has anyone ever flown with a cat?

[milosmommy]

Has anyone ever flown with a cat?

I'm flying from dallas to san diego (3hours) - i have 2 kittens (about 8 and 10 months old) and I'm not sure how to fly with them.
any suggestions?

[E's]

Daughter took a Siamese kitten from New Orleans to Austin on Southwest Air... believe the flight stopped at Houston Hobby... Tanuki was about 4 months as I recall, and went in a standard plastic pet crate... no problems, but it was a shorter flight and about 20 years ago. 3 hours isn't long, but there is travel to and from airports, waiting to load and all that... especially these days from what I hear... I made the flight from Dallas to California (John Wayne Airport in O.C.) and it felt like forever... and that was 9 years ago. My advice is to find out beforehand all you can about rules & requirements, from the airline you will be using, and factor in plans for getting from airport to residence as quickly as possible at the end of the trip. Also do some "practice" runs if the kitties are not used to being in crate and/or car.

For what it's worth, my experience with transporting cats by car has been that litter mates sometimes do better in one carrier, but I don't know if the airline would allow this. Many cats are able to go into a sort of benign trance while travelling... they just sort of "hunker down" and wait it out. But be prepared for yours not being that kind of cat; in which case you stay calm and make no apologies, either to the cats or to baggage handlers!

Here is a website which a professional dog trainer published a couple years ago when moving his pets from Southern Cal to Austin... It has some info re crate size etc. Good luck!

http://www.flypets.com

[LisaLisa]

Agree with E on all accounts. Please call the airline to discuss their rules and reg on flying with cats. Most recently, my friend flew Jet Blue with his cat Floppy from NY to Fl. Jet Blue had carriers you were able to purchase at the airport for a much more reasonable price ($25) than those in pet stores. Most importantly, it conformed to the airline regs for traveling with pets.

Floppy was able to handle the trek (she is 16). I understand she cried for about the first 20 minutes in the plane and then settled down. All in all, the total time from when she was placed in the box at home to getting to her new home in Florida was 6 1/2 hours.

Good luck to you..

[Traci]

Just curious, but is this only a temporary visit or are you actually relocating? If only a few days-visit, I would strongly advise leaving the kittens at home with a responsible care taker or professional pet sitter.

[milosmommy]

Just curious, but is this only a temporary visit or are you actually relocating? If only a few days-visit, I would strongly advise leaving the kittens at home with a responsible care taker or professional pet sitter.

I am in college. I'm going home for over a month. Will come back in mid january. I left them with a pet sitter over thanksgiving, but over a month is too long.

[Traci]

Yes, a month is too long. So, call the airline you will be using and make certain you know their regulations, size of carriers, etc. Most airlines accept a carry-on carrier as long as it meets regulations, speculations, etc. Hopefully the kittens are small enough to be in one carrier together, because you do NOT want them in the cargo area.

[milosmommy]

THANKS SO MUCH EVERYONE