Traveling On Trains

[pazzo]

I live in New York in the outer boroughs. I'm taking my cats to a Manhattan vet. I've done the drive a couple of times and have had to deal with aggravating traffic jams resulting in a long and not-so-fun ride for the kitties. So, I'm thinking of taking them on the subway, which would be around a half hour each way. But, I'm concerned that they'll be terrified by the loud trains. Anybody have experience with taking their cats on train rides?

 

[LTS3]

Most cats are scared with being in a carrier anyways. To minimzie stress, you can spray the inside of the carrier with Feliway. Cover the carrier with a light blanket so the cat can't see out. Make sure the carrier is secure. A plastic carrier is best. You don't want your cat to claw it's way out of a soft sided duffel / backpack style type carrier and escape. I nearly had that happen once on the subway It was a brand new carrier, too, and it didn't hold up to cat claws.

 

[GoldyCat]

I travel with my show cats fairly often, so they're used to being in carriers for long periods of time. I do have one cat who flies very well but complains the whole way in an airport shuttle or a train.

I think you'll just have to try it out one time to see how they take it. How long is the train ride?

 

[daftcat75]

You could try to desensitize them with practice train rides.

 

[pazzo]

That's a good idea. Take them for a 1 stop ride. Definitely worth trying. Thank you all for your replies.

 

[MoonstoneWolf]

Just throwing this out there but my feral cats are now 100% used to all loud sounds. I have several recordings (as well as live cams) that I play on bluetooth speakers If they can survive very loud bald eagle vocalizations then they can endure anything. lol But just an idea. Even Sopdet, the one still needing to be domesticated is used to the sounds by now, as I plan on bringing them inside with me to stay when the time comes.