Travel Trends: Pet travel

by Gadling Staff on

From doggy daycare to feline pampering to gourmet food and beyond, pet owners in the United States shower their furry companions with a healthy dose of attention. Although this affection is shown through lots of play time and generous ear scratching, it’s most easily recognizable by the billions of dollars spent every year in the pet industry.

Since 1994, the American Pet Products Association (APPA) has kept track of just how much Americans spend on their pets. The data verifies that with every new year, U.S. pet owners have spent increasingly more on their four-legged counterparts. In fact, within the 10 years between 1994 and 2004, the spending literally doubled from $17 billion to $34 billion. Fast forward to 2010, a mere 6 years later, and that number has skyrocketed to approximately $47.4 billion.

While money spent on pets includes vet fees, food and other typical expenses, a large chunk of that is devoted to leisure-related activities like pampering and lodging. This increased amount of spending is partially due to a growing trend in the pet industry that has owners toting their pets along with them on vacation.

The Travel Industry Association of America (TIA) released data in January of 2009 that said the most popular animal that pet owners bring with them on vacations is a dog. This is likely due to the canine’s happy-go-lucky attitude and ability to adapt to new environments quickly. Coming in at second place are felines at 15 percent, followed by birds at 3 percent and “others” at 2 percent (other includes ferrets, fish, rabbits).

As for how pets travel, transportation via cars is by far the most common. And, according to a the same travel poll conducted by TIA, only 6 percent of animals travel with an airline and 10 percent travel in a recreational vehicle.

Once a pet and its owner have finally reached their destination, finding a place to stay is the next detail to figure out. As of 2009, 32 percent of travelers stay with someone who they already know, such as a friend or relative. Twenty nine percent stay in a hotel, 16 percent opt for a recreation vehicle or tent and the final 10 percent stay in a cabin or vacation home. This information is also based on data gathered by TIA.

This discussion “begs” the question: do you travel with your pet(s)? No? Then be sure to check out “Ask Gadling: How to prepare for not traveling without your dog.”

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SkyMall Monday: Cat Toilet Training System

by Mike Barish on

For some reason, despite the fact that I don’t like cats, feline products get a lot of attention from SkyMall Monday. We’ve featured a litter box and a talking food bowl. But this week, we’re tackling a problem that has long flummoxed cat owners. You see, cats already act like they own their homes. They’re aloof, ambivalent and seem to genuinely enjoy watching humans scoop up their feces. It’s that last issue that sticks out the most. How can they truly be the heads of their households when they can’t even clean up after themselves? In order for cats to completely evolve into our furry overlords, they’ll need to stop pooping in litter boxes and start using toilets. While it may seem terrifying strange for cats to use toilets, it’s the logical progression towards them dominating and overthrowing their owners. However, cats can’t teach themselves to use the facilities. They’ll need their current “masters’ to assist them. And knowing how insane cat owners really are, I’m certain that they will have no problem being party to their own eventual enslavement. And that’s why they will all be thrilled to discover that SkyMall is ready to help them take the first step towards building making their cats independent. Because SkyMall now offers the Cat Toilet Training System.Cats may lack opposable thumbs and the ability to wipe their own butts, but they have the desire to humiliate their owners and an affinity for licking themselves. And that’s why they’ll take to toilet training like a squirrel takes to underpants. Sure, they’ll need you to open the bathroom door. And to flush the toilet. And to update the issues of Cat Fancy that you keep in the bathroom. But it will all be worth it when you’re twenty minutes late for work because your cat has explosive diarrhea and you couldn’t get into the bathroom to take a shower.

Think that toilets are only for people and thirsty dogs? I bet you don’t even believe that monkeys should be on ice skates. Well, the animal experts over at SkyMall beg to differ.

The best way to deal with the unpleasant task of cleaning out the litter box is to do away with it for good. With the Litter Kwitter 3-Step Cat Toilet Training System, you can teach your cat to use any human toilet in eight weeks or less. The age or weight of your cat doesn’t matter and it works in multiple cat households too.

I suppose that toilet training your cat is a better solution to the litter box issue than hot gluing its anus shut. Though I do fear that young, tiny kittens will fall into the toilet where they will fall prey to abandoned alligators that live in the sewers.

So, in eight weeks, you can finally make yourself completely subservient to your cat. Once he can use the toilet, there will be no stopping him from finding a job of his own, supporting himself and kicking you out of the house. And while being homeless may be tough, at least then you can start pooping wherever you want. Surely some cat will come along and scoop it up.

Check out all of the previous SkyMall Monday posts HERE.


10 Ways Your Cat Will Punish You for Traveling

by Annie Scott on


You may love to travel, but chances are, your cat is not into it when you’re gone.

If you think about it from your cat’s perspective, the first time you went away, he (or she) probably thought he was being abandoned. When you came back, he was probably all snuggles and relief. Then, slowly, he realized that you pretty much always come back.

And that’s when evil was born.

In the eyes of your cat, your absence is a minor annoyance — which quickly becomes a major annoyance if you stay away for a long period of time. As you surely already know, if you annoy your cat, you will be punished.

So, here they are, The 10 Ways Your Cat Will Punish You for Traveling — and how to thwart his nefarious plans.

1. Toilet paper obliteration.
Cats don’t use toilet paper, but they know that you do, and they view it as an unnecessary privilege (which happens to be a lot of fun to revoke destroy). Thwart him: Take the toilet paper roll off the roller before you leave. TP’s not nearly as much fun to play with if it doesn’t spin. Still, while you’re at it, put it in a cupboard to be safe.

2. Plant consumption.
Your cat may occasionally nip at your houseplants, but if you are gone awhile, they have no qualms about chowing down on the better part of a scrumptious indoor palm. It’s not about hunger, it’s about getting even. Thwart him: Put your plants where he can’t get them; up high or in a closed room.3. Throwing up on your Persian rug.
Whatever your most expensive floor covering is, prepare to come home to a nice pile of vom on it. This is most often a direct result of #2, so to thwart him, follow the instruction above.

4. Pooing on your bed.
This is an act of domination. Pooping on your high thread count linens is your cat saying “Guess what? While you were gone, I was in charge. And when you get back, there gonna be some changes.” Thwart him: Close your bedroom door. Does your cat really need to sleep in your bed without you? No.

5. Expensive claw-made couch modifications.
Without you there to shout, your cat is happy to claw up your fine furnishings (in peace at last). It just feels so good. Thwart him: The only way to stop your cat from doing this is to train him beforehand. Make sure you always squirt your kitty with water if you catch him clawing, then pick him up and set him in front of a scratching post. If you see him clawing the scratching post on his own, give him a treat. He’ll get the idea eventually. (If he feels like it.)

6. Writing utensil chewing.
Your cat is very likely to nom on your writing utensils or anything you use regularly to ensure you will have a constant reminder of what you did wrong (left him alone). Thwart him: Put your stuff away.

7. Scoot scoot crash.
“Scoot scoot crash” is a technical term for your cat’s hobby of delicately pushing everything off the table, the shelf or what-have-you. If it’s not nailed down or bigger than a catbox, expect to find it on the floor. Thwart him: Nail stuff down. Just kidding; put your stuff away.

8. Finding new hiding places.
You may come home to no cat at all. Your sabbatical is a great time for him to explore the house and find new places to hide, such as inside TV stand, behind the books on the shelf or in a shoebox in your closet. In addition to hiding himself, he may also hide anything you didn’t nail down in a whole new place you’ve never thought to look — forget “under the couch.” How amateur. Thwart him: As above, put your stuff away, and when you come home to no cat, open a can of tuna and set it on the floor. Watch to see from whence he comes. You may have to do this a couple of times in different rooms before you discover the exact location.

9. Making his toys disappear.
Your cat may punish you by being an ungrateful sourpuss, achieved by hiding all his cat toys in those new hiding places. “Where’s that freaking mousie?!” may come out of your exasperated, travel-weary and cuteness-starved mouth. Thwart him: Sorry, you can’t. If the cat hides his own toys, they are under the couch or lost to the universe. Somewhere, there is a dimension filled with cat toys of yore. It’s physics.

10. Hatred.
In addition to hiding, your cat may behave like an absolute jerkstore when you get back; ignoring you or even hissing at you. Thwart him: Time heals all wounds. Hiss back at him and wait a day or so. You will probably never be forgiven, but kitty will be back to purring all over you like a motorboat just as soon as he forgets you were gone.

SkyMall Monday: Hidden Litter Box

by Mike Barish on

It’s confession time: I hate cats. Well, hate is a strong word. I just don’t understand cats. They seem completely ambivalent about my presence, selfish and they pee indoors. Dogs go outside like civilized animals. Cats defecate indoors in a box. That’s simply not natural. I can’t have the SkyMall Monday headquarters smelling like feline pee and poop. But, I understand that some people are lonely, have given up on the prospect of human relationships and have acquired any number of cats to keep them company on Saturday nights during Real Housewives of Atlanta marathons. And those people may want to hide the shame of having become someone who wears sweatpants in public, buys ice cream in bulk and gives her cats names like Sir Francis Snugglesworth and Purrack Obama.* Those people need to gussy up their homes and try to hide the fact that the inmates cats have taken over the asylum. And to those people, SkyMall says, “Yes we can…hide your cat poop.” This week, we take a closer look at the Hidden Litter Box.

For years, people have hidden their cats’ litter boxes in the bathroom, the kitchen or a spare bedroom. They’d provide their cats with privacy and keep the smell and the fecal matter in lesser-trafficked areas of their homes. And while these solutions may have kept the litter boxes out of sight, they lacked two things: the art of deception and a fake plant.

What fun is hiding your cat’s little box if you’re not doing it like some kind of super spy? The Hidden Litter Box is like James Bond’s litter box. In fact, I bet 007 has one for Octopussycat. And what home isn’t made less depressing by a fake plant that smells oddly like cat pee?

Think I’m meowing up the wrong tree? Well, take a gander at the product description:

With its Tuscany handfinish, our new litter box looks like a real clay pot, complete with an attractive, artificial decorator plant. Simply turn the entrance to the wall and no one will know (if your cat doesn’t tell)!

See, it even works with loose-lipped talking cats! Beat that with your “I keep my cat’s little box in the laundry room.”

So, tell Meowington von Catburt IV to keep his mouth shut and start peeing in the flower pot and then get back to eating Swiss Miss packets with a spoon, because the Hidden Flower pot is your new only friend.

* If your cat’s name is actually Purrack Obama, I’ll admit that you’re kind of awesome.

Check out all of the previous SkyMall Monday posts HERE.

Photo of the Day (2.19.09)

by Kent Wien on

This picture taken in Gimmelwald, Switzerland by the appropriately named StrudelMonkey made me laugh. And that’s enough to get my vote for Photo of the Day.

I chuckled at the out of focus cat, which made me think it was going to be a perfect shot until it was rudely interrupted by a cat that was simply seeking a little attention.

It reminded me of this wonderful YouTube documentary about what it’s really like to share a home with a cat.

Way to go, StrudelMonkey!

Are you a Flickr user who’d like to share a travel related picture or two for our consideration? Submit it to Gadling’s Flickr group right now! We just might use it for our Photo of the Day!