Your cat, in particular, might be better off and a whole lot less stressed if you leave her at home under the care of a professional pet sitter. Cats don't generally travel well, and they don't appreciate being thrust into unfamiliar surroundings. The possibility of Bella freaking out and getting away from you either in transit or once in FL is too great.

Check with your area vets, groomers, and dog or cat clubs to get the names of reliable pet sitters, then check their references carefully. Anna may enjoy accompanying you to FL, but I'd be willing to bet that Bella would rather stay home.

Laurie

I agree with Laurie. I've traveled many times with animals and after seeing what a Scion is, I don't think you'll have room for the dog, cat, and luggage. The cat would need a cage large enough to hold her and a small litter box for it to be a comfortable trip. Plus, dealing with a cat in strange places and during travel is much different than dealing with dogs.

Since she's so young, she won't be as traumatized as an older cat to stay in a boarding facility. Look for one that specializes in cats and allows each cat a room with 'trees', toys, lounging areas and maybe even windows. You're starting early enough to look around for boarding, but don't hesitate in booking something since during the holidays the good places will fill up months ahead of time.

When I (reluctantly) travel, my neighbor and her children come to my house and spend quality time with the kitties. Dogs may love their people, but cats truly love their homes. So the least stress for a kitty is to stay in their own home. If there's another neighbor on your street with kitties you can probably set up a very informal exchange arrangement to care for each other's kitties when either of you are out of town.

If that fails, I'd recommend a pet sitter. Your vets office can probably recommend someone. There may even be vet techs there who do pet sitting on the side.

Or try this - http://www.novapetsitters.com/

Two weeks is a long time, so make sure the arrangement includes time spent with the kitty each day, not just feeding and cleaning the litter box.

I think a lot depends on the cat. My daughter had a tomcat that was relocated between Florida and California twice. She provided a carrier for the car and a collapsible cage for litter box breaks. He died at age 19 in California. My first cat was very attached to me and when we traveled I boarded him but each time we had problems when he came home, turned into an escape artist after being an indoor cat for the first half of his life. This was after a boarding stint. My current cat now travels with us, I provide a comfortable carrier, she wears a harness which I attach to a short leash. I put a small cardboard box on the floor lined with a plastic bag with litter which I can close up and toss if needed. She's never had any hesitation about using this if she needs to. We open the carrier and let her roam the back seat or passenger side but she usually ends up getting back into her carrier. She meows for about 5 minutes until she realizes she's not going to the vet and then settles down. If I'm driving she tries to sit on my lap but we discourage that with the leash and she will settle for between us or somewhere else. I think if cats get used to car rides, traveling with them is less stressful for the owners and I think also for the cats. I think if one's cat has a partner at home, staying home may be preferable if someone can come in every day. There is an herb called rescue remedy that is supposed to help them but we've never needed it. Hope this helps.

I agree it would be better if you left your cat at home, and just took the dog. Cats don't like change at all..Get a neighbor or petsitter to come in and feed and play.

Definitely leave kitty at home. if at all possible. If not, start visiting kennels where you can leave her for the time you are gone.

You said your kitty doesn't like car rides... I have known cats that do travel well, but they have always been ones that are fond of being in the car. If yours is not, she will be miserable on the car ride down, and probably downright terrified of a plane trip. (That's assuming you would be allowed to have her as a carry-on-- she would probably need to travel in an approved container in the cargo hold. Think about other passengers with allergies, a potentially terrified and yowling cat smelling up the plane with litter odors... I can almost promise that your kitty would not be allowed as a carry-on.)

Staying at home would be the best option, but if you can't find a pet sitter or reliable neighbor to check on her regularly, then at least at a kennel, she will have a stable environment for the time that you're gone. The down side of a kennel, though, is risk of infection... We kenneled our two cats a few years ago, at a place that came with multiple references, was very clean, required all vaccination certificates, etc. When we brought our cats home, one was fine, but the other came down with a raging respiratory infection a few days later. (She's fine now, but it required a vet trip and some antibiotics to clear up.)

If she goes down with you, there's WAY too much of a risk that she will freak out and escape, as a previous poster mentioned. Please please PLEASE leave kitty at home!!!

I am probably the biggest lover of animals but I don't want to take my guys on vacation with me. I have a reliable mature petsitter. She comes and stays with my 3 labs and 3 cats. She takes great care of my guys, lots of love. I actually used her twice during the time my youngest 2 labs were pups. I had to work and they needed a daytime break. She did lunch hour for me. She waters the plants, brings in the mail, etc.She enjoys her time her as well. I have a pool and a king size bed. I leave her little "presents" and always send a post card and bring a souvenier. She leaves me notes from each day because she nows what a nut I am about my pets. I would do anything for my petsitter. I found her through a pet sitting service in my area. She no longer works for them since she found herself stretched too thin, but she did continue to sit for us. I understand you will be away from home for 2 weeks, but I think your pets would be more comfortable in their own home. One year I had my petsitter for a month. I had planned trip to OBX and unexpectedly, a trip to the Northern Arctic came up that I didn't want to pass on. I was unable to communicate with the petsitter during most of the time in the Arctic. I had my mom call and talk with her to be sure everything was okay. I always leave my vet's number, call the vet ahead of my trips so that they are aware that my petsitter is in charge of decisions and leave a stocked fridge of her favorites. Whatever you decide, have a wonderful trip!

I think two weeks is too long a time to leave an "only" cat home alone (especially one this young). Do you know anyone that would stay at your home for the two weeks? Or... how about taking your cat to someone's house for the two weeks? My mother "cat-sat" my 6 mo. old kitten at her house for 5 days. The first day or two he was kind of freaked out but after that he acted like he'd lived there his whole life. He loved the round the clock attention he got (much more so then if he had been home alone with a pet-sitter stopping by).

Anyhow, since your question was really, fly or drive, I would choose fly (but I've never done either). We have a vacation condo that is 22 hours away (3 by plane). Plenty of retirees that own there take their cats back in forth from their primary homes to their vacation condo.

I think flying is a better option because your cat may be uncomfortable for 5 or 6 hours but after that will have your company for two weeks straight. Good luck and let us know what you decide.

Thanks for the responses. The Scion XB is bigger than 1 would think. No problem getting a crate big enough for litter and cat, plus luggage. But we will try to find someone she can stay with, thats Our #1 choice. Would prefer not to just leave her at the house and have some one come by daily, she would be pretty lonesome, but I'm sure 1 of our friends can look after her. Anna loves car rides so that isnt a problem. Received weird info from the rescue organization. They stated she hated car rides, was house broken and no seperation anxiety. Wrong on all accounts, lol But she has adjusted wonderfully, only the odd mistake in the house now!! Thanks all

I took my 6 mo. old kitten to my mom's for a short visit tonight. He stayed there in late August for four days. When I let him out of his carrier he ran right under the bed; he didn't stay there very long though, and started re-exploring.

I believe he remembered the house well because he went right over to where his placement was when he stayed there and sniffed around as if to say "where's my food?!?"

So... if you find someone to take your cat for the two weeks, it might be good for kitty to make a few short visits to the house while you are present. Put a litterbox where it will be while you are on vacation and a placemat with her usual dishes and food. The visits will be less stressful because you will be there with your kitty (familiar people). Then when she goes there for the two weeks, it will not be a total shock.

UPDATE:

After discussing it with our vet, we decided to take our dear Bella (cat) with us on the nearly 14 hr car trip from VA to FL. Our vet did a complete physical on Bella to ensure she was in good health. She then prescribed 10mg of Acepromazine. with instructions of giving her only half a tablet. Half a tablet should last anywhere from 8-12 hrs.

We gave her a half about an hr prior to the trip. She got pretty dopey, 3rd eyelid came down, and she travelled very well. Meowed a bit. We put her in a nicely lined big dog cage,lots of room to lay down. Had water and a small tray with her cat litter. And yes she did use the litter once to go pee. On the way down and back, when not in the kennel, she comfortably slept on my wifes lap. I would say the affects lasted around 10 hrs. By the time we got to Florida, she was pretty back to normal , if normal and cat can ever be used in the same sentence!!

We brought down on of her cat trees, and she had a lot of area to roam in the house. I think all went well and would do it again if we had to. Our breeders cat just gave birth to 4 Siberian kittens, 2 males, 2 females, so we will be adding 1 more to ur family 10-12 weeks from now.

Hope everyon eis having a safe and enjoyable festive season. Cheers