a day for a lesser fee).

I think the temp will be fine for him. I'm going to FL but it's cooling down and I'll mainly be driving in the evening/at night. There's no other animals or small children where I will be. I'll be home visiting with my family most of the time so I'll be around to play with him. He is very used to the carrier, he plays all over it. However as soon as we get in the car he gets nervous and shakes and meows. But he does calm down and go to sleep after a while. He will have to do the 8 hr drive in a month as my current job is a temporary position and I will be moving back to FL soon, so maybe I should go ahead and take him so he's calmer on moving day. 

Personally, I would leave the kitty at home.  I know my kitties would HATE that trip (although yours might be different).  Maybe you can look around for a pet sitter to stop by once or twice a day to play with him and feed him.  Ask around for recommendations or find highly rated ones. 

Oh, that is a tough decision. I am not sure what I would do. I know that I would hate to leave my kitties alone (I worry alot) but I also don't think they would be okay with all that driving. A small kitten may be different though. He may enjoy the ride and be just fine. Only you really know your kitten best and the right thing to do for him. If you have no one who can check on him at least once a day while you are gone, then you may feel better taking him with him. I really don't like boarding a pet, as they can catch anything there and become ill. I am sure you will decide the best for your kitty. Good luck and have a safe trip!

Well knowing that you will be moving in a month, especially if you are visiting where you are moving to, I think I would take him... but thats just me, I love my road trip kitties... and you will probably be more stressed when you are moving so it will be easier to deal with a kitty who is used to traveling - but if you think you will be more stressed for this trip than when you move, then I wouldn't.  If your cat is nervous in the car, then it may take him awhile to get used to it.  I am sure whatever decision you make will be the right one.

If you decide to take the kitty it helps to have familiar items with his scent on them. (i.e. put his blanket in the carrier, or his cat bed).  If you have not already gotten him used to a leash and collar, and you plan on using one, the more time he has to get used to its scent and feel, the better... but the first cat we ever leash trained was 15 when we started training, and she learned on a car trip.  We did everything wrong, but it still worked out.    Our cats love to watch what is going on out the car windows, so if you can place his carrier up high so he can see out, thats a good thing.  Will you be traveling with another human?  Its safest for the pet to be in a carrier, but there are always two of us, and I bring a pillow and usually have a cat on my lap.  If you are traveling alone though, don't let the kitten become a distraction from your driving trying to fidget with the cat.  If the cat is climbing all over the car and under your feet while you are driving, this is a very unsafe situation!  Sorry, not trying to be preachy, just practical.  We have enough distractions while driving.

Good luck, and hope you have a great trip whatever you decide.

I have four cats. Three have zero problems with car rides. One doesnt like it. Two started in the car,as kittens and one I used to take everywhere. Theyve gone on up to 16 hour trips but with an overnight stay after 12 hours. I take water and a liteeerbox, letting them out to stretch, roam the car and potty a couple times per trip. If your kitten will be tt traveling as he gets older, its a great time to start acclimatng him. Eight hourshours for a first trip is long...but only you k ow youre kitty. Make sure your carrier ia a soft one at thw bottom..and has sturdy aides tat wont cave in amd you can use the seatbelt to buckle in the carrier. Take him on short trips to get him used to the car and make sure he poops before a car ride.

If you dont take him, I personally would not leave him alone for that long, especially nbeing a kitten. What if the water spills or he gorges Iin his food? Or if he gets really anxious, wondering where you are or gets sick? I dont trust the pet sitting companies though simply because they are a stranger and mmy cat cant tell me how hes being treated. Boarding, for me, is also not an option. Ive heard too many horror stories and most cats and dogs get very stessed out with boarding. I recommend calling
the local vets and see if they have a tech who pet sits or know of a pet sitter. At least you know more about them that way. You can ask local rescues the same thing...pet sitters may volunteer there or they may know one. I think the key is finding someone through a reputable source.

I think spending that much time in a car, and then at a strange house/hotel would be far more stressful than leaving him home alone for several days.  That's the beauty of cats--they do FINE by themselves for short periods of time!  I'd say either have a neighbor check on him a couple times while you're gone to refill his food and water and scoop his litter box, or just buy a gravity feeder with a large capacity and fill it to the brim with dry food.  Also, if you're going the no-neighbor route, be sure to leave out several bowls of water for him so he doesn't run out (or get one of those cool kitty fountains that constantly circulates the water).  From what I remember, they have a fairly large capacity holding tank and should provide him with enough water for several days.

Thanks for the advice everyone. I ended up taking him with me. He did pretty well with just one accident on the way down, but in my hurry to get going I forgot to take his food and water away a little before we left. When I was on the second part of the trip, I rode in the back with him and let him out while my boyfriend drove. He took a little while to acclimate and explore and then was playing with everyone. My family all loved him. 

Oh, I am happy that you decided to take your kitty with you and all went well. You are the only one that really knows your kitty and would know what is best for him. I also think him being so young helped in your favor. An older kitty who isn't used to car rides may have stressed too much. Anyway, so glad your trip went well. How was the wedding??
Of course, your family all loved him.
Who can not love an adorable little kitten??
Post a picture of your kitty if you can.
We all love kitty pictures! !

This is Rory. He's a bit bigger now. This is from when I first got him. He's growing so fast!

Rory's adorable!  Glad you had a great time.  Sorry for the accident.  Did you have a litter pan in the car and he missed that? or was it an accident in his carrier?  LOL... not that it matters... just glad you all had a good time!

Oh what a cute kitty!  I'm glad it worked out to take him with you.  

Rory is a beautiful kitty, simply gorgeous!
I know what you mean about growing too fast. One day they are tiny and in the blink of an eye, they are full grown.
Don't worry, Rory will only get more adorable as he grows up.

He is so cute! Thank you for the update and I am glad he had a good trip! I am so glad I take mine on trips...with some practice, they do so well!

It was in the carrier before the first potty break. I had a litter box for him to use but he didn't use it at all. He just held it on the 8 hr trip back. 

My cats didn't use the litter box for the first long trip we took them on, but the second, one of them used it before we were barely out of the parking lot.    Had to stop and scoop before we got on the highway.

Its sort of odd, my cats will use the grass planter we have out on the balcony for them, but they don't like to go while we are walking them.  I guess they are just shy... as soon as we get back from an hour walk, they head to the litter box.