Travelling to Europe with a Cat
One of the worst parts of traveling for pet parents is the realization that their pet can’t join in on the adventure. What people may not realize is that pet-friendly travel is entirely possible in many situations, although it’s certainly not a simple endeavour. After flying overseas and spending three weeks in Europe, here are some travel tips you’ll want to know if you’re planning to bring along a furry friend.
Before I get started, I want to acknowledge that some pets may be unsuitable for travel, and I discuss that more in our post Why Travel with a Pet? Please also keep in mind that this is based on our experience traveling with cats from Canada to France, and there are different laws for each country of origin, the destination, and the type of pet.
Here’s a rundown of what I’ll be covering today:
Put aside extra money for pet fees
Prepare your pet’s passport in advance
What to pack or purchase
Rent a car over public transit
Visit touristy spots early to avoid crowds
Put money aside for pet fees
We all know that travel isn’t cheap, especially if you’re going somewhere international. When traveling with a pet, it can be even harder to save money as some of the common money-saving tricks won’t be feasible (ex. staying at hostels). We did a breakdown of our costs for a three week road trip in Europe and the cat fees alone totalled to around $3K CAD.
You’re probably wondering how in the world the costs came to be that high, so let’s break it down below.
$750 for two pet passports, rabies titration test, and an international health check at the vet
$700 plane fees ($125 per cat per plane ride, had to pay extra after altering flights)
$375 for two health check ups, one rabies shot, precautionary calming medication for two cats, and the government endorsement for pet travel
$360 for food
$200 for two airline-approved carriers
$200 car rental cleaning fee
$40 for a new litter box and litter
$40 in pet entry fees
$28 train fees ($7 per ride)
$15 for a portable scratcher
$15 for food bowls
The list above doesn’t include the hidden costs of pet travel like more expensive accommodations or opting to take taxis over public transport for the comfort of your pet. We stayed predominantly in Airbnbs and many of these charge more for being pet-friendly or ask you to pay additional cleaning fees. Had we gone without pets, we could have easily found places that were $50-80/night (if not cheaper), but filtering for pet-friendly places instantly increased the average prices to $120-180/night.
At this point, you may be completely scrapping the idea of traveling with your pet, but don’t forget that you may have to spend lots of money even if you don’t pack your furry friend. Having someone watch your pet while you’re away is hardly cheap unless you have a willing family member or close friend. Many of the costs we incurred can also be avoided or lessened with proper planning. In particular, the international vet visit and pet passport won’t be needed by most people as these were more for peace of mind and future convenience rather than essential purchases. The new carriers were also more of a choice and there are also cheaper options out there. Finally, don’t forget that we also had two cats to fund; if you’re only bringing one pet, you’ll find costs won’t hurt your wallet quite as much.
Prepare your pet’s passport in advance
The steps for this will vary depending on your country of origin, but either way it’s a good idea to get prepare well in advance. The first step is to research what you actually need for your pet to travel. In Canada, there’s no official pet passport, but you are required to complete a health check and then get an endorsement from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and a certified vet. To get approval, your pet needs to meet requirements like having the proper vaccines, being microchipped, and good health. We discuss the whole process in our next blog post: Canadian Pet Travel - Getting Approved by the CFIA. Again, this will vary by country as some places have official passports while other places may not even allow pets to travel. Do your research and do it well in advance!
Pack or purchase?
If you’ve accepted that you’ll need to pay additional costs and you’ve done the required research to actually travel, you’ll want to start thinking about what to pack. For international trips, I suggest purchasing some items upon arrival rather than taking up luggage space. Rather than carrying on a normal backpack or small rolling suitcase, we actually used the cat travel backpacks and found this to be quite effective. The cats themselves were in separate airline carriers.
Since there were two of us traveling, we dedicated an entire bag to the cats. Here’s what we packed for the plane ride:
Cat treats and some liquid cat food pouches in case of emergency (ex. delayed flight)
Ziploc bag full of litter
Roll of litter box liners
Gloves
Pet-friendly wipes and sanitizing wipes
Extra pee pads
Plastic straw (Reinhardt’s obsessed with these) and a catnip feather toy for “playtime” on the plane
Harnesses and leashes
Water bowl
In our checked luggage we had a few other essential items like a few cans of cat food, a cat comb, claw clippers, a lint roller, cat rain jacket, and a pop up cat cube. When we arrived in Europe, we made a stop at the pet store to purchase a larger disposable litter box, litter to last us for a month, more cat food, and a cat scratcher. With every trip, it’s a good habit to search for nearby pet stores and vets in the areas you’ll be staying.
Visiting Tourist Destinations with a Pet
My last piece of advice for traveling with a cat is to avoid visiting major tourist spots at peak hours. If you’re already someone who dislikes crowds, showing up to a crowded place with a pet is sure to make the situation worse as tourists will turn to point their cameras towards your pet (often without asking first).
Both Reinhardt and Perseus do fairly well in crowds and often enjoy the attention of others, but other pets may feel stressed when surrounded by tons of strangers in an unfamiliar location. Your pet will also have more freedom and space to walk when it’s early in the morning, and you won’t have to worry about getting in anyone's way.
While I am by no means a morning person, I always prefer to sightsee at sunrise when I’m with the cats because early mornings also result in better photos. If there are less people in the area then I’m less embarrassed to get into weird positions for the shot and the background won’t be obstructed. Sunrises also result in the cats looking cuter as they’ll have enlarged pupils to deal with the lower light levels. It also feels more special when you get to see a major monument or attraction mostly to yourself.
Here is a parting message from Reinhardt: l;….
