Cat taxi:
a carefully planned journey for your companion

A cat taxi can take you to a follow-up consultation, examination or vaccination appointment. Prepare a sturdy, ventilated carrier that fits your companion. A few days beforehand, leave it open at home with familiar bedding so your cat can explore it. It stays closed during the journey, with its position agreed with the driver. If travelling causes severe distress, ask your vet for advice ahead of time.

To arrange cat transport to the clinic, provide the appointment time, exact address and number of accompanying passengers. Keep the health record, relevant reports and clinic contact details in an accessible bag. After a procedure, follow the veterinary team’s discharge instructions: the driver arranges the journey, while advice about care and fitness to travel comes from your vet.

Plan the return taxi journey with your cat too. Consultations can run over, and discharge times may be uncertain: tell us whether you need a one-way transfer, a separate return or agreed waiting time. If nobody can accompany your cat, we arrange the carrier handover with you and the clinic, checking who is authorised to send and receive your companion.

Tip: Keep the clinic’s name and phone number, and the name of the person collecting your cat, handy. After treatment, confirm the discharge time before arranging the pickup.

Before booking a cat taxi to a boarding cattery, choose care that suits your companion’s habits. Some cats cope better with their owner’s absence when a sitter visits them at home. If you choose boarding, ask about individual accommodation, cleanliness and escape prevention. Check the admission conditions, including vaccination records, and whether the team can meet your cat’s particular needs.

A transfer with your cat needs to fit the cattery’s reception hours. Give us the address, the contact for the person on duty and access instructions: gates, a reception away from the car park or a strict arrival slot need planning. Gather the requested documents and label your companion’s bag so their belongings can be identified when the carrier is handed over.

For this feline taxi journey, tell us whether you will travel with your cat or entrust the pickup to the driver. Ask the cattery about permitted belongings, usual meals and any written veterinary instructions. For the return, arrange for someone to be at home and choose a time that fits the cattery’s checkout: your companion travels directly to the agreed address.

Tip: Prepare a short sheet with your cat’s habits, your contact details while away and the vet’s number. Agree its contents with the cattery before the pickup.

A house move by cat taxi needs to account for a tricky moment: doors are often left open while boxes are carried through. Keep your companion in a quiet, closed room away from the bustle. At the new home, prepare a room with familiar belongings, water and a litter tray. Open the carrier only once inside, with doors and windows secure, and let your cat explore at their own pace. Cats Protection’s moving home advice

Your cat transport needs to fit the moving schedule. Tell us who holds the new home’s keys and choose a time when someone can welcome you. Describe the carriers, passengers and luggage separately. A few suitcases and your cat’s belongings take up different amounts of space from a load of moving boxes: we choose the vehicle around what is actually travelling with you.

For a private driver journey with your cat over a long distance, keep contact details for the people at both addresses handy. If several cats are moving with you, plan a separate closed carrier for each and provide their external dimensions. Arrange to update your identification contact details and find a vet near the new home. The journey and arrival need planning together, even if the furniture follows later.

Tip: Tell the removal team which room is reserved for your cat and put a note on its door. Confirm that the new home will be accessible before the vehicle sets off.