Publications
Partners
They’ve been to the Eiffel Tower, Disney World and New York's Times Square, ridden on a gondola in Venice, walked the streets of London and been to many other places.
Scottish Fold cats Sponge Cake and Mocha and British Shorthair Donut are living their best lives, travelling with their parents Olivia and Dan Nguyen – and have fast become internet sensations thanks to their adventures and cute outfits.
“All the bow ties and the ribbons that you see are custom-made by my wife," Dan told Business Insider, noting that Olivia dresses them up for "fun and photos."
The three-year-old furry brothers from New York City rose to fame in 2021, when a video of their first out-of-town trip to a resort at Disney World in Orlando, Florida, went viral.
The "dessert trio", as they are also known, have notched up a million followers on Instagram and 1,2 million on TikTok.
Dan and Olivia got their “pandemic babies” during the summer of 2020.
But when it came time for the couple to go off on a planned trip they couldn't stand to leave their beloved felines behind.
“We wanted to bring them with us. It was hard to not be with the cats because we consider them our family,” Dan says.
READ MORE| Who’s a clever kitty? How this pawless cat is winning hearts online
Despite knowing it might be tricky travelling with cats, they were up for the challenge. Dan and Olivia trained their indoor cats so they would be prepared. They started off by getting them accustomed to being outside, taking them to local parks around the Big Apple and giving them “a good amount of positive reinforcement such as treats and gentle petting”.
In no time Mocha, Sponge Cake and Donut were comfortable playing in the grass and relaxing near the lake, Dan recalls.
“They seemed to enjoy being outside and exploring,” Dan adds.
Soon the family of five were ready to embark on their trip to Disney World.
“They were nervous at first, so they stayed in their backpack carriers,” says Dan, who works as an attorney when not travelling.
“But we started walking them around the resort grounds on their leashes and they got used to it pretty fast.”
Since then, they’ve spent over two years travelling throughout the United States and Europe, but Paris remains Olivia and Dan’s favourite international destination to visit with their cats.
“We try to go with them every year,” Olivia says. “Paris is pet-friendly and it simply has a lot of charm.”
Before jetting off to a destination, Dan and Olivia do a lot of preparation, which entails getting the relevant travel documents for their cats, finding pet-friendly hotel accommodation, restaurants and activities, and, when possible, booking an extra seat on the flight so their pets can travel in style.
They also check in a bag that has all their kitties' necessities to ensure they're as comfortable as possible during the trip.
“In it are disposable litter boxes and a little bit of litter, wet and dry food, and then all their toys, and scratching posts," Dan says.
Like any siblings these kitties have different personalities. Sponge loves the adventure and exploring, Mocha is very calm and sweet while Donut enjoys chilling outdoors.
To share travelling tips with other pet parents, Dan published Adventure Cats: How to Train Your Cat for Outdoor Adventure in 2022.
“We are grateful for all of the kind words and encouragement from the online community,” Olivia says. “I hope that our story will encourage people to travel [and] go outside with their cats as they know this is possible.”
SOURCES: PEOPLE.COM, BUSINESSINSIDER.COM, NYPOST.COM, INSTAGRAM.COM
