Ok, I've been looking at a new car for a while and I am leaning towards the TSX. My fiance's influence has taken me from a 2-door MT car to a 4-door AT car.

Now she is concerned about the leather, because we frequently transport our two cats. According to her, cats pee on leather furniture and she is concerned that although the cats will be in the carrier, they will pee while being in the car.

Anyhow, just to humor her, I thought I would ask about this. Anyone have experience and know if this is a problem or not? And no, this isn't a joke, she is genuinely concerned about this! And I really want a TSX, but getting one without leather is not an option.

TZ

 

I would consider cat piss a problem

 

 

As a cat-urine fetishist, I can tell you from lots of experience that it will wreck havoc on your leather.

 

The leather has holes in it, so it will definitely be a problem as the urine will impregnate the seat. The smell would never leave the foam material, so bad idea!

Leave the cats in the trunk, or put them in a cage on floor of the car onto a all-weather mat (water proof).

 

I have the urge to make a terrible joke about the TSX and transporting pussy, but I'll restrain myself...... .

Anyway, you should never transport a cat in your car with out a kitty carrier. I used to let my cat walk move about in my last Accord, and he managed to get himself inbetween my head and the headrest!

 

I take my cat on short rides (not in a carrier) and she has NEVER pissed on the seats. I would kill her if she did anyway. But I have NEVER heard of such a thing. The other car in the house has leather also, also in which our cats are taken in and have never had a problem. If you think there could be a problem, make sure the cat is in a carrier, and that you line the bottom of the box with a bath towel. Problem solved.

 

I've transported my cat many times inside my TSX. Never had any pissing problems.

 

leave the cats at home. why do people drive around cats? im confused.

 

Although it sucked cleaning my dogs hair off of my black interior last time he took a ride...

 

As long as they pee in the carrier and the cats stay IN the carrier then I don't see a problem.

TSX > Cats

 

My cat is like a dog... walks on a leash and all. She likes riding in the car... I dont know, she is strange. no different than a little ankle biter dog riding around.

 

Hahaha... hondatrain -- do you have a picture?

 

Id also worry about cat farts, they fart in cars.

obtw

 

Some, not all, cats pee when they're nervous. If they're gonna pee, the impact on leather is about as bad as it will be on fabric, which is porous enough to hold the liquid and the scent. TSX seats are perforated, so they will also allow liquid to go into the padding. Based on her logic, you should be driving a car that can have seats made out of nylon mesh.

I'd suggest taking a towel. kitchen towel, hand towel or small bath towel or small blanket, line the bottom of the cage with that, and then, if the cat looses continence, the towel will absorb the piss. If she's really concerned about the cat's comfort, she can take extra towels and a couple of plastic baggies to hold the soiled towels. This will train you both up for transporting babies, who, by the way, are far less discriminating in their peeing habits.

Although we have two nervous cats, neither of them have actually peed while traveling. Some cookie-tossing (hence the towel trick), but no pee.

We have a fair amount of leather furniture, and neither of the cats have peed on that. They have clawed everything in sight, but not peed............ pretty well housetrained. If you're describing spraying, which male cats do to mark turf, they will spray everything, not just leather..................................

 

For those who dont have cats and dont know how bad feline pees are... You are lucky! God! just think about cat pee in a small space especially car make me

 

Cat smell is aweful. We don't have a cat, but in the house we're currently, a couple vets lived there previously.

They had 3 cats, and had set aside a room just for them (no children.) In this room, they had built a small wooden deck, and put the 3 litter boxes up there. Sad thing is, these friggin' felines didn't seem to use them, and pissed everywhere, particularly in this room (but also in others).

It was the most disgusting thing. I ripped up the carpet, most of it was sopping wet in urine. The subfloor was soaked in a lot of spots too. Actually dried it with a hairdryer, shellac'd the subfloor, and put new carpeting in. Can't smell it now, but it took a while to go away.

I know this is a tangent, but had to vent. Sorry.

 

You want a picture of what? My cat in the car on on a leash? lol. I'll see what I can find.

 

I wanna see him in a cat carrier with a miniature airbag.................

 

if i only knew how to work photoshop

 

The solution is VERY simple. Just read:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...079939-1207965

 

My cat sometimes gets to do long road trips with my wife and I and I have never had problems with her pissing on the seats. If she did, boy would she see her 9 lives fly by so fast!

 

Umm, how about going to the vet ?

 

We have two cats, and we specifically bought leather furniture for our living room after dealing with a fabric couch and loveseat.

With leather, they are practically unable to scratch or puncture it, and any cat hair cleans up very easily. Our leather is almost four years old and still looks and smells new.

Both cats spend some time curled up on them, and they have never peed or any other bodily function on them, so the leather makes cats pee theory is not right.

That being said, there is no way that I would bring a cat into any moving vehicle without it being in a carrier, both for the safety of the cat and the occupants. I'm sure my cats wouldn't pee in my car, but it would be dangerous for them to be in your lap or moving about the car........

 

My cat goes to and from the vet in my car, and I've never had a problem. She travels in a carrier box, and I put a towel at the bottom, mostly for her comfort.

The only time she was loose in the car was when I brought her home from the shelter. They gave me one of those cardboard carrier things and she broke free. I had leather seats in that car, and she was definitely terrified, but still nothing happened.

I also have leather furniture at home. No problem with her wanting to pee on that.

Some cats (particularly non-neutered males) will pee to mark their turf. This is a very good reason to get them fixed fast. Male cat urine is the stuff that really stinks. Female is a bit less nasty, but not really pleasant either.

Bottom line, if the cat's in a proper carrier (which always has a closed bottom) there should be no problem. Even without, the problem is unlikely unless it's a particularly long trip or the cat is a particularly nervous type.

That said, cats are generally very territorial and are best left at home where they're comfortable. Mine goes to the vet and that's about it.

 

Just don't let your cat drive. Toonces taught me a very valuable lesson.

 

 

Thanks for the replies everyone. Our cats are very relaxed in the car and besides going to the vets they usually go with us when we visit our parents, who all live in a city that is about 3 hours away.

We've never had a problem with these particular cats marking anything, they are both young neutered males.

One last question on this topic, what are the backs of the rear seats made out of? I would probably fold them down when transporting our cats anyways because I wouldn't want the carrier to damage the leather.

TZ

 

for a second I thought you were talking about skinning your cat

 

Fabric, same as the trunk lining. But they don't fold very flat, I'm not sure if that would work as well as you'd like.

 

Why don't you just digitize your cats, and then e-mail them to yourself whenever you have to transport them?

More seriously, you could get the rubber trunk liner that Acura dealers sell. Then fold the seats down and put the cats at the end of the trunk (where you'll be able to see them in your rear view mirror). That way, if they pee, its just on the rubber mat.