hello everyone!
thank you so much for the insights, we are travelling with our cat soon... it's going to be an adventure for all of us; we had 2 cats before this one and they were very easy-going with the travelling, as long as one of us was near all the time; they aged well and passed away with 15 and 19 years old; by that time we rescued a little black cat from a family farm where they have a big german shepard that kills all the cats around... that was 8 years ago;
so Boni came to live with with us in the city, got sterilized, vaccinated and chipped and for the first years kept his wild spirit; he used to be very adventurous and frequently went out for 'walks' in our neighbor's gardens (it's a closed quarter so animals can't go out to the streets) and sometimes he would get into loud fights with other cats (dogs are no problem because the gardens are separated by walls that serve as fences and cats walk on top); one day Boni came back home missing part of one hear and in some other days he would get back bleeding and with scratches, but even so we never could stop him, we kept him inside most of the time but in the few times he went out, as soon as we turned our back he would run away;
that changed about two years ago, and he completely stopped going out because of one big and younger cat that became is 'enemy' and many times (still) waits for Boni in a strategic spot on top of the dividing walls, keeping the distance from out garden but immediately attacking Boni every time he goes out... on two occasions, Boni went completely catatonic after getting home after the attacks and the vet said he probably developed heart problems but otherwise he is healthy;
meanwhile last year we got our Cali and started making small journeys, like 1-2 weeks at a time; we always have friends that come twice a day to feed him and clean, but Boni really resents not having us around to cuddle and nobody to sleep by; this year we have an opportunity to make a longer trip and travel for 2-3 months and so we have been thinking what is best for Boni... and quickly got to the conclusion that the best solution is to take him with us; we know he won't like it and that it's going to be hard on him (and on us) but we hope he'll get used to travelling; for sure he would be very unhappy if left home alone even with visits twice a day, and worse if he went to a cattery (and none of our relatives and friends will take him because they also have pets);
last week we putted a collar on Boni and in this last days we've been walking him in our garden with a leash (he hates it); also this week we'll take him to our Cali, taking some items that have his smell and ours, like the blanket where he sleeps when he's on our lap... and on Friday we'll go on a trip for a few days and we're staying not too far from home (in case we have to return)... we'll let you know how it goes!
