LucieV

I don't know, Underhill. I just think I'd rather entrust my pet to an experienced professional with a solid rep. The stress of flying with a pet for more than an hour or two is just beyond my pay grade.

jubilada

no, I haven’t considered it and won’t consider entrusting her to strangers. She would surely be much more terrified. I’m primarily worried about TSA, and I’ve gotten lots of good suggestions



Nor would i consider putting her in the hold even if airlines allowed it. It’s barbaric.

on SW people who don’t want to or can’t because of allergies be in proximity to a cat can choose a far away seat. I sympathize with those with allergies, but sitting further away and/ or taking a claritin can help. I will however ask the vet about the allergy wipes. If they are ok for the cat, i’d use them.

she is very used to her carrier and sits in it in the house, so the carrier itself won’t freak her out. I like the idea of partially covering the carrier, and I will be sure to be careful about the door in the small room.
she has her reservation and i know her carrier meets specifications, so good there.

I appreciate all advice.

suze

While I used to feel the same way, suze, I have since met somebody who has been transporting animals for a living for over 30 years. I'd trust her with my pets in a millisecond.

LucieV - So how does this person transport animals? What kind of qualifications or arrangements can they make different than any other individual Not for jubilada... just curious.

LucieV

See my answer to Underhill, suze. I don't know. It's just that I happen to trust this person. I've never had to transport a pet in a plane, and I don't think I'd be very good at it.

mlgb

It isn't "barbaric". Just makes the owner feel better to know the cat is under the seat. The "hold" has the same pressure and temperature as the main cabin. Plus it's dark and quiet. My ex-tenant's XL smart and feisty orange cat (see profile photo) actually did better in the hold (she travelled with two cats to France and back several times). The dumb little fluffy always one got the under-seat space.

HappyTrvlr

When you have a large pet like a big dog, you have to put them in the hold. The worst thing was I watched the agent put the incorrect luggage tag on the crate, it was to a different city than we were flying to! My DH walked with baggage handler to watch them put our dog on the correct plane. We were moving so had to do this. Otherwise we put her in a kennel when we traveled.
Flying east in June, two cats were in the seats in front of us, in crates on the floor, and meowed the whole flight. It didn’t bother me though and actually was kind kind of funny.
It sounds like you have a good plan for your cat. I know it is stressful.

jubilada

I have heard horror stories about animals in the hold, from people who i know and trust, so perhaps i have the wrong impression in general. At any rate, i’m not doing that.

we picked up meds today and will try them soon.

Underhill

Wishing you and the cats a happy experience.

balthy

My daughter flew her 2 cats from the UK to NY in the hold, they were fine. I don't believe it to be barbaric, animals are kept in a separate part of the hold which is heated and pressurised, it's not the same area as baggage. At Pet Reception we saw lots of other pets flying all over the world, some were frequent travellers and quite used to the experience, for others it could be traumatic, but so is travelling in the cabin. But I'm sure it's a different story for US domestic flights. where people want to keep everything close to them in the cabin, whether it's pets or luggage.

Underhill

Our cats find that being handled by strangers is VERY traumatic. I suggest reading newspaper accounts of accidental releases, too.

annw

We have 3 cats now and down the road may be spending more time in Denver, a 2.5 hour flight from SFO, our home base.

I'm guessing we would need to buy 3 tickets to have the available underseat space. Southwest and United are the main carriers and we would have no problem moving to the last row on Southwest if it meant people with allergies would be spared.

I've only flown with one cat many years ago, underseat, El Paso to SFO. Siamese, bad idea. Meowed most of the time, despite sleepy meds, but the plane was loud and drowned most of it out.

janisj

"I'm guessing we would need to buy 3 tickets to have the available underseat space. Southwest and United are the main carriers and we would have no problem moving to the last row on Southwest if it meant people with allergies would be spared. "

• WN (Southwest) allows up to 6 pets per flight . . . but they are first come, first serve basis and one cannot prebook them. So you'd have to show up at the airport really early to make sure you are the first one or two to have pets. I would absolutely pay for Early Bird check in so you could have your choice of seats.

• UA allows two pets in a premium cabin and up to four in coach, pre-booked. (I'm not sure if their regional partners like United Express, Skywest, Republic etc so you might need to book on mainline UA)

In either case you would need to either book three seats - or find a friend or acquaintance flying on the same flight

annw

Thanks, Janis!

mowmow

It's a nightmare just getting my cat to the vet! Three freeway exits away. Poor guy is terrified and howls the entire time. I'd never take him anywhere.

jubilada

Updates:
we’ve now sucessfully flown across country twice with our cat, with the help of a little gabrpentin. It was so easy! At TSA we went in a small side room and held her while they assured she was not carrying contraband in her carrier. We had reserved for her on SW ( which was definitely allowed Janis, and in fact required) but that flight was cancelled and we went Delta instead. On SW fee is $99 and on Delta $125. Rabies certificates were not required.

While we were told that she would have to stay under the seat in front of us, we actually held her on our laps as did other travelers This was great.

We will do this trip one more time in October and now have no worries.

catspajamas

Thanks for the update! I have checked occasionally to see how kitty fared flying.

sassy27

Thanks for the update.

My friend just returned to the US from Austria with her cat and while the flight went ok. The poor cat developed cat acne due to the stress of traveling. That is what the vet thinks so not sure if the cat will go to her next overseas post. It never happened before as the cat changes locations every 2 years overseas so it was a new symptom.

paxszymacha9788

Some time ago, before the covid, my friend moved from Australia to NY having a cat. There were no major problems except that she had to get him a passport and vaccinate him against a few additional diseases (she found the list somewhere on the Internet). She was a bit scared if the kitten would bear the flight, but everything went as it should. Before boarding the plane, the kitten received sedation medication prescribed by the veto, and my friend could also ask the staff to check if the cat was okay. Overall, she was very pleased with the situation and the way it all happened.