Traveling with Pets

Goals of Trip: Safely roadtrip from one part of the country to another with my four-legged friends

Keywords: Pets, Roadtrip, Rest Stops

Don’t forget to pack:

• Leashes, harnesses, and pet identification 

• Pet food, snacks, and medications 

• Carriers, water bottles, and toys

Travel

Somehow I’ve ended up in the position of driving my animals across the country, more than once. I’ve moved from the South to the West to the Midwest and back again with pets in tow everytime. Now I’m neither a pet moving expert, nor an animal health specialist, but I’ve picked up a few tips that other folks might appreciate if you’re planning a roadtrip with your four-legged friends, whether they’re the feline or canine variety.

I recommend several products in this post purely out of good experiences with them. This is not a sponsored post and we are not earning commission for these recommendations (but we’re open to it!)

Cats

My cat, Yuki, has been dragged from Tennessee to Colorado, and back again. She’s a tortoiseshell calico, with the attitude to match and her idea of a good time is sleeping or causing wanton destruction. Needless to say she is not thrilled whenever she has to go in the car, but I’ve figured out a couple of tricks to make it easier on both of us.

Yuki in a moment of calm.

The Night Before the Trip

The night before the trip, I take up her food and water early in the evening. Since she’s not potty trained and I want to limit the number of pit stops she’ll need to make on road trips. I also leave her carrier out where she can use it. (To be fair, I do this all the time, to make her comfortable with her carrier. It’s in a cozy spot in the house where she can crawl inside and take naps.) This ensures she’s not scared of the carrier when it comes time for her to go inside and she thinks of it as a safe space. 

Yuki demanding food directly from the fridge.

There are tons of pet carriers on the market, but I actually use the Wild One pet carrier. Yes, it’s marketed for dogs, but it’s chic, TSA-approved, flexible and easy to clean, and matches her travel harness (also from Wild One). As a cat, she fits perfectly inside the carrier, which is designed for animals less than 16lbs, and her harness is size XS.

When it’s time to get on the road in the morning, I start by taking up her litter box. Always, always, always: the litter box should be the last thing to be packed up and the first thing to be unpacked/set up! This helps make sure that the cat isn’t going to panic pee all over the carpet when you’re in a new place. 

In the Car

Then it’s cat wrangling time. While she might be comfortable with her carrier, the harness is a different story. She associates the harness with the car, and the car with going to new places, like the vet. Luckily, I’ve figured out how to slip her into the harness with minimal struggle. I know it might seem odd to put her in a leashed harness, in a carrier, but I refuse to experience the terror of having her jump out of the car at a rest stop in the middle of nowhere (yes, this is a true story, no I will not share it here).

Yuki in her Wild One harness at the vet.

Then while she’s still trying to shoot lasers at me out of her eyeballs, I give her a couple of calming treats. These VetriScience ones have worked wonders for Yuki–but it was very much a trial and error process, figuring out which anti-anxiety treats work best for her and finding ones that she would actually eat. Again, not an animal health professional, but these really helped keep her relaxed during the 16-hour road trip across the country.

Once she’s had her treats, it’s into the carrier and on the road. Now when I'm in a regular car, her carrier goes in the middle back seat, usually locked into place by other bags and items, with the seat belt looped through the top handles. This gives me the illusion of her security and it ensures she’s exposed to blowing air from the vents, and I can see her from the rearview mirror. When it’s UHaul time, her carrier goes in the cab with me buckled into the passenger seat. I have her carrier facing me so she hopefully has some reassurance about the situation (I doubt my carpool karaoke does much for her). 

Rest Stops

Whenever I stop to refuel, I choose big rest stops like Love’s which are ridiculously clean, and usually have pet rest areas or dog runs. If Yuki is asleep I don’t wake her (much like sleeping dragons, let sleeping cats lie), but if she’s awake I see if she wants any water–I use this pet travel water bottle for both the dog and the cat. If she’s curious I try to take the carrier out of the car to the rest area, away from any dogs or other animals, and as far away as possible from the road (it’s impossible to balance those variables but I try), to see if she wants to pee. Usually she’s too anxious so she just stays in the car. And, if she’s really anxious and it’s been 6-8 hours since her first calming treat, I’ll give her another one so she can relax for the rest of the trip. 

Arrival

 Once we make it to our destination, the first thing I do is grab her food and water bowls, fill them up and set them in a corner somewhere. Then I set up her litter box (usually in a nearby area). Then I take the grumpy and tired Yuki out of the car and deposit her next to her litter box and food. Now I typically use a room or a corner of the place that is quiet, cozy, and out of the way so she can start to feel calm and secure after her cross-country experience. I know it’s an extremely stressful journey for her and I try to give her as much time and space as she needs to recover, but I usually see her slinking around exploring her new digs as I’m getting ready for bed.  

Yuki as one of the Bene Gesserit for Halloween.

Dogs

I’ve had dogs my entire life, however, as an adult, I’ve dated people with dogs rather than having one myself (trust me, juggling the single pet parent responsibilities of Yuki is more than enough stress). But my current boyfriend and I roadtrip to visit our respective families instead of flying when we want to take the dog, Porkie.

Porkie is a Texas mutt, half awesome, half amazing, and singularly motivated by bbq (hence her name). She’s a 65lb snuggle bug who loves treats, swimming, and stealing your side of the bed. Porkie loves a good car ride because that means she’s usually getting some kind of adventure or treat out of the experience, but long road trips are just as exhausting for her as they are for us. But, just like road tripping with Yuki, we’ve figured out a few tips and tricks to make the experience smoother for everyone. 

Porkie in her natural state.

The Night Before

The night before the trip Porkie gets less at dinner than usual and far fewer treats. We take up her water bowl before bed as well. Even though she’s potty trained and a veritable road trip champ, we don’t want her to strain her bladder on the long stretches between rest stops. Since we travel pretty frequently she knows when we’re about to head out, but she’s always thrilled to come along. And, since she likes car rides, we don’t have to give her any calming treats like I do with Yuki.

In the Car

In the morning we load up; since she’s a medium-large sized dog she gets the entire back seat to herself, which means packing all the bags in the trunk of the car. She also sheds like she’s a relative of sasquatch so we have a seat cover like this one that saves us a lot of time and energy cleaning up after she rides along. It also acts like a natural barrier, preventing her from riding shotgun (which she loves to do on short rides around town). We typically give her a hard chew toy to gnaw on during the trip to keep her occupied and as a natural stress reliever. Enjoying car rides is one thing, surviving 12-hour road trips is another. 

Porkie on her way to meet her canine cousin, Lily.

Rest Stops

Again, whenever it’s time to refuel we choose big rest stops like Love’s or Buc-ee’s because a lot of their locations have fenced-in or designated areas for dogs. Porkie’s not a bolter and knows that cars are dangerous, so we don’t have to worry about her making a break for it anytime we open the car door, however, her collar stays on the entire trip. When it’s time to stretch her legs, we slip on her harness (nothing fancy, just a regular old harness like this one) and she trots over to the grass to do her business and of course, sniff all the new smells. Since Yuki’s Wild One harness came with a matching waste bag carrier, it’s come in handy for Porkie poop bags. 

At rest stops she gets small snacks–we know she’s hungry but we don’t want any canine car sickness or emergencies in the backseat, hence limited food. We use these collapsible dog bowls, they’re everywhere these days and very handy. She also has the same portable water bottle as Yuki and she has no problems using it. We do bring a large water bottle to refill her water bottle on the road–she’s an older dog now and while we don’t want her to strain her bladder, we also don’t want her to get dehydrated. It’s a fine line to balance. 

Porkie asking why we’re driving through Kansas, again.

Arrival

If the weather is nice, we roll down the windows so Porkie can enjoy the smells, but by the time we reach our destination she is ready to get out of the car. She hops out, does her business, and then sniffs her new environment. While she’s entertaining herself in the new space, we bring in her food and water bowls. We always give her a big dinner after road trips, and of course, lots of snuggles. She’s always very excited to visit with people that she hasn’t seen in a while, and get reacquainted with her canine cousins. 

Porkie and Yuki relaxing at home in the evening.

Different animals have different needs, especially when they’re under stress from traveling, but these are just a couple of ways I’ve figured out to take some of the anxiety out of road trips with my four-legged friends.