We travel with a cat and a medium-sized (50 lb.) dog in our Town & Country Ltd. the woof rides in a large crate behind the driver with the passenger seat removed, and the meow rides in an airline-sized carrier with a seat belt notch in the top for the lap belt of the other passenger seat. As with a previous cat, he learned to delay his rest stop to synch with the rest of us after one sudden pitch into the litter face-first when the brakes were tapped too sharply while he was trying to eliminate. The door to the cat crate is left open at rest stops so he can use his tray while the rest of us do our thing, & when we have all gotten back to the car they can have water if they want it. (They usually don't). Car sickness is unusual, but can occur if we hit the road too soon after breakfast or give them dinner before we stop for the night. They have enough miles on them not to beg if the vehicle is in motion. Both the 1984-98 cat and the 2000-present cat are excellent travelers, silent in the crate at highway speeds and curious/exploring in metro areas. I highly recommend blue or gray tabby cats for mellow fellows. Orange/marmalades tend to wander, and tuxedos/persians are too highly strung & stress out too easily. The blue we have now and the silver tiger I had before stay close to us on the road and are not tempted to jump out at rest stops. My tiger was leash trained. The key to leash training is to start early, let them get used to the harness (NEVER a collar) and let them lead you, never drag them. If time is of the essence, just scoop them up under the tummy & tuck them into you like a football. They will get the hang of it if you allow plenty of training time (6 weeks-2 months), and if the course is a familiar one (like a nursing home) they may even challenge you to keep up! Our current blue enjoys evening walkies with the dog around the neighborhood but won't walk about on road trips, preferring the hotel room windowsill. If you must fly with a cat, make sure there are no plane changes if at all possible. A good travel agent is a must for this booking; do NOT trust websites for booking travel with animals. We have tried and they SUCK! The accommodations are missing, outdated or erroneous in nearly every instance, and rules for cats are nearly impossible to find even on pages supposedly dedicated to travel with pets. Our dog does not kennel well, but some of the better dog day cares don't use wire kennels/cages and this may be an option for a doggy stay-cation if traveling with the animal is prohibitive (as our Alaska flight of 3500 miles) The cat requires a sitter, as he insists on impeccable litter & regular tiny meals. He would gorge himself on a feeding station or break into a timed dispenser (he opens things). Being a social guy he also needs the companionship a sitter provides when we are away from him.

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