A cat dad is going viral for taking his 3 pets on dreamy trips around the world

• Cat father Dan Nguyen has absent viral sharing his travels with his 3 cats on Instagram and TikTok.

• His spouse Olivia is guiding the digicam, capturing their adventures across The us and Europe.

• Sponge Cake, Mocha, and Donut started as indoor cats but had been “incrementally” skilled to travel.

New York Town-primarily based attorney Dan Nguyen has virtually fifty percent a million people today following his journey as he travels the entire world with his cats.

Dan Nguyen and his wife Olivia Nguyen operate a common Instagram account @spongecake_thescottishfold, which has above 314,000 followers, as well as the TikTok page @spongecake_cats, which has 199,000 followers as of Friday.

Both of those doc their a few cats as they investigate the earth — Venice, Paris, Milan, and extra — from the ease and comfort of Dan’s travel backpack.

Olivia began the social-media accounts in November 2021, as the relatives embarked on their 1st global vacation to Paris. The next video clip she posted in November confirmed Dan hugging Sponge Cake with a view of the Eiffel Tower in the track record. The online video received around 192,200 views and 16,900 likes.

Talking to Insider, Dan claimed he and Olivia got Sponge Cake and Mocha, two Scottish Fold cats, and Donut, a British Shorthair, in the summer season of 2020. With gradual schooling, the indoor cats — who Dan calls his “pandemic toddlers” — have grown accustomed to the outside the house world, according to their owners.

Sponge Cake, Mocha, and Donut have unique personalities, but they all like checking out, Dan claims.

Dan mentioned Sponge Cake is “a very adventurous man who likes to discover” and is “really hooked up” to him and Olivia, whereas Mocha is “a extremely sweet boy who is often calm” and enjoys walks on Fifth Avenue. Last but not least there is Donut, the last cat to sign up for the loved ones. Dan advised Insider that Donut was hesitant to go exterior at initial but is now the biggest fan of the outdoors.

Olivia begun social-media accounts for their cat trio just as Dan begun instruction them for journey by having them to neighborhood places like Central Park. Around time, their visits grew to become additional adventurous and their on the net subsequent grew.

Tale continues

According to Dan, who wrote “Journey Cats: How to Educate Your Cat for Outdoor Adventures,” a guide posted in July outlining his process of schooling indoor cats to go exterior, it’s very best to instruct them “incrementally” with a good deal of treats, light petting, and encouragement.

To those people hoping to emulate Dan and Olivia’s good results, their assistance is to get your cat to have faith in you and truly feel secure with you.

Dan reported he and Olivia basically really don’t want to travel with out their cats, even if it necessitates additional business.

Their to start with out-of-condition experience was a trip as a result of Orlando, San Francisco, and Sacramento in 2021, Dan stated. Dan’s reason for bringing the cats was straightforward: “We required them to be with us.”

The trip gave them the self-assurance to go overseas for the initially time that November to Paris, which Dan stated the cats specifically loved.

Considering the fact that then, they’ve gone on to discover Venice and Milan, and Dan mentioned they are aiming to pay a visit to Switzerland in the fall.

But having Sponge Cake, Mocha, and Donut abroad is no wander in the park as most countries have distinctive principles about touring with cats, he mentioned.

Dan mentioned finding certifications from their vet for sure airways was beneficial, and a lot a lot quicker than the prolonged approach of getting accredited by the US Foodstuff and Drug Administration.

This intended he and Olivia could merely check out in with the vet to make positive their pets are risk-free to fly and have the appropriate vaccinations prior to traveling. If you approach on touring with your pet, you can lookup for your destination on the United States Department of Agriculture’s site to locate the most up-to-day requirements.

Although some airways need passengers to set their animals in the hold, Dan and Olivia’s cats are usually small enough to go in the cabin.

Dan and Olivia favor not to put their cats in the keep when flying, rather opting to get them into the cabin with them. For pets that weigh less than 10 kg, or close to 22 pounds, Dan says you can acquire them in carriers that qualify as hand baggage and in good shape them beneath the seat in front of you. He additional that the cats sleep in their carriers any time they are drained throughout extensive flights.

As Sponge Cake, Mocha, and Donut outnumber their dad and mom, in some cases Dan and Olivia want to book an added ticket, but not all airlines let them to do this. “At times, when I desired to obtain a 3rd ticket and an vacant passenger seat, it is really not permitted,” Dan instructed Insider, noting that they only allowed a single pet for each human passenger and would not allow them to get a ticket for an empty seat.

The working day right before a flight, the couple also sets apart a person full look at-in suitcase for the cats. “In it is disposable litter boxes and a little little bit of litter, wet and dry foods, and then all their toys, and scratching posts,” Dan reported, incorporating that he and Olivia usually consider to re-generate their home setting at the vacation spot.

The globe-trotting cats never just entice notice on the internet as folks who come upon them on the road are equally drawn to them.

“We get a whole lot of laughs, a good deal of smiles, and a large amount of curiosity. We get a good deal of people coming up to us and seeking to say hello to them, which is normally enjoyment,” Dan explained, noting that folks often ask how he bought the cats to be so snug outdoors in occupied areas.

Back again property in New York Metropolis, Dan stated the cats normally enjoy spending time in Central Park or Occasions Sq., or outdoor eating with their mothers and fathers. He additional that he and Olivia are wary of not overwhelming their pets with notice from passersby but cat lovers will nonetheless appear up to them and get pictures.

The cats are recognized for their chic outfits which include cozy sweaters and Olivia’s handmade colourful neckties.

Olivia can make the cats’ personalized bow ties and also buys knitted pastel sweaters for them to put on.

“All the bow ties and the ribbons that you see are custom made-designed by my wife,” Dan mentioned, noting that Olivia attire them up for “enjoyment and pics.”

He added that Olivia’s designs are fragile and need special cure when they travel. “She in fact does not put the bow ties and things into the suitcase mainly because they’re much too useful to her and they’re so delicate, so she in fact carries them on hand in a box,” Dan said, laughing.

Dan mentioned he and Olivia have uncovered a fair few matters from the adventures they’ve shared with their cats.

A several items Dan stated he has figured out about traveling with cats involve just how extensive it can take for them to pass security checks, which can be added tough if they usually are not relaxed with the approach. He also stated it is really important to exploration pet-pleasant inns in your place and to do excess setting up to make a pet-inclusive itinerary.

Though the Nguyens have by no means dropped monitor of their cats, Dan claimed it can be a challenge when they climb trees. Just one of his finest suggestions for all those bringing their cats to city spaces is to not let them climb increased than you can attain, he said.

“From time to time, a person of them goes also higher,” Dan stated. “Then we have to gently hold out them out. I place my backpack with the best down and I keep it up to them and at some point, they’ll jump into the backpack.”

After boating in Lake Como and prancing exterior Paris’ Louvre Museum, it can be risk-free to say no limit to how much these cats will go.

Go through the initial report on Insider