Flying with a cat advice

[cquick]

I am flying to San Francisco in December to take my son's cat to him. He's moving in October, but with starting a new job, finding a place to live and traveling with his job to New York in November, he's given me the responsibility of bringing the cat.

Has anyone got advice on what to do? Will a vet give her tranquilizers? The flight is nonstop from Orlando.

I hope someone has done this before!

[dalecrenshaw]

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.

[chuckinca]

Southwest charges $75 each way

http://www.southwest.com/html/customer-service/travel-fees.html?int=GNAVTRAVELFEES


You need a soft sided carrier and reservations for the cat.

We didn't put anything other than the cat in the carrier and she did fine flying from Oakland, CA to Orlando.

Didn't use drugs either. We put her in the carrier when we left home and she got used to it before we got on the plane. Cat was a 2 YO when she flew.

.

[Barefoot]

Please, don't put your son's cat in Cargo. Many airlines allow pets in the cabin for an additional cost. If the cat yowls when it is unhappy, you may want to ask your Vet to prescribe a sedative.

[hedoman]

We have a very "active" spooked cat. The vet gave us a mild sedative and we tried it to measure the effect. Divot was calm and secure for about 12 hours. I have reservations on USAir out of Philly for $100 to fly her down in 2 weeks for our final move. Instead of the scratching, drawing blood, and bruises Lynn gets when taking her to the vet she was calm and serene and allowed her to be picked up and didn't care about her confines. The noise and confusion of air travel will be more tolerable I am sure but I can tell more of the experience in a few weeks.

BTW the size of the carrier doesn't appear to me to allow any real movement to use the litter (which I can't see room for any way). We bought an airline approved carry case ala Paris Hilton's. Yes it is pink but 5 hours of embarressment is better than 2 days on the road.

[graciegirl]

I suggest separate planes.

[Doodlegirl]

Cat in cabin under your seat. Mild tranquilizer depending on the cat's personality and temperament. The airlines post incidents regarding animals in flight and on the tarmac, pretty interesting to see the lost animals, sick, etc.
Best to keep the cat close to you. Importantly, when you get to your son's,
make sure the cat remains indoors...sometimes the flight edges them out and
they hide or try and "leave"... Now, the other thing...rules regarding companion animals in flight are changing practically by the week. So once you make a reservation, be sure to check back with the airline and make sure the
status is still the same. If you are lucky, you will have someone allergic to cats sitting next to you and the steward or stewardess will send you and the
cat to first class! When I fly with cats or dogs I concentrate on the flight being
all about the animal. I place my hand on or near the carrier from time to time, cats are so sensory they know apparently, we are nearby. I think dogs have
something like 238 sensors in their noses...cats apparently more! Good luck and have a meowless flight! No Cargo, period, IMHO. Remember that our 'non-stop' flights can be hampered by weather or issues with the plane...in that case, the pilot may put the plane down and if your cat (or dog) is
in cargo...it can be hours; something you don't want.

[graciegirl]

Doodle. I hope you know that I was kidding. I almost always am.

However, we not only have to think of the cats comfort, but assuredly need to think of the people around us. We love them but others don't have an emotional attachment to our cats or grandkids. I would hate for my kids or my cats to cause other people stress, and kitties do cry out when they are frightened.

We have travelled back and forth to Ohio in the car many times now with our two kitties; Mikey, Harry and Hershey, and sometimes it was better than others. I doubt if the kitties know the difference between flying and zooming down the highway for 15 hours and sometimes they are very vocal about their fear, annoyance, displacement. Sometimes they are sick at their stomachs and sometimes they cannot control their bowels. They assuredly are experiencing great discomfort and will shed their coats too. It is better when they can be let out of their cages and can walk around in our van. Not possible in an airplane. I cannot think of anything worse than hearing them yell and smell them soil their cage while I am thinking about how bad they feel and how upset and annoyed the people around us would be.

We have never had them sedated. I am afraid of over sedating them.
Getting them where they are going is not an easy thing is all I am saying.

[duffysmom]

I once flew with my cat in first class; when I placed her on the floor she let out a soft meow. A man across the aisle bellowed "is there a cat on board, I'm allergic" and proceeded to tell the stewart that the cat had to be removed. The stewart calmly told him that only the Captain could make the decision to remove the cat from the cabin. After a few minutes the stewart returned and told
the man that the Captain suggested he take a seat at the back of the plane.Whew!!!! He remained seated in first class.

It's a good idea to put treats in the carrier a few times before flying so that she thinks that the carrier
is a safe place. I wouldn't give her a treat the day of the flight. Good luck.

[mgjim]

I suggest separate planes.
I had the same reaction when I read the title of your post...my advice would be to never let your cat take control of the aircraft. I guess I should have read the whole post before formulating my response.