I have traveled many times with my cat, back and forth from California to Orlando. First, you need to have a reservation for your cat if you want it to fly in the cabin with you. Some airlines do not allow cats on flights, so check with the airline. Depending on the airline, they charge somewhere around $135-$150 each way. The cat must be in a soft-sided, airline approved carrier that fits under the seat in front of you. The airline can tell you what dimensions it has to be.
Line the cat carrier with something like dog training pads or diapers. I put an 8"-9" alumimun pie or cake pan in the corner of the carrier with a little kitty litter in it. Do, not put too much in or it will spill out. It's a long flight, so the cat might not be able to hold it. Be sure to have an ID tag on the cat's collar and also on the cat carrier. Stop food and water about 4 to 6 hours before the flight. I have a well behaved, quiet cat, so I do not give him Tranquilizers. Depends on the cat.
You can also have the airlines put the cat in the plane's luggage compartment under the plane. It is not a good thing to do during hot or very cold weather, as there is no heat or A/C. Also, luggage can move around in the luggage compartment and some accidents have happened with pets. I believe you have to have a hard sided carrier to put the cat in the luggage compartment, and the fee is different.
Also, you can not take the cat out of the carrier for any reason either in the airport or on the plane. BUT.......be aware that Security will make you take the cat out of the carrier and will make you carry the cat through the metal detector. This is frightening for the cat. So, hold on tight. Use a leash if security will let you. They made me take my leash off because it had a slight bit of metal on it. So, I use a rubberized rope as a leash that doesn't have any metal on it.
If you have any more questions I can help you with, please let me know. Good Luck! The airlines don't make it easy.
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