So I'm going to be traveling to my parents house with the Bengal kids this week and wanted some general advice for traveling by car. This will be their first road trip away from home and we are traveling 3.5 hours north by car.

Planning in bringing them in the sleepypod that they came home in. It's been played in and sat on the floor for them so they're used to it. It doubles as a cat bed. I'm also planning on disposable litter box and bringing one of their scratching posts plus several of their toys.

Don't forget their food and bowls! Although don't let them fill up right before you leave as some cats get car sick. You definitely want to keep them contained in a carrier while you are driving. They may howl at the top of their lungs for a while, but hopefully they will settle down and most of your trip will be uneventful. Three-and-a-half hours isn't very long so they should be okay without any water or needing to use their litter box on the road. Most cats can hold it if they don't have anything available to them, but I'm sure they will be ready once you get to your destination.

You're brave to travel with them. My husband has gotten the notion in his head that we need to buy an RV and travel the country next year when we retire. I'm sure Raiden would have other ideas and not sure it would be so enjoyable in such small quarters.

Have a safe trip and let us know how it all goes down!

I travel to my parents house with my Bengal twice a year. It is an 8 hour trip. I prepare him a week or two in advance by taking him on short car rides to get him used to being in a car again.
I let him loose in the car for the trip because my ears cannot stand 8 hours of meowing! It's risky letting your Bengal loose in the car because they can be a distraction, and if you crash there is nothing preventing them from smashing into the windscreen etc... however within 30 min Loki falls asleep on his bed which I put on the back passenger seat floor, and I feel if I crash that's probably the safest place for him to be.
I provide him with a litter box although he normally doesn't use it.
I stop at lookout points or parks along the way and let him roam around on leash for a little while to stretch his legs and get his energy out. You probably don't need to do this for a shorter trip. I also offer him water only when we are stopped otherwise it spills everywhere. Because he is loose in the car I leave his harness on so he is easy to grab if I need to get him.
The most important thing is to keep the car cool if it's a hot day, especially if they are confined to a cage.

Hope this helps a little bit. Good luck on your trip.

Thanks Anne. I don't think I can let my kittens loose. Would be too worried about one of them going under the foot pedals.

I'm looking forward to seeing how this goes Amstans! I had a dream that I would drive to my Mum's for the weekend with the boys which is a two hour journey - however 10 minutes in the car to the vet is enough for me with Hendrix. He literally doesn't stop crying. Jagger on the other hand is as good as gold. I will be interested to hear how your two travel and if one is like Hendrix, how long they keep the wailing up, as it may inspire me to give it a go!

Good luck on your journey and I look forward to hearing how it goes!!

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Clare
Hendrix and Jagger, Brown Marble Boys (born 18 August 2013)
Hampshire, UK

The great adventure went north 4 hours successfully. Yes Pepper yowled consistently for 45 minutes to an hour. But then they went to sleep and the trip remained quiet with the occasional sad sounding mew.

They are esconsced in the back bedroom that we will share for the trip and are getting used to their new safe room for tonight. Hopefully they can come out tomorrow for a few hours at a time. We will see how things go when my brother arrives with his dogs tomorrow morning.

Well done! So you have one that yowls non-stop as well lol Maybe I will give it a try when the OH is back at sea, let the boys wreak havoc at my mums for a weekend, she'll be thrilled I'm sure!

I hope all goes well when your brother turns up with his dogs

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Clare
Hendrix and Jagger, Brown Marble Boys (born 18 August 2013)
Hampshire, UK

If you take them out of their environment will they acclimate back to normal once they're home? What's that like?