You might have heard of them: the Nguyens. They live in America and they have three purebred cats, two British Shorthairs and a Scottish Fold. They are quite a sight when travelling, I think you will agree. Their names are Sponge Cake, Mocha and Donut.
Looking at the picture above, I am more concerned about the welfare of Mr Nguyen if it was a hot day and he was doing a lot of walking 😊. Imagine how exhausting it would be.
I think this couple are unique in that they regularly take their three cats on holiday with them to Europe. This prompts visitors to their Instagram channel to ask how they managed to do it successfully. It’s a good question. And briefly they explain how they do it. There is no magic formula. It takes preparation and planning.
These are the points I’ve taken from their Instagram post and from the Internet as to how they manage to take their three beautiful cats with them successfully on holiday to visit London, Paris, Venice and Amsterdam and no doubt other places.
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Acclimatization: they built up gradually to these long trips to Europe by acclimatising their cats to being outside on a lead and being carried in strange places. They started off by taking their cats out to Central Park in New York where they live I believe. These were mini adventures which got them started.
Carriers: they got their cats comfortable with their carriers in which they travel. Following normal advice, they left the carriers open at home with familiar bedding, toys and treats so the cats had the opportunity to go into the carrier and explore it and become familiar with it.
Research and preparation: they did their research and preparation. This is key. You need to do your research because they say that every country/airline has their own requirements. You have to “make sure to research the specific requirements for the country you’re visiting”. Some countries might have additional rules they say and there will be quarantine period and entry restrictions to take into account.
Documentation: on the issue of pet passports and travel documents, I will use their words. This This what they say: “If you travel from the US to Europe, and you need to have a USDA-endorsed health certificate for your cat. USDA stands for U.S. Department of Agriculture. You can ask your vet to help obtain this health certificate, and this document should contain vaccination records and microchip information. Alternatively, you can get your cat an EU pet passport from a vet in an EU country and use it every time your cat enters the EU. We got our cats their EU pet passports in Paris.”
“Paris is pet-friendly, and it simply has a lot of charm to offer.”
Paris: they say that Paris is the most pet friendly of the iconic cities that they have visited. This may be good advice to anybody who wants to try and follow them but I expect there to be very few people who would be adventurous enough to try it.
The flight: on keeping their cats calm when travelling in the cabin. Yes, the cats travel in the cabin with them and they say that they “get three tickets in total. Usually airlines allow one pet per passenger, but some airlines might allow you to buy an extra ticket to travel with two cats.” So they by a ticket for the cats which obviously adds to the cost but makes things more predictable and manageable.
That’s their advice. They been doing it for two years and they are very happy to share their adventures and advice with their friends and readers. They going back to Europe this spring. And in the meantime they will be visiting New York City to create more videos for their Instagram channel.
Wherever they go they must put a smile on the faces of the citizens of these iconic cities. There is a wider topic of discussion here I believe. The Nguyens are giving their cats an extraordinary life full of mental stimulation. This is the opposite to cats stuck inside the home as full-time indoor cats where they are often bored. There is a weakness in the full-time indoor cat method: a lack of compensating mental stimulation through an enriched environment. How many cat owners do it to a good standard? Very few.
Here is their video from Instagram. Please bear in mind that embedded videos from third party sites sometimes end up failing for various reasons. If it does not work I am sorry.
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