Hi all-

I've got a pretty busy month underway and I'd like to bring Attie on my next work trip to Miami. I live in a house with 2 friends and a dog, so even when I'm gone she has a lot of entertainment. So far I've just left her at home when traveling and she's handled it really well. I'd like to be able to bring her along sometimes, and the Miami trip is only 5 days so it seems like an ideal time to start. I'm sure she'll be a little bored during the day when I'm gone, but I think getting to play and chill with me at night should outweigh that. She's pretty content to just veg out when nothing is going on.

I know there's plenty of threads on traveling with your Bengal, but does anyone have any tips on bringing toys etc to leave them with? The hotel I'm staying at is supposedly very pet friendly, and I'm planning on keeping my "do not disturb" sign up all week, and putting an additional note on the door that she'll be in there. She isn't quite leash trained yet (so far she's cool with the harness, but we haven't quite mastered the leash yet).

So far I'm planning to bring her "turbo scratcher" thing, the round one with the ball track and cardboard in the middle, and a door-hanging scratcher. She scratches on both of those quite a lot at home, so hopefully that should satisfy her scratching needs. I also just ordered one of these http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CLA ... UTF8&psc=1 and I'll of course bring her wand mouse, da bird, etc.

Anyway, any tips would be greatly appreciated. Here's a link to my intro thread for Attie:

viewtopic.php?f=10&t=20406

We have travelled with Quasar a lot. In fact, we will travel to Bluff, Utah, this coming weekend to attend a hot air balloon festival.

The cat condo to which you provided the link is almost identical to the one we travel with. It gives him a place of his own to climb and hide in. Unfortunately, it does not work in all hotel rooms, including the one in which we will be staying this weekend.
Please put the condo up in your home before you travel so your kitty can become accustomed to it and scent mark it as her own.

Toys that are faves when we travel are teaser type toys and small plastic pom poms that he can chase. I don't think he does much when we leave him in the hotel room except sleep, so we spend a lot of time burning off energy when we return to the room.

For his litter, we have a storage box with locking lid that we take with us and set up in the bathroom for his peeing pleasure. Just be careful that the lid is on tight or you will have a mess in the back of your car/truck when it spills.

We do try to take Q out to the tailgate parties, etc, when we can but it is very cold in Bluff in the wee hours of the morning, as we prepare to fly. Mornings I leave him in the room and we pick him up later to go out with us, complete with Puffer jacket for warmth.

If your hotel is pet friendly and they know you have a pet in the room, a do not disturb sign on the door is sufficient. Also, be sure the hotel is "pet" friendly not just dog friendly. We had one place that was very worried about having a cat in the room but, in the end, we convinced them. Motel 6 is always ok with cats, btw.

I like traveling with Quasar. He is great company at the end of the day. I have a high functioning form of autism and have high anxiety meeting all the strangers and acquaintances we see at balloon festivals so Q (and my dog) are my centers of normality (if that makes any sense).

Have a great trip!

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~ Kyenta

Thanks for the response.

I made the necessary phone calls today and all is set to bring her along! I'm a little nervous about flying with her, but we'll just have to see how it goes. I've taken her for car rides fairly often, and she's usually pretty calm. She meows a bit but I think it's because she finds it boring more so than traumatizing.

All I can say is "good luck" and "I hope everything goes well for you." I don't know that cats like flying. The engines are noisy. Not sure if you can have her in the cabin with you or if she has to be elsewhere. I'm sure she will be terrified if you aren't right there with her. Bengals are vocal and she may not stop crying (I know Raiden wouldn't).

As for hotels ... when I read that, all I could think of was a family who was moving and stopped at a hotel with their kitty. Their kitty got out of the carrier and they could not find the cat in the room (even after trying to tear everything apart.). They left their info with the hotel manager. Someone eventually found the cat and tossed it outside rather than contacting the family. I hope that kitty has found a home and isn't still out there looking for a family.

It would just freak me out to worry that somehow the cat would escape. A Do Not Disturb sign may not stop someone from coming into your room. And you'd obviously be leaving the cat in completely unfamiliar territory while you're working. I know how much you want her to be with you, but seems like she had it good at home.

Please let us know how it goes.

I didn't think about you flying. I've never flown with Quasar. The couple of trips I have taken by plane, I have left him at home with pet sitters. I've thought about taking him but not sure how he would manage in a soft-sided carrier tucked under the seat in front of me, or how he would manage if we had an extended layover some place. How will you be managing the logistics of the flight?

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~ Kyenta

Thanks for the tips.

I ended up bringing her, and she did GREAT on the plane. I flew with her in the cabin of course, and her carrier (I bought a medium-size "Sherpa" soft carrier for the trip) fit perfectly under the seat, along with her favorite pillow pet. She didn't make a peep until we'd been on the plane for about an hour (sitting at the gate, delayed), and finally piped up around the 3rd or 4th "we're still waiting..." announcement. Everyone sitting around me got a kick out of her well-timed impatience. Otherwise, she was nice and quiet for the whole flight. She really enjoyed watching all of the people at the airport. Because of the delays, by the time we got to the hotel she had been in her carrier for about 8 hours except for a brief break when I had to remove her from her carrier at airport security. I requested a private screening which they were happy to oblige, and also were very intrigued by her markings. She didn't have any accidents, or puke. I fed her about 12 hours before we left, but only half of her usual meal.

I'm staying at the EPIC Hotel (yes, that's a real name) in Miami, and they have a very generous pet policy. No extra fee, and the rooms here have the feature where as long as I have "privacy" switched on from within the room, the maid keys will not work. I brought all of her favorite toys so she has just been hanging out during the day, and when I get back to the room we've had plenty of playtime.

It's really been a joy having her on the trip with me. It probably won't be a regular thing, but it's great to know that she can handle such a trip it if the need or opportunity arises again. :)