Illinois Tourism & Travel

Crazy About Travel

These three NYC cats travel the world with their owners

These three NYC cats travel the world with their owners

By no means mind nine life. These 3 globetrotting Manhattan cats are experiencing the higher existence.

Felines Sponge Cake — a Scottish Fold — and British shorthairs Mocha and Donut have traveled to France and Italy with their operator Dan Nguyen and his wife, Olivia.

But they’re not just hanging out in hotel rooms, or even in carriers. The trio — all 2-yr-previous males — have posed in front of the Duomo in Milan, observed the Eiffel Tower and even cruised the canals of Venice in a gondola.

And even though the concept of using most cats everywhere may seem nuts, if not not possible, Dan, a company attorney, insisted he couldn’t go away them at property.

“We had a couple trips prepared and we wished to provide them with us. It was tricky to not be with the cats since we look at them our household,” he informed The Put up. “We know it is a minor untraditional to journey the environment with a cat, allow by yourself three, but we enjoy them and they really like us, so it does not come to feel so crazy to us”

Dan Nguyen takes his cats Mocha, Sponge Cake and Donut with him most everywhere — including when the New Yorker visits Times Square.
Dan Nguyen usually takes his cats Mocha, Sponge Cake and Donut with him most everywhere — including when the New Yorker visits Moments Square.
Olivia Nguyen

To get these residence cats prepared for the wonderful outdoor, Dan and Olivia started out shut to their Midtown dwelling: Central Park, in which the felines graduated from pet carriers to leashes.

“They seemed to appreciate getting outside and checking out,” claimed Dan, who could inform they were being content when they went from cowering in close proximity to his toes to sniffing the air, lounging around the lake and playing in the grass.

The first out-of-town getaway for the kitties — who amassed almost 300,000 followers on Instagram and 177,000 followers on TikTok — was to a resort at Disney Planet in Orlando, Fla. (even though they did not go into the park).

Mocha and Sponge Cake posed for a photo outside The Louvre.
Mocha and Sponge Cake posed for a photograph outside The Louvre.
Olivia Nguyen

“They were being nervous at initial, so they stayed in their backpack carriers,” Dan recalled. “But we began going for walks them all over the resort grounds on their leashes and they acquired utilised to it very speedy.” 

That was before long adopted by visits to San Francisco and Sacramento, Calif. As for having there, “That was quite quick,” he described. “They mainly just slumber on the aircraft. They are all so comfortable and silent. Often, other passengers on the airplane do not even know we have a few cats with us.” 

They hit the ground managing in Paris: “We place them down on cobblestone streets and they took off, exploring each and every storefront until eventually they made a decision to cease at a patisserie,” Dan explained. “Everyone going for walks by stopped to observe these minimal kitties exploring the retailers of Paris.” 

Then, he extra, “We took them to Venice and they cherished it. They have been sniffing every little thing and ‘loafing’ on the walls of the canal.

Nguyen said the trio sometimes walk around on their leashes but also love to ride on his shoulders.
Nguyen reported the trio sometimes walks close to on their leashes but also like to trip on his shoulders.
Olivia Nguyen

“We have enable them run around on the floor, but the the greater part of the time, they want a absolutely free journey on my shoulders,” Dan additional.

And when they are not out in the globe, at the very least 1 of the felines misses it.

“We haven’t taken them outdoors in a 7 days because of the extreme warmth and Sponge Cake has been extra clingy simply because he is not obtaining the awareness he usually will get when he goes out,” Dan stated. “I generally see him hunting exterior as a result of the home windows at all of the individuals on the streets.”

They enjoyed a gondola ride in Venice.
They relished a gondola journey in Venice.
Olivia Nguyen
Sponge Cake perched beside a canal during an April trip to Venice.
Sponge Cake perched beside a canal in the course of an April journey to Venice.
Olivia Nguyen

Mocha is “super sweet. He will let other men and women kiss him on the head and usually is just super relaxed with both folks or other animals,” Dan claimed. Donut is the most social of the three: “He basically begs to go outdoors typically now. He allows us know by scratching the front door and meowing.”

The cats did not will need everything much more than a couple vaccinations for their original travels. On the other hand, for the family’s approaching vacation to Switzerland this drop, the trio will be getting their possess European Union “pet passports” as they journey among nations.

“On social media, it appears like we journey all the time, but it is genuinely only 2 times or so a calendar year,” Dan reported via a snicker. “We have more than enough information to article on social media all the time because we’re always getting photographs of them when we consider a vacation.”

The kitties piled on top of each other on a bench near the Brooklyn Bridge.
The kitties piled on prime of every single other on a bench close to the Brooklyn Bridge.

Dan and his wife Olivia started introducing their cats to the great outdoors via Central Park.
Dan and his wife Olivia started introducing their cats to the wonderful outside by means of Central Park.

The three also took at boat ride around Lake Como, Italy.
The a few also took at boat experience about Lake Como, Italy.

Like his brothers, Donut enjoys trips to Central Park, where he can "loaf" atop the giant boulders and get some sun.
Like his brothers, Donut enjoys excursions to Central Park, exactly where he can “loaf” atop the big boulders and get some solar.

The cats' second-ever trip was to San Francisco. Here, Sponge Cake donned a red ribbon that matched the Golden Gate Bridge.
The cats’ next-ever vacation was to San Francisco. Listed here, Sponge Cake donned a red ribbon that matched the Golden Gate Bridge.

In April, the family headed to Milan, Italy, where they saw the Duomo.
In April, the family members headed to Milan, Italy, the place they noticed the Duomo.

Decked out in matching ribbons, Sponge Cake and Mocha hitched a ride on Dan's shoulders to see the Eiffel Tower.
Decked out in matching ribbons, Sponge Cake and Mocha hitched a trip on Dan’s shoulders to see the Eiffel Tower.

According to Dan, the trio of cats love the water, including the canals of Venice.
In accordance to Dan, the trio of cats appreciate the water, together with the canals of Venice.

Sponge Cake (above) and the others admired the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
Sponge Cake and the other individuals admired the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
Olivia Nguyen

And their consistent content has remodeled their globetrotting cats into celebrities on social media. “People quit us all the time in New York to say hello and pet the kitties. Persons unquestionably know them,” extra Dan, who requires them for jaunts in Hell’s Kitchen area, Korea Town and Times Sq..

They also make a position to head to Fifth Avenue, Mocha’s favored, as often as probable. “Mocha loves Fifth Avenue. It is anything about all the glitter and lights that can make him curious,” Dan stated.

Even Drew Barrymore, who just lately reposted a image of the adventurous trio to her Instagram tales, is a fan. The couple’s kitties have grow to be so nicely-acknowledged and beloved that Dan is self-publishing a reserve, “Adventure Cats: How to Train Your Cats for Outside Adventures,” which hits on the internet merchants next 7 days.

“In the upcoming, we system on getting more cats. Probably in a yr or two for the reason that it is so really hard to journey with three currently, but we do want extra.”