Share your experience when you moved cats to America

[Jorcruzina 15]

Today marks the day of a long journey that finally came to an end.  My Visa got approved and i can finally be with my husband. 

Now the getting-my-visa-approved agitation is over i am now facing a new challenge... moving my two cats to america. I have read some stories now but i would like to hear hands on experience if you have some. 

The Airline i will be flying with (direct flight to my POE) has a room in the freight area that never drops below 10 Degrees Celsius specifically for animals. They each have their own TSA approved travel box.

Should i put them underneath our seats since my husband will be picking me up, give them something to calm down, not feed them before so they don't have accidents???? 

So many questions not enough answers. 

 

 

[April Mora 91]

If it were me, I would keep them under your seats or in your lap. I don't really trust the airlines to handle their boxes with care.

Edited March 14, 2017 by April Mora

[neilsqueen 433]

Definitely keep them with you if you are allowed to.  They will probably remain calm if they feel your presence.  Congrats on your approval and wishing you the best on your new adventure!

[millefleur 5,047]

Are you sure as one you can bring two cats into the cabin/under the seat? D: You might only be allowed one on board. Best to check with the airline first!

 

I've travelled with cats on planes but not all the way to the States. They tend to freak out during take off and get really, really scared from the noise and the thrust. People have mixed feelings about whether to give sedatives or not: I did and it basically had seemingly no effect. For a long haul flight, it might be worth trying.

 

Get a soft carrier if possible, not something hard. This way when the cats try to scratch or bite it, they won't hurt themselves. From the noise and movement they can get really nervous and start biting the carrier aggressively to try and get out, so I think something which they couldn't hurt themselves on would be best! There may be different carrier requirements depending on cargo or on aboard transport, so that's also something to check with the airline.

Edited March 14, 2017 by millefleur

[Julia80 67]

I'm bringing mine from the UK. I am not allowed them in the cabin. They have to go in the hold. I'm so worried. They also advise against any form of medication as it can interfere with their breathing and cause issues, even stopping their breathing altogether. 

[Jorcruzina 15]

No soft carriers in the cargo area  called and asked. It's one pet per human. So we could take two cats in the cabin but only if no-one else booked some sort of cabin animal. 

Called the Vet today. She said she would give them something so they don't freak out. But on here people say to not do it so they could possibly... die????? 

It's a 12 hour flight... one of them is a siamese.. super talkative and loud. She will go awol with her meows in the plane, i know it. I'd be 'that' person with the screaming children

 

[Julia80 67]

21 minutes ago, Jorcruzina said:

No soft carriers in the cargo area  called and asked. It's one pet per human. So we could take two cats in the cabin but only if no-one else booked some sort of cabin animal. 

Called the Vet today. She said she would give them something so they don't freak out. But on here people say to not do it so they could possibly... die????? 

It's a 12 hour flight... one of them is a siamese.. super talkative and loud. She will go awol with her meows in the plane, i know it. I'd be 'that' person with the screaming children

 

Where are you coming from? Ive searched every airline and been told pets are no longer allowed in the cabin AT ALL ever!

[Jorcruzina 15]

Just now, Julia80 said:

Where are you coming from? Ive searched every airline and been told pets are no longer allowed in the cabin AT ALL ever!

Flying with condor. 

The nice Lady told me as long as they do not weigh more than 6 Kilos (including their carrier box) they are allowed under the Seat in the Cabin. I am flying from Frankfurt to Seattle maybe Portland directly. No layovers. Most german airlines allow pets in the cabin as long as they meet size and weight restrictions. They are treated as Carry-on. Since my cats have model measurements  they will be allowed in cabin. But i really don't know if i should bring them in the cabin with all those other people that probably get annoyed having a kitty meow 12 hours. 

[Julia80 67]

5 minutes ago, Jorcruzina said:

Flying with condor. 

The nice Lady told me as long as they do not weigh more than 6 Kilos (including their carrier box) they are allowed under the Seat in the Cabin. I am flying from Frankfurt to Seattle maybe Portland directly. No layovers. Most german airlines allow pets in the cabin as long as they meet size and weight restrictions. They are treated as Carry-on. Since my cats have model measurements  they will be allowed in cabin. But i really don't know if i should bring them in the cabin with all those other people that probably get annoyed having a kitty meow 12 hours. 

Mine are going London to Chicago so it's only 7-8 hours. I'd feel much better about it if I could see that they weren't stressed out. I will be worried sick when mine go in the hold  

[millefleur 5,047]

Don't worry about the other passengers. It's much much better for cats to be in the cabin. Dogs can be trained to be in cages for hours (my mom has two poodles and they're both cage trained) so it's not as big of a deal for dogs to go in the cargo. Definitely not the same case with cats! If you don't have obese cats, definitely take them in the cabin if the airline allows it.

 

Sure, people on the plane are going to be annoyed by the meowing, but who cares? People bring their babies on board all the time and the rest of plane puts up with it, shouldn't be any different with cats. Maybe you'll get lucky and end up being seated near a fellow cat person: that happened to me when I flew and the woman sitting next to me was super nice about it the whole time. We even snuck the cat out of the carrier onto my lap for a bit, haha.

 

I think in the worst case scenario, you can ask to change seats on the plane next to a more cat-friendly passenger if you end up next to someone with allergies or who simply hates cats. Don't be afraid to ask. I'm sure the airline staff are used to this and they know what to do. They'll accommodate everyone accordingly if they're a pet-friendly airline.

[Jorcruzina 15]

36 minutes ago, Julia80 said:

Mine are going London to Chicago so it's only 7-8 hours. I'd feel much better about it if I could see that they weren't stressed out. I will be worried sick when mine go in the hold  

Me too.. thats why i have my husband pick me up. Thats pretty much the only reason why i have him fly from america to germany.. so we can take both cats in the cabin. The lady at condor promised me they go in a little compartment that is especially for animals and they will be handled with a lot of care but who knows... 

You are right @millefleur .. i should not care if they meow a lot or not. I will take them up in the cabin. I won't feed them for 24h so they won't have accidents and see if i can find some pant based calm-downer for them. 

 

[millefleur 5,047]

4 minutes ago, Jorcruzina said:

Me too.. thats why i have my husband pick me up. Thats pretty much the only reason why i have him fly from america to germany.. so we can take both cats in the cabin. The lady at condor promised me they go in a little compartment that is especially for animals and they will be handled with a lot of care but who knows... 

You are right @millefleur .. i should not care if they meow a lot or not. I will take them up in the cabin. I won't feed them for 24h so they won't have accidents and see if i can find some pant based calm-downer for them. 

 

I think you should give them food before the flight. They might just be grumpier and more angry if they're hungry. I've heard that you can feed them up the 5 hours before the flight and it should be fine.

 

Buy some water-proof/absorbent padding for their carriers and place it at the bottom. I actually ended up putting in a throwaway blanket that I didn't care about. The cat had a very tiny accident and the blanket absorbed everything perfectly, no big deal at all. Most vets say the cat probably won't even have any accidents at all, and if they do, it's usually small.

 

This blogger wrote some pretty good advice about her cat travel experience:

 

http://flygirl.jezebel.com/how-to-fly-overseas-with-a-jerk-cat-1734101685

 

 

[depressedgirl 3]

Hey Julie, who are you using from London? Am quote hunting at the moment for my fur babies to boston!

[Julia80 67]

2 hours ago, depressedgirl said:

Hey Julie, who are you using from London? Am quote hunting at the moment for my fur babies to boston!

I'm going through PetAirUK. The quote I got was using British Airways. I'm actually in Manchester but they said the cats need to go direct so they will pick them up and drive them to London the night before (included in the quote).

[Alexxx21 11]

20 hours ago, Julia80 said:

Where are you coming from? Ive searched every airline and been told pets are no longer allowed in the cabin AT ALL ever!

This is only flying in and out of the UK. I used to live in London and I couldn't bring my cat from London to Spain because the UK doesn't allow pets in the cabin. I ended up using a 3-day-truck-trip because it was around 300 pounds. The flight from UK to Spain was around 800 pounds, I don't wanna think about UK-USA..