When your young cat was a small kitten, you may have worked to reduce travel anxiety by taking your kitten on short trips, leaving the carrier out for them to explore and providing positive reinforcement in the form of treats and toys while traveling. Now that they’ve grown a bit, you may be wondering how to travel with an anxious cat if early kittenhood experiences didn’t alleviate their road trip fears.
Do cats get stressed when traveling?
It’s not uncommon at all for cats to experience travel stress. Even if you did everything right when your young cat was a tiny kitten, they may still dislike traveling when they’re older. Reasons your cat dislikes travel could include:
- Lack of desensitization to the carrier or vehicle as a young kitten
- Traumatic experience associated with travel
- Anticipatory fear if they expect car trips to end at the veterinary clinic
- Motion sickness
- Generalized anxiety
- Disdain for restraint and restricted ability for movement
It’s more difficult to help an older kitten or young cat overcome their fear of travel. However, we do have several tips to make travel less stressful for you and your young cat.
Create positive associations with the carrier
It’s not too late to teach your young cat to love their carrier. We recommend leaving the carrier in a comfortable place in the house. You can spray cat pheromones into the carrier and occasionally leave treats, toys or catnip for your cat to enjoy.
Give yourself plenty of time
If you’re feeling rushed, your cat may pick up on your anxiety. You’re also more likely to unceremoniously put your cat in the carrier and speed to your destination. Instead, you should leave time to coax your cat into their carrier, calmly buckle their carrier into the car and safely drive to your destination.
Talk to your veterinarian about medications
If all else fails, your veterinarian can prescribe anti-anxiety medications like gabapentin that will help your cat remain calm during travel. These medications are usually given to your cat 1 to 2 hours prior to your anticipated travel. They may also help to make it easier for your cat to be handled if they have anxiety during veterinary visits.
If your cat is still a young kitten, learn more about how to travel with your kitten. It’s prime time for desensitization!
