Last Updated: 27/11/2025
How To Make Travelling Less Stressful for Cats
Wondering how to make travel less stressful for your cat? Check out our tips to get your cat into the cat carrier without a fight from our vet team.
Author: Dr Nicole du Plessis BVSc (Hons)
Reading Time: 6 minutes - short read
So many cat owners know the stress of the dreaded vet visit. The carrier comes out of storage then the cat goes missing, or runs underneath the bed! It could be another half an hour before you can get them out from underneath the furniture, and no-one is having fun.
It's a battle to get some cats to willingly enter the carrier, because they know a negative experience will follow their capture. This is further reinforced every single time they are in the carrier. There are ways to minimise your cat's stress when transport is required; it can also make the process much less time consuming and painful for owners!
Top travel tips
When travelling with your cat, it is best to bring a towel or blanket to partially cover the carrier and reduce the amount of visual stimuli. Taking a cat out of its environment can be really stressful, so allowing them to hide from the outside world can really help with anxiety. Adding some bedding from home can make it smell familiar.
The entire carrier doesn't have to be covered completely, you can still keep the door uncovered so the cat can see out. Always allow some sort of ventilation, this is important with warmer climates where pets can overheat.
Try to avoid feeding your cat a few hours before your veterinary visit. This will decrease the chance of your cat toileting in the cat carrier. Always provide fresh water for your cat.
While in the car, try to avoid having air conditioning blowing directly on the carrier. If you would like to listen to music, have it on a low volume and listen to something relatively soothing. If at all possible, try to avoid any manoeuvres that will send the carrier flying off the seat.
Calm their nerves
There are many natural products that can help to reduce anxiety and relax your cat during times of stress including supplements, pheromones and treats.
Feliway is a synthetic analogue of the feline 'calm' pheromone. Cats release this pheromone when they rub their cheeks against objects as a way of marking their territory. Feliway can be used daily in households with an anxious cat or in the lead up to a stressful event. Available as a Feliway diffuser set delivery system, allowing large areas of your home to be covered. The Feliway spray is useful for travelling or concentrating on bedding. When preparing to travel, spray Feliway into the carrier 30 minutes prior to your cat going into the carrier. Cats do not like the spray bottle sound, so it is ideal to do this away from the cat.
Looking for more information? Read our veterinary written article Your Guide To Using Feliway.
Zylkene for dogs and cats contains a natural product derived from casein, a protein found in milk. This compound helps your cat adjust and cope when faced with unusual or unpredictable situations. It is ideal for use before stressful events involving a change in the environment. Widely used and recommended by veterinarians for anxious cats, this supplement can be given daily or leading up to a stressful event such as travelling.
Products such as Pro Plan Calming Care and Thunder Wunder Calm Chews contain L-tryptophan, a precursor to serotonin, a neurotransmitter that affects mood and decreases anxiety. Serotonin is known as 'the happy hormone' and can help calm anxious cats.
Calming Products for Cats
Top Recommended Carriers for Cats
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