Are pet holiday visits in your travel plans? Family gatherings are a big part of the holidays, and pets double the fun—and the stress. Here are tips for keeping your cat calm during the holidays, and read on for more tips.

If you’re thinking about furry gifts for the holidays, check out this post on how to give pets as gifts.

Most cats hate strange environments and going on vacation, so a pet sitter is usually the best choice for kitty, maybe even a service like Rover. Learn about the different options for taking pets with you–or leaving them behind.

If you know your cat does well on the road and during visits, plan ahead. Set up a “cat central” room in Grandma’s house with all the important kitty paraphernalia (litter pan, scratch post, etc.). Cats often require many days or even weeks to accept “new” pets, so for shorter visits, giving your visiting cat a private room away from the resident critters offers the best chance of a happy holiday.

10 TIPS FOR HOLIDAY PET VISITS

Many dogs love new places, though. Taking him along can save boarding costs. Besides, pets are part of the family, so we want to share our furry loves with relatives.

But when your King meets Grandma’s Sheba for the first time, how do you keep the fur from flying? How would you like a stranger sleeping in your bed, eating from your plate, or (ahem) using your toilet? Pet introductions can take days, weeks, or sometimes months to be successful, so don’t expect overnight miracles. Follow these 10 tips to keep the pets happy and safe, and stay on speaking terms with your relatives.

1. The Resident Pet “owns” the house and yard. Therefore, give him continued access to his territory.
2. Confine the Guest Pet in one room. Provide familiar bowls, beds, litter pans, and toys in the room where the owner sleeps. The owner scent helps keep the Guest Pet calm even when he’s alone, and confinement provides a familiar home base where he’s safe from the Resident Pet. Confining him behind a closed door also tells the Resident Pet that only part of her territory has been invaded. (This works for visiting kitties, too!)
3. Create good associations. Feed the pets on opposite sides of the closed door, or offer favorite toys or games. This helps each identify the other pet’s presence with “good stuff” and helps relieve tension.
4. Use baby gates. The see-through barrier allows the Guest Pet to be part of the gathering without trespassing on the Resident Pet’s turf. A baby gate also gives curious, friendly pets (especially dogs) a safe way to meet. Moveable baby gates can divide a hallway or stairs to segregate whole sections of the house when necessary.
5. Leash the guest dog. This keeps him under control around the resident pet. That’s especially important with a resident cat.
6. “Potty” dogs separately. Distract the Resident Dog with treats or a game out of sight when the Guest Dog must leave his room.
7. Supervise yard interactions. Once dogs experience friendly meetings through the door for a couple of days (no growls, or elevated fur—whines are okay), a nose-to-nose play meeting is possible. Be sure each dog’s owner is present.
8. Leash both dogs. Bring the Resident Dog out first because he “owns” the yard. Remove any toys, bones or other resources they might argue over.
9. Walk the leashed dogs parallel to each other on opposite sides of the yard, back and forth, slowly bringing them closer. Stop if you see tucked tail, growls, or fluffed fur—they aren’t ready to play. Play bows (“elevator butt” posture) buy the dogs a 5-10 minute off-leash game before separating them. Play time can be extended if they do well.
10. Don’t force interactions. When an adult kitty visits, she’ll be happy to stay in the room and wait for your visits. A resident cat also may simply disappear to a safe place in the house to avoid contact with strangers (human or furred).

It’s hard to predict first meetings. You don’t love everyone you meet—(especially weird Cousin Cylene!) so why should your pets be any different? If pets will only be together a few days, aim for management or tolerance. There will be time enough over future visits for pet-to-pet love to blossom.

For more information, refer to this post on how to successfully travel with pets.

I love hearing from you, so please share comments and questions. Do you have an ASK AMY question you’d like answered? Do you have a new kitten and need answers? Stay up to date on all the latest just subscribe the blog, “like” me on Facebook, and sign up for Pet Peeves newsletter. Stay up to date with the latest book giveaways and appearances related to my September Day pet-centric THRILLERS WITH BITE!

Amy Shojai, CABC is a certified cat & dog behavior consultant, a consultant to the pet industry, and the award-winning author of 35+ pet-centric books and Thrillers with Bite! Oh, and she loves bling!