Traveling with pets

SillyMangoX

Hi everyone so after attending the TICA cat show in April I have been bitten by the bug and am going entering one of my cats (possibly 2) into the upcoming competition in December. Im defiantly bringing up the two of them, and entering Peach. I might enter Cream but hes coming along for the journey regardless as the two would be lost without each other. My concern is we will be traveling from Clare to the Red Cow. The farthest my cats have gone in the car is 30/40 mins to Limerick to the vets and they cry the whole way there but are grand on the way back. Has anyone any suggestions to ease the journey for them? Even if you travel with dogs Im sure any tips would come in handy! Im thinking of getting them a canves carrier each as it would be more comfortable than stuffing the 2 of them into the one plastic carrier.We most likely will travel up the day before and stay the night. We might stay 2 nights. And anyone who has had cats stay in a hotel room, any tips for getting them to settle? Thanks

Themadhouse

My coon likes a top opening wire carrier and the top left open while we ate travelling.
It will be easier if you have a carrier each for the travel and show.
For the hotel before you let them out make sure you hide all breakables, check for holes under sink etc. we bring a small scratch post, some favourite toys, take the door off a front opening carrier so they can use it as a bed, a litter tray which we put in the bathroom.
We keep the tray and food and water in the bathroom as when it comes to checking out its easier to clean up( we bring paper towel, disinfectant, small brush and pan. We also remove all rubbish inc litter and bring it home.
A bit of feliway spray might help them settle too.

christmas2012

cat nip and some toys could help and dont forget to bring water as they get dehydrated when they are stressed with all the pacing and meowing..

Cherry Blossom

Is it possible your cats get wound up in the car because they associate it with going to the vets?

I would try to take them out as much as you can between now and the show, obviously you can't take them somewhere nice like the park that they can run around like you would with a dog to associate the car with going nice places but if you are just nipping to the shop for something or running errands you could bring them along just to dis-associate the car with going to the vets. Little short trips will help them get used to it in advance, if they have a favourite type of toy maybe only let them have it in the car, eg. something with feathers etc.

BeatrixP

Hi All,
I am wanting to bring my 2 pet rabbits with me from New Zealand to Ireland at the end of this year.
I'm trying to weigh up the pros and cons and i'm finding it very hard to get information about travelling with rabbits....
If they have to endure 6 months of quarantine i don't think its worth bringing them back with me, I've been told its 70 euro a day at the only quarantine place in Ireland!... With dogs & cats you can avoid quarantine if your pet has a pet passport...
Does any know if a Rabbit can get a pet passport? or is this just for cats & dogs?
I have just applied for a licence with the Department of Agriculture as suggested on their website but i couldn't find any information on quarantine on their site..
Has anyone ever tried importing pet rabbits? any information you can give me would be very much appreciated. Thanks BiBi

SillyMangoX

As far as I know pet passports only cover cats dogs and ferrets. To be honest I would find it really risky to import rabbits like that. I would imagine that the stress of moving them might be too much for them, they have a tendency to be very nervous creatures who like to bolt at danger, I could see them trying to bolt while in a carrier on a plane and doing themselves serious damage. But then again I haven't too much experience of them so maybe it can be done. But yes I would imagine they would have to do their 6 months in quarantine to enter the country!