Help:Cats In-Cabin Issue (Air Canada)
Oct 6th, 2005, 05:04 PM
#62
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Here's another issue I'm curious about. I have a good friend who is extremely allergic to cats, so much so that she virtually never comes to my home. Sometimes when I am visiting her, or meeting her for dinner, she has an allergic reaction to my clothing. (With 2 affectionate cats it's pretty hard to never have any cat hair on me!)
I make a point of putting on absolutely clean clothes, straight from the laundry, and not handling the cats at all before I meet her.
So I'm wondering if any of you who are so allergic have ever experienced something like this when traveling?
Also, since I don't think anyone has mentioned it, I was always under the impression that any given flight was limited to 1 or 2 animals total for the comfort of those who might be allergic. Surely if you were seated near someone traveling with an animal you'd be able to find someone to switch seats with you.
I'm the one who WANTS to sit next to the dog or cat, by the way!
I make a point of putting on absolutely clean clothes, straight from the laundry, and not handling the cats at all before I meet her.
So I'm wondering if any of you who are so allergic have ever experienced something like this when traveling?
Also, since I don't think anyone has mentioned it, I was always under the impression that any given flight was limited to 1 or 2 animals total for the comfort of those who might be allergic. Surely if you were seated near someone traveling with an animal you'd be able to find someone to switch seats with you.
I'm the one who WANTS to sit next to the dog or cat, by the way!
Oct 7th, 2005, 01:23 PM
#63
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Marilyn, you are correct. They only allow so many animals in cabin per flight. I too would be the one who would LOVE to sit next to a cat or dog.
I asked my sister's sister-in-law, who is a flight attendant if she has witnessed anyone having an allergic reaction, while on a flight where there is an animal on board and she said never in all the years she has flown. It's not to say it hasn't happened but it hasn't on her flights. They enforce keeping the animals in their carriers for that reason and, let's face it, not everyone cares for animals.
I would think those that are so allergic would be carrying some sort of medication with them.
I asked my sister's sister-in-law, who is a flight attendant if she has witnessed anyone having an allergic reaction, while on a flight where there is an animal on board and she said never in all the years she has flown. It's not to say it hasn't happened but it hasn't on her flights. They enforce keeping the animals in their carriers for that reason and, let's face it, not everyone cares for animals.
I would think those that are so allergic would be carrying some sort of medication with them.
Oct 7th, 2005, 01:42 PM
#64
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A person with a several cat allergy is far more likely to suffer an allergic reaction from sitting next to a human passenger with cat hair and dander on his/her clothes than from sitting in the same cabin but not in the same row as a cat in a carrier tucked under the seat.
2Cats, I suggest you take the autotrain under the Channel to France and pick up a nonstop from Paris to Toronto on AF. I know AF still accepts pets in the cabin (in limited number so book early).
Re sedatives, vet advice is mixed. American vets seem to be more against sedatives even for pets flying in cabin than European vets. Our vets in Belgium and the UK see nothing wrong with a mild sedative for a pet that you are SURE will be in the cabin with you.
However, the sedative should always be tested at home at least two weeks beforehand to make sure the dosage is right and the pet has no adverse reaction.
2Cats, I suggest you take the autotrain under the Channel to France and pick up a nonstop from Paris to Toronto on AF. I know AF still accepts pets in the cabin (in limited number so book early).
Re sedatives, vet advice is mixed. American vets seem to be more against sedatives even for pets flying in cabin than European vets. Our vets in Belgium and the UK see nothing wrong with a mild sedative for a pet that you are SURE will be in the cabin with you.
However, the sedative should always be tested at home at least two weeks beforehand to make sure the dosage is right and the pet has no adverse reaction.
Oct 7th, 2005, 02:08 PM
#66
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We've moved various cats by car across the country several times over the years. I can't remember even once where they used the litterbox in the back floor of the car. They'd go in the motel before we'd leave in the morning, then again when we stopped for the night. For some reason, they just seem to "lock up" while in transit. Have not carried one in a plane cabin.
Given the choice of sitting next to a pet in the cabin or a baby.....give me the pet any day of the week!! Cat urine and poo is certainly no more odorous than a baby's nasty diaper which is crying out to be changed. And speaking of CRYING .......
Given the choice of sitting next to a pet in the cabin or a baby.....give me the pet any day of the week!! Cat urine and poo is certainly no more odorous than a baby's nasty diaper which is crying out to be changed. And speaking of CRYING .......
Oct 7th, 2005, 02:10 PM
#67
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Spare a thought for the distraught owners of a cat despatched on a domestic Australian flight - the animal escaped en route and is now nowhere to be found.
Don't stop reading: the anguished owners are divorced and living in different cities, and the cat was on a regular "access" visit. I could only assume that the Family Court, in a moment of more than usually daft decision-making, had awarded joint custody.
In making its successful bid for freedom the cat seems to be the only party that's displayed any common sense.
Don't stop reading: the anguished owners are divorced and living in different cities, and the cat was on a regular "access" visit. I could only assume that the Family Court, in a moment of more than usually daft decision-making, had awarded joint custody.
In making its successful bid for freedom the cat seems to be the only party that's displayed any common sense.
Oct 16th, 2005, 10:16 AM
#70
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I am also quite curious, as an animal lover and person who has severe pet allergies... How did the trip go off?
BTW- on my recent flight from JFK-Helsinki, there was a woman with a small dog in a carrier in our cabin.
I said hello on the way to the restroom, and the woman mentioned that the flight attendant had told her she had to keep the animal closed into the dog carrier during the entire flight. Of course, as I walked by, the dog was very much OUT of the carrier! The dog seemed very friendly, but still...
I'm sure the animal was not supposed to be out, as stressful as travel is for all of us, including the pooch!
I do admit to some mixed emotions on this issue, because while I love animals, I am allergic to their dander. I would have arrived to Helsinki a VERY sick girl if I had been seated near a cat...
BTW- on my recent flight from JFK-Helsinki, there was a woman with a small dog in a carrier in our cabin.
I said hello on the way to the restroom, and the woman mentioned that the flight attendant had told her she had to keep the animal closed into the dog carrier during the entire flight. Of course, as I walked by, the dog was very much OUT of the carrier! The dog seemed very friendly, but still...
I'm sure the animal was not supposed to be out, as stressful as travel is for all of us, including the pooch!
I do admit to some mixed emotions on this issue, because while I love animals, I am allergic to their dander. I would have arrived to Helsinki a VERY sick girl if I had been seated near a cat...
