Thank you all for the great suggestions!
I really do hope that I won't run into this situation again where I'm stuck without my cat! He's such an important part of my world when I'm out and I've been very attached to him for years. I don't know how I managed to leave him behind yesterday.

In my distress tolerance kit I have a lot of sensory things. Lemon drops, candy, body lotion and hand lotion, a few smooth rocks, some chicken feathers and a pouch of items that are very colorful and calming to stare at.
Lately I haven't been taking it with me to places, as I've been doing well with just my cat.