Pets and cars
By NICK BARNETTRight about now, some of you must be thinking about a long road trip in the company of at least one of your pets. Well, I've just made my very first long car trip with both dogs along for the ride. It was a journey that left us all drained but happy.
How pets handle cars - riding in them, keeping out of the way of them - is an issue for most pet owners, whether the pet is dog, cat or rabbit.
My partner and I are lucky that our dogs are happy travellers - have been since the first time we got them. At 14 weeks old, Phoebe insisted on sitting on the front-seat passenger's lap all the way from the breeder's farm on her first trip to our house, 80 minutes' drive away. It was the start of our discovery that very little fazes Phoebe; she's got no shortage of curiosity and confidence.
Nowadays, Phoebe would still love to sit up front, where she clambers as high as she can on lap, armrest, window ledge or dashboard for the best view. But we've got into the habit of crating her and Connor and placing them in (we think) greater safety on the back seat.
Connor was also an unworried car traveller from the start. He and Phoebe see the car as a glittering portal to thrilling adventures, so it's no trouble to get them into their crate; a rattle of car keys and leashes, the appearance of an outdoor jacket or the donning of shoes will have the dogs trotting inside the crate in anticipation of the journey.
Until last Friday, all those journeys were pretty short. But we decided to take Phoebe and Connor with us to New Plymouth, where we'd booked for the Fleetwood Mac concert, so we were all in for a five-hour drive up and another back.
Despite a couple of breathers on the way, we arrived late at night with two dogs uninterested in sleeping and determined to walk their little legs off and take in every smell of this new city.
The journey back was five hours of golden silence, as our exhausted dachshunds slept off the excesses of stimulation they'd had during our stay.
It's a pity they're both such small dogs, and won't ever experience that classic doggy joy of sitting on a passenger seat and poking their heads out an open window. Roaring along at 80kmh, it must be a heavenly onslaught of momentary smells and noises. (But not healthy for the eyes, I read somewhere.)
Cats are another story: they just don't seem to be built for car travel the way many dogs are. Both my former cat Pierre and current cat Merrick were suspicious of the car, and hated being in it.
Actually, Pierre didn't mind the car, so long as it remained in its place. Namely, a spot in the sun where he could jump on it and bask. Or in the garage on a cold day, where he could enjoy the fading engine heat of the bonnet for at least an hour.
Pierre had a point to make when meeting me returning from work. He'd wait for me at the start of the driveway, and weave exaggeratedly slowly towards the house as the car inched along behind him. It was as though he was saying to the car, "This is my territory, you go as fast or as slow as I choose."
By contrast, Merrick gives our car a wide berth, rarely venturing into the garage, and then only for a quick timid run to the door.
Not all cats are enemies of the car. My brother had a cat who happily travelled in the back seat - she'd just hop in and sleep for the duration of the journey. Have you known cats who did that? I think it's pretty unusual.
Do you have car-friendly pets? Is their car sense good, or did you have to instil it? How often and how successfully do you drive with your pets aboard?
Join Four Legs Good on Facebook.
Pictures: Reuters, Fairfax, Turelio
Sponsored links
Newest First
Oldest First
The only time the cats go in the car is to visit the vets, and the noise can only be described as "the wall of meow".
All my pets are awesome in the car. The two dogs jump around a bit and start to get yappy when they are near to where we are going (how they know exactly 1km away from Grandma's in beyond me) but they like to sit on the passengers lap with their head out the window.
The rabbit likes to snuggle on the passenger lap but with the 2 dogs taking over lap space she's often in a cage in the back.
The lizards like to cling to my clothes near my shoulder and will just sit there patiently until we get to our stop without any wriggling. I have good kids!
We did have an accident once when we were rear ended by an awesome courier driver. The dogs were on my lap (I was the passenger) and I was so instinctive about protecting them that I bent over covering them for the impact and only did myself damage. If they had been in the back seat unrestrained they would have gone out the window.
If we are going around town then our dogs just sit on the backseat of the car. If its a long distance trip then we put them in the crate. Our little pup is not worried about the car at all - ne normally curls up and goes to sleep within minutes. Our girl however has hated the car from day one. She pushes herself into a corner hangs her head and quivers uncontrollably. We've worked hard with the help of advise from trainers to cure her of this, and have made some progress, but as soon has we hit speeds of over 80km/h she reverts back to hanging her head and shaking. I feel so sorry for her especially on long trips because she doesn't relax at all and by the time we get to our destination she's a ball of pent up nervous energy.
My car has never shown any interest in the car, until the other day:
I left my wallet in the house and left the car door open, engine running, and popped inside to get it. About 30 seconds later, I jogged out of the house to find my cat TinkleKitten sitting up on the passengers seat, and my neighbours cat Garfield sitting up on the drivers seat. For all the world they looked ready to drive off. It was rather odd.
Our two (black labs 1y/o and 7y/o) are as different as chalk and cheese in the car. The younger girl pretty much curls up and goes to sleep straight away. The older boy is super excited in the car and would climb out the window to talk to passers by at any opportunity if we left the windown down far enough. He seems to get more excited when we slow down and tends to 'talk' the whole way, getting louder as we go. We know when he sleeps in the car on the way home from wherever that he is truly worn out!
Sanchez yowls when in the carry cage in the car, but if the car is just parked on the drive and a door or window is open he's straight in there for a nosey. Rambo doesn't seem to phased by being transported in the car, he might trill at me a couple of times and then just sits back to tolerate/endure it in stoic silence.
I've been told stories of a family cat that dad grew up with that would come on car trips ot the beach with the family, and stand with his back paws on the knees of whoever was sat behind the drivers seat and his front paws on my grandfather's shoulders (who would be driving) whilst getting the best view possible. This cat would also get out of the car and go for a paddle in the water once they'd reached whichever beach they were going to!
My border collie loves they car he insists on putting his head out the window and doggie car surfing.
We have 4 kitties: none like the car that much. The girls "relieve" themselves. The boys will yowl )the wall of yowl is about right) is they're in a box or carrier, but on a lap, our alpha boy is fine.
I had a tabby that would jump into any open car, made for some great trips. He nearly went south with my old neighbour, fortunately, she decided to check the back seat before she left for the ferry...
Another decided he would move himself and jumped onto my lap when I was leaving with the 2nd to last load and his buddy had hidden in the boxes in the car on the first load.
Our Bluey loves to sit either on the drivers shoulders or on the arm of a passenger and has to look out the window at the world. She gets snippy if she doesn't get little trips off our property.
The boys (cats) have only been in the car to go to the vets, and they don't really like it. They are very helpful unpacking the groceries though. Flint seems to have road sense though (touch wood). He is usually across the road when we get home. He looks both ways before crossing the road, and I have even seen him wait for a cyclist to go past before crossing to meet us.
The girls (large dogs) regularly go in the car. One of Holly's first trips was in an aeroplane and she had no problems and loves the car. She would prefer to be driving and often ends up travelling the crate because she just can't stay in the back. She is a real back-seat driver. Heather is much easier, and usually curls up and goes to sleep. She used to get carsick as a puppy and doesn't really like going in the car, but she likes the destinations, and doesn't want to be left behind.
Katherine Heigl's dress malfunction
One dead after driver flees checkpoint
'Knight' owes millions, say investors
Kiwi technophobe turns into cyberspace sensation
'Year of hell' after false rape claim
Ellen presents gay teen scholarship
Lara Bingle a PR disaster for king of stunts
This one time at straight camp…
The Government's own leaky home saga
Previous cat is Burmese and didn't mind the car. We'd got him before Labour weekend one year and then went away for the weekend with someone tasked with feeding him. He was somewhat upset by that, so when we decided to take him away with us for Christmas he happily got into his cage and once installed in the car, curled up and slept the entire 4.5 hour trip. I suspect on the basis that he would rather be with us than left behind.
Current cat has had a couple of short trips. Doesn't seem so keen though.