I have to start by saying that our cats do particularly well in the car. Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the norm. Some of my family have had to sedate their animals for long car rides because they get so worked up. It really does depend on your pet and there’s only so much you can do to control that or help them to do well in the car. That said, here are some tips that we’ve found work for us and for Pepper and Sage.

First off, with both Pepper and Sage, we tried to get them acclimated to the car as soon possible, so right when we adopted them. Part of that was because we adopted them from family in New Hampshire, but were living in Montreal at the time so we knew they’d need to get used to that 5 or so hour road trip. They both made that drive when they were young, Pepper multiple times, and we brought them in the car many other times as well. Some of that had to do with their frequent vet visits (they both had sensitive stomachs/gastro issues) and some of it was just us going for drives and choosing to take them with us. We’d suggest trying to do something like this with your young or even not young cats to get them more acclimated to being in the car.

We also worked to give them positive associations with the car. For us this meant treats, having toys in the car, and lots of attention. We also always let them roam free in the car which isn’t practical for everyone, but seems to help Pepper and Sage. Honestly, they mostly stay in their carrier or in one spot now anyways, but if we tried to close them in they would definitely not be happy. When Pepper was a kitten though she used to perch on my shoulders, laying across the back of my neck which was just the cutest thing ever.

Now that we’re doing travel nursing, the cats are getting used to MUCH longer road trips than from NH to Montreal. Sage has also developed a bit more anxiety about being in the car since we were in Myrtle Beach, but thankfully that does seem to be getting better. The biggest thing they seem to need is their own space (which can be tough when you’re packing your life into one car!). But we make sure their carrier, food, water, litter box, and another spot to lie down (they don’t both fit in the carrier very well anymore) is accessible in the same general area. They basically get the entire back seat.

We’ve also found that they are really different in what works best for them in the car. Sage likes to be in the carrier 95% of the time; she seems to like to feel closed in and more secure. Whereas Pepper loves just sleeping and snuggling on our laps for most of the car ride. Find what works best for your pet and, if possible, go with it! They both get treats every now and again and a new thing we’ve been trying in the car is catnip. Apparently when cats eat catnip (versus just smell it) it can have the opposite effect and calm them down. Our cats are all about eating the catnip, so this seems to work well if they’re getting a little stressed.

All in all, we’re so thankful that Pepper and Sage do as well as they do in the car. Travel nursing would certainly be much more difficult if they hated the car!

how do your pets do in the car?