Yesterday I was in Starbucks and a guy hops out of his car and runs into the dollar store and his dog, immediately hops from the back seat to the front seat and sits in the driver’s seat. Then the guy comes out and Mr Dog hops into the back seat.
The driver drives over a few spaces to the Starbucks and gets out and goes into Starbucks and once again, Mr Dog hops right into the driver’s seat.
It was pretty obvious this dog liked to ride in the car.
When I was a kid my dog loved the car but the cat hated it. This was because the only time the cat went in the car was when we went to the vets for shots.
So my question to you all is does your dog/cat like to ride in the car.
Note: I said dog/cat but other pets like birds and ferrets, rabbits or whatever, can be included if you wih
“Do you want to go for a car ride?” gets Lily the pooch all excited and whiny. She loves sticking her nose out the window and taking in the smell-o-rama experience.
I thought this poll wass going to be bifurcated between species. All the dogs my family has owned have either loved or were at least willing to go for car rides while the cats were much less so to put it mildly. In addition to any genetic predisposition, the fact that cats are so small that they can’t see much on the outside probably influences things to a degree.
However, the one time that I had a cat, it was interested in going for rides, even though I had to transport it in a not-large container (only slightly bigger than what she needed to turn around in.) Even though she couldn’t see much, and the only place I would take her was to the vet. She wouldn’t hop up and down in anticipation, but she wouldn’t fight being put in the cage and didn’t complain or throw a fit while in the car, which for cats is high praise indeed for car rides.
She was also the only cat I’ve ever seen that would follow you when you asked her to. She was probably bored in both these situations and so just went with the flow, is my take on it.
Captain is scared of the car. I take him places he likes to try to get him used to it, but he shakes and whimpers. He’s fine once we get there, though. I did take him on a long trip once and drugged him - he whined all the way to Orangeburg before he let the drugs take over. He wouldn’t even eat the fries I got him!
My cats don’t mind riding in the car. We usually let them out of their carriers to wander free in the car, though. We don’t let them go on the floor in front of the driver or on the dashboard, but anywhere else is fair game.
Our earlier pets (two dogs and a cat) generally enjoyed riding in the car, though our old cat, Mercury, would occasionally get carsick (regurgitated cat food is an awful smell, which takes forever to get out of a car).
Our current cat, Kola, is a spaz. He only rides in the car in his carrier (the few times we’ve tried to take him out of the carrier, he’s attempted to hide under the seats), and he complains loudly about it the entire time he’s in the carrier.
Wait, the guy DROVE to move his car just a few spaces instead of just walking from the Dollar store to Starbucks? Seriously? :smack: Was it like, a mile?
To the OP: My dog loves to ride in the car, any car. Ten minutes, ten hours, she’s down for road trips. Loves it. You can’t even say “ride” in my house without having to grab the leash and drive the damn dog around the block.
The cat doesn’t quite get so excited, but he’s a very good travel cat. Impressive, as far as cats go. He doesn’t pant, or hyperventilate, poop, pee, cry, or freak out in any way. He might protest with a little mew when I put him in his carrier, but I’ve got a big fluffy cushion in there that he loves kneading with his paws. Once his little feet hit that sheepskin cushion then, he purrs all the way to the destination and all the way home. They have trouble getting him OUT of the carrier at the vet, but there’s no trouble getting him back in. I think he knows they can’t stick him or poke anything in his butt when he’s in the carrier, so he knows he’s safe.
Cin loved riding in the car around town. He does the hop into the front seat when I go into a store. Then when I’m coning back and hit the unlock door button he pops his head up to find which way I’m coming from. I’ve occasionally found him pretending to drive.
But, when we go on the several hour trip to visit my family, he gets antsy and panty.
I was thinking the same thing. It was only like a block down. Well within walking distance. Maybe he was gonna go home then saw the Starbucks and said, “Since I’m here I could use a cup of coffee.”
I just liked how Mr Dog hopped into the driver’s seat each time the driver left.
I had one of my cats loose in the car once for a short trip. He got quite upset and agitated, and it was the only time I’d ever heard a housecat panting, presumably from stress.
My dog can’t get enough of the car. Just like Dogzilla’s dog. Long trips, short trips, love love love.
When I bought my car, I bought it with “gotta haul the dog around” in mind. I just keep the back seats folded down for her because 90% of the time it’s the dog, not people back there.
Now that she’s older she’s got a ramp. She’s got this PetStep ramp and I could not recommend it more. It’s by far the best ramp for dogs (no I do not work for PetStep - it just took me forever to find the right ramp and I am VERY happy with it).
Had to pick ‘Other’, because my multiple cats have different attitudes. One can take it or leave it. The other three hate it with the burning passion of a thousand suns. Or at least that’s what their yowling seems to express.
I chose Loves it for a short distance. Because she does, loves looking out the window, but then gets bored after a while and lays down.
She loves the vet too. Doggy sounds. And Kitty sounds on the other side of the building! And people paying attention to her! And peanut butter on a stick!!! Wait… what are they doing back there with a needle, aw who cares, peanut butter on a stick!!!
My dog loves it. Well, he tolerates it if he’s in the bed of the truck but when I let him in the cab he loves it and lays down and passes out. I had him in the car for 18 hours straight and when I tried to give him a pee break at 9 he just looked at me and went back to sleep.
I’ve never had a dog that didn’t enjoy going for a ride. I’ve never had a cat that didn’t hate going for a ride.
My brother used to have a greyhound who was allowed to wander around in the garage at times. He’d usually call her in, but she was sitting in the passenger seat of his Miata, clearly waiting to go for a ride.
The dogs only ride in a car if they are in their carrying crate. They might like it better if they were loose, but I wouldn’t. One sleeps and one cries until he wakes up the sleeping one, then they’re both unhappy. And I’m unhappy.
