Flying with pets?

**Fievel** · 2013-08-13 00:28

Pretty soon I'll be flying with my girlfriend back to MA to pick up her cats, and was wondering if anybody here had any advice/experience with it. It'll be two cats, I've read that we can bring them on as carry ons but do we need to do anything special like have a vet see them before hand?

Also, if we're not able to make it out what airline would you guys recommend to have them flown out? They mean the world to Cass so we're trying to do this as stress-free as possible for them.

**Tsakiki** · 2013-08-13 05:37

It's been years since I had my cats on a plane, but I'm sure the general rules still apply. One flight was from Newark to San Francisco. We did need recent vet health certificates (30 days if I recall correctly) and up-to-date vaccines. The rules for having them in carry-on carriers was that the carrier had to fit under the seat and the cat had to be able to stand up in it. This meant one cat had to go in cargo (big Maine Coon mix). There are probably also rules about the number of animals on-board per flight.

We had sedatives for the cats, but the one that went into cargo refused his. He seemed fine after the flight though. It was really a horrific ordeal for the other cat.

First of all, we were delayed while ready for take-off on the tarmac for 3 hours because of a thunderstorm. This meant the engines were running and I had to leave Isis under the seat (I had her in a soft carrier so I could have the carrier in my lap otherwise). I believe it was worse being there but out of reach than she would have been if she'd been in cargo. There she would have been scared, but would have quietly hunkered down for the duration. As it was, she was whirling like a dervish in her carrier, to the point she had some bleeding claws by the time we got to SF. The second problem was the shrieking 5 year old. Just as Isis would get settled down, the kid would shriek and wake her back up. I felt so bad for the poor thing.

When I moved to Toronto a few years later, I had her sent by cargo a couple weeks after I arrived (needed time to find an apartment and get settled). She was soooo happy to see me when I picked her up, but seemed to have had a very good trip. Again, I think it was because she went into hiding mode for the duration, which was a lot safer for her.

Your girlfriend's cats may not be maladjusted freaks though, so your mileage will vary. Good luck!

**Celestialstrife** · 2013-08-13 06:42

I've flown once with my cat, didn't have to do any medical stuff for her, but her carrier just had to fit under the seat, once we were up in the air I put her in the seat next to me, and she was pretty chill the whole time. Wish I could remember what company I used. Was probably Frontier, but I would give southwest a try.

**Takedown3** · 2013-08-13 07:25

don't be that guy

**Waraji** · 2013-08-13 07:33

Holy shit, just jumped in here from the XIV boards, and that title man, so misleading.

Actually nvm, I read "Flying Pets".

**Ksandra** · 2013-08-13 10:21

My parents last year flew with their toy poodle and cat. As others said there was a carrier requirement. The best thing is to call the airline and ask them for specifics. There will also be an extra fee (think it was $75 per pet).

Dunno what airline you end up taking, but if you do go SouthWest (the ones my parents did), here is the info for them:

http://www.southwest.com/html/genera.../pets_faq.html

Some things to note:

Before buying your ticket on expedia or w/e you use, call them. They have a max limit of 6 pets per flight. They'll tell you what to do.

The max carrier size for them is:

8.5” high x 18.5” long x 13.5” wide

They don't need any medical records.

I would definitely call them first and ask them about their seating policy with pets. On that FAQ it says that people with pets don't get priority. But I know my mom asked several times about this over the phone and they people assured her that they would get seated when they seat the families with small children (after the handicapped get seated), and that's exactly what happened. Southwest, kinda has a first come first serve seating policy. So I dunno if they just don't follow that policy, or it changed in the past year, or what.

Other airlines should have their policies on their website. I honestly would just go with w/e deal you find and/or airline you prefer, and once you find the deal, call the airline first before purchasing.

**Souj** · 2013-08-13 11:15

http://www.neverendingstory.com/images/Image099.jpg

**Tsakiki** · 2013-08-13 11:16

Thinking back, the medical papers might have been just for the cross-border trip when I moved to Canada and would have been a customs requirement rather than airline requirement.

**Fievel** · 2013-08-13 11:41

Awesome, thank you all so much for the information, very helpful and very much appreciated.

Also Waraji, I won't lie, I was sort of hoping that'd happen to somebody.

**Ksandra** · 2013-08-13 11:45

Oh I forgot to mention too that I guess they don't recommend giving them sleeping pills/shots for the flights. I know that used to be the norm, but I guess it can cause heart issues or something.

**Fievel** · 2013-08-13 11:59

Originally Posted by Ksandra

Oh I forgot to mention too that I guess they don't recommend giving them sleeping pills/shots for the flights. I know that used to be the norm, but I guess it can cause heart issues or something.

I was actually just reading about that. It fucks with their balance so when there's turbulence or anything like that they can't keep themselves from falling all over their crate.

**Ksandra** · 2013-08-13 12:03

ah there you go.

**Aylee** · 2013-08-13 12:08

Idk how the hell you would fly with a cat... driving mine 10 miles from apartment to apartment is hell. He howls for the entire duration

**Fievel** · 2013-08-13 12:11

Originally Posted by Aylee

Idk how the hell you would fly with a cat... driving mine 10 miles from apartment to apartment is hell. He howls for the entire duration

Yeah, I'm worried about this, lol.

**Ksandra** · 2013-08-13 12:20

Originally Posted by Aylee

Idk how the hell you would fly with a cat... driving mine 10 miles from apartment to apartment is hell. He howls for the entire duration

Honestly the biggest issues cats have is being in the carrier (obviously unavoidable for planes). Anytime I've driven with a cat if there's more than one person in the car, we kept it out of the cage but on a leash. As long as you keep them away from the driver, for the most part they just huddle under your feet.

When I was younger, my family would take a motorhome from CT to FL every summer. Some years we'd take the cat with us, and it was a complete none issue. He would just wander around the aisle.

They have a cat and dog now that they travel with too (currently they are in the middle of that yearly FL vacation...so jealous). The cat and dog sit on my mom's lap the whole way lmao.

**WrenDraco** · 2013-08-13 12:22

Mine howls in the car but I got him a sedative for the plane. I wasn't terribly worried about his balance as there wasn't really enough space in his soft carrier for him to move around much anyway. He didn't really sleep, but the sedative meant he didn't seem fully awake either, he was just kind of zoned out for the duration.

I flew WestJet from Toronto to Vancouver (5 hour flight) with him about six years ago, and their requirement was a soft carrier that fit under the seat. I also had to take him out of the carrier and physically carry him through the security scanner instead of sending him through the baggage x-ray machine, which makes sense but also made me very glad I had put him in a halter and a leash that I could clip to my belt in case he got away from me. Make sure you aren't wearing anything that might beep!

He was too zoned out to eat/drink and certainly didn't seem to need to pee or anything. Longer flights, that might be an issue. I dripped water on his nose so he'd lick it off so he wouldn't get totally dehydrated.

It was an awful trip because it was a long drive to the airport and then we got stuck in an elevator and our flight got delayed, so the poor thing ended up spending like ten hours in his carrier. D: But he survived just fine and recovered like it was nothing.

**Celestialstrife** · 2013-08-13 14:02

My kitty used to love going on car trips, so when it came time to fly home she was so chill and relaxed. I loved it. I miss her

Now a days I don't think of my current cats would be happy with flying.

Cassalot · 2013-08-13 15:00

Thank you everyone for the useful information and input

I guess my two major concerns now are the carrier size requirement-- 8.5" high.. my normal carriers are 10.5" high so I'm concerned it'll be a little tight for them, and of course my older cat Noah meows a lot in his carrier. Don't wanna drive the other passengers bonkers lol including ourselves. But maybe being it's in a different place (not the car) he won't be as loud. Otherwise my cats are pretty calm so not worried about them going batshit crazy.

**Waraji** · 2013-08-13 15:05

I'm sure 10,000 feet above the ground, flying over 300 mph, the last thing your fellow passengers will be worried about is a meowing cat underneath their feet, behind insulated floors & cargo.

**Fievel** · 2013-08-13 15:55

Originally Posted by Waraji

I'm sure 10,000 feet above the ground, flying over 300 mph, the last thing your fellow passengers will be worried about is a meowing cat underneath their feet, behind insulated floors & cargo.

She's talking about if we brought them with us on the plane as carry ons.

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