ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Tips for flying with your cat

Updated on October 27, 2008

Frequent flying felines

 

Frequent flier felines.....

Yes, the title is correct. It appears that more and more cat owners are traveling across states and countries and are bringing along their precious,furry four legged friends.

Inevitably, in many households it will occur sometime that due to a holiday vacation or due to a permanent move, pet owners will find themselves debating over the ifs and hows of bringing their pet along for some long distance roaming. In some cases traveling on the road even if for a lengthy journey may appear to be the prime reassuring choice for a worrisome cat owner. However, this may turn out to be time consuming and very lengthy.

Air travel may appear in many cases the most convenient way to go and in some cases it may turn out being the only option left.

We have all heard the front page horror stories of pets running loose on runways or worst dying from heat stroke on the tarmac. But as anything else, these are stories that "sell" such as plane crashes, cruise ships' rotten seafood, and actor's infidelities.

The truth is that there are so many pets traveling on planes each year that the accidents mentioned in newspapers are just a microscopic fraction. Of course, we should not underestimate these terrible happenings which are a pet owner's worst nightmare.

On the other hand, we must admit too that these happenings are also an airline's worst nightmare due to the bad reputation following a pet's accident or death.Airlines, therefore, are becoming more and more pet friendly, allowing pets on board even in the cabin nowadays. When traveling in cargo extra care is provided in assuring that personnel are professionally trained in pet handling and that the air is pressurized and the temperature properly controlled.

I have experienced first hand both cabin and cargo travel with my 8 year old Persian cat which has followed me throughout Italy, Germany and the United States.I really wished they made a frequent flier program for felines, I am sure by now she could have gotten many air miles.

Of course having the option to choose, I do prefer to bring her along with me in the cabin, just for peace of mind. I like to have her in sight right in front of me and hear an occasional meow now and then when lunch or a snack is served. My cat takes the flight well, maybe a meow while boarding the plane when the engine is real loud or when taking off, perhaps because her ears may be popping just as mine do.

If you are traveling with the cat along in the cabin be prepared: your pet will be an absolute attention grabber. I have not been on a flight without having a bunch of people around her like a celebrity boarding a private jet. She doesn't mind the commotion; at some times she even seems to enjoy the popularity. I must admit the flights with her in the cabin are the best, I have company, extra space for my legs since they usually give us the front row and flight attendants will always be extra nice and make sure to stop bye just to say hi.

I really love carrying her in her cute Sherpa bag.

However, a day had come when I had no other choice than to put her in cargo on an overseas flight and I must admit I was terrorized. The reasons were numerous, the weather, the fact that she never traveled in cargo before, and of course those famous front page" horror stories".

Fortunately, I did a lot of research before hand and found a lot of reassuring information.

First of all, most airlines had an embargo rule, which meant that they would not accept the pet on board if the temperature was too cold or too hot during any part of the itinerary because they were aware that the pet's health would consequently risk being in stake.This may be very annoying for the owner because he/she cannot know how cold or hot it would be until the actual day of the flight and therefore there must be a back up plan if the pet is not accepted. However, this is undeniable proof that the airlines care for you pet's wellbeing.

In hot temperatures snub nosed breeds are at particular risk of having breathing problems and more stringent restrictions may apply. When I took my cat along it was winter so this was not much a concern. There were however limits on flying pets if it was too cold. To play it safe I had my vet prepare a form which stated the temperatures my cat could withstand. My vet also strictly prohibited giving her any sedatives (no Acepromazine!) because they would impair her ability to balance herself if turbulence would be encountered.

I also made sure to find a proper carrier with three openings on each side to assure enough air flow (it must be IATA approved) and stuck a tape with the word Live Animal' and This way up' to to prevent rough handling.I also attached a nice picture of kitty and wrote the flight number and the following cute note:

"Hello, my name is Miccola and I am an 8 year Persian. This is my first time flying in cargo, so I am a little bit nervous. Please take good care of me and ensure I have a great flight and I will be happy to fly with you again!"

Before departure, I also e- mailed a bunch of cat breeders that routinely shipped their cats via cargo and asked them about their experiences. I did not get one breeder saying that they had a bad experience. They were all very reassuring and one actually told me that they would loose much of their business if flying the pets was too dangerous.

Still, the day of the flight I was nervous, and when I had to leave her at the check in desk I found myself stupidly in tears along with people saying goodbye to two-legged family and friends.

The nine hour flight seemed long and I was praying we would not get any turbulence. Luckily, it turned out being a very smooth flight. Once landed at the Newark International though, I was getting more and more nervous because they were taking a long time to reunite us. I knew that pets were the last to be boarded and the first to be un-boarded so this was making me slightly anxious along with the other pet owners.

Then I saw from a distance her carrier on a big cart and there finally was Miccola, just as happy as I was to see her! She was perfectly fine and whispered the cutest meow.

I looked at her and thought to myself that there was really no need to worry because I noticed many other pets were being unloaded successfully just as her and I also thought who knows maybe sooner or later the frequent flier felines will become a reality!

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)