flick4411 wrote:I. I plan on taking the youngest one (the Kuwait kitty) with me on the first overnight trip at the end of August. She will have the hardest time since she's only been in a car going either to the vet or to the airport to come to the states.
There are things you can do to de-sensitize the cat to the car/mh. Taking it out in a kennel and just sitting it in the car, giving the cat a treat and then taking it out of the car. Next time, sit and start the car, treat, exit. Next time, start car and back out of driveway, treat, return, exit...etc. You get the picture. Any animal who only goes in the car to go to the vet learns to dislike "trips." This method can be very effective.
I take my dogs into the vets sometimes, give them a treat and then we leave without having anything done to them! They have calmed down considerably about going to the vet and going in the car.
Just a suggestion...
so the opinions and ideas were very good. "It all depends..." was the best answer. When you consider the life span of our animals, especially many of the cats and the smaller breeds of dogs...you can easily have an animal than lives 15 years plus..... So the question isn't just whether you want the responsibility for and the companionship of an animal to travel with, but do you have a backup plan to provide for those animals if or when something happens to you. Some of it can be how you set up funds to provide for your animals (I think Liz has information on that from just recently) and other issues are who will take responsibility for your loved ones if you are not able to provide for them. Who will fly/drive across country to rescue your furry friend should you need someone to? 
One of those things that you hope never happens but can. The ECS people also recommended keeping all the dog medical information, who to call, etc., in one spot (just like you would keep your own) so it would be easily found by others. With help from friends (and funds) most animals could at least be boarded briefly until help could arrive.
