Checking cats as cargo on a Northwest flight?
 

I'm relocating from Michigan to the Phoenix area in the next couple of months. I have two cats and am moving and flying out there by myself, so driving is not an option. I'm really nervous about checking my cats as cargo with all the horror stories I've heard and would really appreciate some feedback from people who have done this - good experiences and bad, please. I searched the forum and read a few posts from a couple years back about the service from Continental and Delta, but since I live in a Northwest hub city, they're my only option to fly out on a direct, non-stop flight. Other options I am considering are taking one cat on board as carry-on and checking the other cat as cargo, or even purchasing a second ticket so that I can carry them both on board and put one kennel under the seat in front of me and the other one under the seat in front of the empty seat next to me. This may very well be what I end up doing, as in early to mid-April, it may be warmer than 85 degrees there and NW won't take the cats in cargo. I would appreciate any info. And yes, I know I should be posting this on the Airlines board, but this board gets so much more traffic than that one. Thanks in advance.

Lisa, please keep in mind that some people (including me) are very allergic to cats and won't appreciate sitting next to one. Pressurized cargo would be the preferred option all the way around, particularly on a nonstop flight. I would call Northwest and express any concerns about safety, the pet's well-being, etc.

Lisa, <BR>I don't have any experience with Northwest. I shipped 2 cats cargo from Atlanta to Hawaii in May a few years back. They were fine. I don't think it will be over 85 degrees in Michigan in mid-April, but AZ might be a problem. (I lived in MI for 25 years - brrrrrrr!). None of the airlines will take animals in cargo during the "summer." Also try for a direct flight early in the am or late pm if you are concerned that it may be too warm. The cargo holds are pressurized and heated during flight, just like the passenger cabin. <BR> <BR> You may want to post your question at: <BR> <BR>http://acmepet.petsmart.com/ <BR> <BR>go to boards, then to the cat board (general, not health) and post your question. I was able to get information from people on this board before sending my cats and it was really helpful. Good luck with your move.

Lisa, as a fellow animal lover I don't blame you for being concerned. My limited experience with checking a pet into cargo has not been good. I have done it twice, and both times the dogs did not arrive where or when they were supposed to. Once on a flight from Knoxville to Tampa they failed to transfer to the connecting flight and she had to spend the night in Atlanta. By the time I got her she was dehydrated. Another time I sent my sister's greyhound to Minnesota, in the winter, and they misplaced his crate in a cargo hold. They took several hours to find him and when they did he was shivering and literally had ice stuck to him. I will never check another pet into cargo. If you can take both of them on the plane, by all means do. Sorry to be so negative, but your question struck a nerve. I hope that your pets will travel happy.

Lisa - I don't know your cats, but I do know mine. And if they ever caught wind of my "shipping" them, there would be hell to pay. Buy a second seat and take them both on board!!! Would YOU ride in the cargo hold of a plane? Do you know what esle is down there keeping your cats company? Lets be reasonable: anyone who can breathe airplane air and then live is certainly not going to succomb to a little cat furr on a short flight. People worry about their allegies ("their" ... almost sounds like ownership, doesn't it?), and yet they quite readily accept that stuff the airlines pump in their faces under the label air. Final thought: your fellow passengers are worried about the cats' effect on them. What about their effect on the cats? Do we know for a fact that all the passengers are completely, 100% healthy. Maybe someone is allergic to them. Get those cats some soft carriers and get them onboard. And order them a special kitty meal ... it would be cruel of you to expect them to eat the stuff they give the human passengers as a "snack." Makes my stomack funny just thinking about it.

My husband is very allergic to cats and last week he flew from Chicago to LAX sitting next to a passenger with a cat in a carrier and he had absolutely NO PROBLEM. He was even surprised how well he survived. It sounds like you're best off taking them with you in a carrier.

Lisa, the first thing you need to do is check with your veterinarian, make sure they are healthy to begin with. I also read an interesting report that said most animal fatalities that occur in transit are from people overmedicating their pets to help relieve them of stress. <BR>Personally, my cats are my babies.. If I were moving from Los Angeles to NYC I would do everything possible to drive them there. No matter what. But thats just me, you can go to www.bestfriends.org and check into their forum which provides a lot of information and has vets posting.

If NWA permits, bring the cats as carry-on. Travel cat carriers exist, specifically for planes. They can sit on your lap, or hopefully the seat next to you. <BR> <BR>It is not uncommon to see small dogs and cats as carry-ons. The carry-ons look so much like a purse or luggage that it isn't easy to tell them at first. <BR>

You could drive but you choose not to. It is rude, selfish and inconsiderate of you to impose your cats on other people who actually DO have allergies. <BR> <BR>It's not like the other passengers can get away from your cats. They are stuck there suffering because you are selfish.

My father is so allergic to cats that he has an asthma like reaction when he is even near one. He cannot even tolerate being inside a house where cats live. Not too good for someone who's had by-pass surgery and is diabetic. If you want to try to take the cat on the plane with you, be prepared to have to put them in the cargo area. <BR> <BR>An airline will NOT ship an animal if the high for the day at the origin, any layover, or the destination is 85 or higher. If you ship, go to the pet store and get one of those water bottles they have for Guinea Pigs or Rabbits. DEFINITELY make sure they are on a direct, non-stop flight!

While some people are allergic to animals, what I wonder is how they manage to travel at all? For instance, when they make a flight reservation, do they inquire whether cats will be aboard their flight? How in the world do they control this risk, I wonder? I don't think it's fair to ask people not to bring their pets onboard just because someone may be allergic. That's seeking a degree of control not available to them in almost any other venue in life. Everyone seems to have a horror story when it comes to pets, kids and babies on board a plane. Suddenly it becomes some sort of life or death issue. Is it perhaps a bit exaggerated?

Please don't listen to these people who complain about their allergies. I'm sure they have been on planes before that have had animals (dogs, cats or otherwise) in the passenger area. With all of the horror stories concerning transporting animals in the cargo area, puchase the extra seat and take both with you. The airlines would not allow transporting small animals in the passenger area if they were major problems. <BR> <BR>What matters most is that your cats travel safely, and that is with you!

Hooray for Kris - has given you the best answer. Take that advice and run with it.

Given how improperly air is filtered on your usual domestic flight.. it's a wonder anyone can breath at all..nothing like stewing in your own carbon monoxide for 6 hours at a stretch... You could probibly be on a flight sitting next to a wooly mammoth and not one speck of dander could reach you though the creature was sitting a scant 4 "economy" inches away.

Some info to help plan for future trips www.bonsaikitten.com

L. and others are spouting off about allergies when they obviously know nothing about them. I am VERY allergic to cats. Not dogs, not pigs, not wooly mammoths but CATS. I always carry a Benadryl in my briefcase so it's not really a big deal when I fly. However, last year on Continental I did mention my allergies to the gate attendant when I saw a cat being carried onboard. Whiskers was immediately sent to cargo. The airlines have an obligation to other paying passengers before they do to pets. Period. I know "my pets are my kids" and so on, but be realistic here. If you were the airline, what would you do???

Personally, I wouldn't subject my cat to Northwest! There are many reasons people call them "northworst."

Please rethink driving out,it's far kinder on the cats then shipping them cargo and having the potential for a pet horror story. If you do decide to travel by plane there are only so many animals allowed in each compartment of the plane, 2 to coach, I believe. You would have to be VERY sure your pets could travel with you and that they would allow both of them, even if you bought an extra seat. I would NEVER put one in cargo and take the other onboard. I've moved across several states and we took our cats in the car, it was not great, but they were with us and had some room as opposed to a tiny carrier in a plane. Phoenix will be very warm (hot) and it will take your cats some time to adapt as well. Please rethink your options here.

Sam, what's the real problem for you? You say you have Benadryl with you always, and to quote you, "it's not really a big deal when I fly." But you just had to go out of your way and insist that some fellow passenger's cat go to the cargo hold. Was that your big accomplishment for the day? Are you the same screaming AH who bragged about being oversexed?

L, you're pretty bitchy today. I just said that some people do have allergies and it's not just all in their heads!