vacation house and taking cat

Question
our permanent home is on a 3 acre semi wooded piece of land that is full of wildlife and our cat has his way with playing in all of that area.  He comes home 2-3 times per day to eat and say hello and he sleeps inside.  We have recently purchased a weekend lake retreat and I am not comfortable taking our cat to the new location because I am afraid he will run away, yet I'd like to be able to spend the night there and know our cat is with us and OK.  What is the process to help him know he has '2 homes' now?

Answer

Katie In Cage Kathy,

The very best thing I found for that type of situation is a 'dog crate'. I am taking care of a neighbor's cat for two weeks and I couldn't let the cat loose in the house with my cats, plus I couldn't take a chance on it getting outside because I would never be able to catch her again. I went to Petco and found this wire cage that was perfect! It's 48x32x30. She can stay in it comfortably for an extended period of time. There is room inside for me to put a medium cat carrier without the door on to sleep in for my neighbor's cat to sleep in (and hide!) and she can sit on top of the carrier to look out the window, a litterbox, her food and water, a small scratching post, and there is STILL a little room left. It has a solid plastic bottom and is open wire all around. No more worries!

I am attaching a (not very good) picture of my neighbor's cat in my 'dog crate'.

The cage folds out, or down, in one piece so there isn't anything to figure out how to put together (or take a chance on losing a piece). Of course it's large. and kind of heavy, so you can't really transport it in a VW, but you can just slip it in and out of the box (help with that makes it easier), and bring it with you.

When you are inside your new vacation home, and the doors are secured, you can open the cage door and let the cat explore and get used to the home and it's smells. Then you can put him back in the cage, let him look out the window, watch you, leave the doors open, etc., and you know he is safe.

I would also think about a 'walking jacket'. You can then take your cat outside safely to get used to the area. Here is a good link for teaching the cat to walk on one:

http://www.hdw-inc.com/leashtraining.htm

I hope this helps. If you would like advice on traveling with the cat safely send me a followup.

Carol