Taking cats home for thanksgiving

Hi everybody!

I've had my two kittens for about three months now, and everything has been going along great - they are both about five and a half months now. Thanksgiving is coming up, and I need to go back to visit my family (they live five hours away by car). My parents are perfectly willing to have my kittens come stay with us, and I think we'll set aside a guest room for them to sleep and play in ... my question is, do you think they'll be okay with a different environment? I hate to board my kittens, and I don't know anyone I can ask to drop by, so i thought taking them along (especially since my parents are welcoming) would be a great idea. Anyone else have a similar experience taking their cats on trips?

Thanks!!
Dara

I would try taking them a few different places over the next few weeks - like to a friend's house, PETsMART, etc. See how they react. Some cats adjust quickly to new situations and others are fearful. If your cats don't mind traveling and being new places, then by all means take them. But if they are really freaked, then it would probably be better to hire a petsitter. Your vet may be able to recommend a petsitting service or perhaps one of the techs or assistants at your vet's office does petsitting as a side job.

Some of my cats are fine with it and some aren't. It really just depends on the cat. How long are you going to be away for? If it is only a couple days, you could just have a neightbor drop in one of the days to make sure all is well and refill the water or something. You could just leave food and water and clean boxes out for a couple days and they should be fine. Make sure they have toys. They have each other to stay entertained too.

If you do take them home with you, you probably should keep themjust in a small room like you said. That way there will be no accidents and they won't be too overwhelmed. If there are going to be a lot of people there, don't let everyone come in to see them at once if they aren't used to that kind of thing.

I definitely agree with taking them on short trips to get used to the car and places like the pet store and friend's houses to get used to different places. Oliver travels between my apartment, his kitty sitter's and my parents house (ie: a short break like Thanksgiving, I don't make him go on the 4 hour each way drive home, so he goes to the sitter's, but longer breaks like Christmas, he comes with)... he's ok in the car and we have our little system, but he always needs some time alone to adjust to wherever we're going (even though he's been to all these places MANY times).... so I'll get him inside and set up before doing anything else and he will usually go and hide somewhere he knows he's safe for awhile (even if it's coming back to my apartment, which where the majority of his time is spent)... just think of it like when you first brought them home: they will need some adjustment time. Is it possible to get (maybe your parents can mail) something from the room they'll be in so they can get used to the smell of the place? Maybe a blanket or pillowcase or something? You should also throw one or two of your dirty (well, more like worn) shirts in the room with them when they first get there so something smells familiar (and we all know college students bring plenty of laundry home to do!) Just try to make them as comfortable as possible and make sure you visit them frequently in that room while they're there....