OT flying with a cat???

[Guest guest]

Hi Jenni,

 

How long is your flight? You might want to talk to your vet about a seditive for

kitty,

if he is extremely vocal. Other passangers may make your flight a pain, if kitty

is

bothering them.

 

Our Zorro (you guessed it, he's black with a white spot) would scare anyone with

his

crazy halloween meowing and he HATES the carrier. He doesn't like car rides

either. He

sounds like a tortured baby, apparently (comment from over the phone: You'd

better take

care of your baby. It sounds like it's in pain. me: I don't have a baby. That's

my

cat!). When he panics, his eyes get really wide and he meows and looks like

cover art

from a Stephen King Novel. I feel for him, but it's pretty funny that he looks

so very

scarey when he's really the sweetest, gentlest, squishy kitty (loves his hugs -

squishes) on the planet.

 

Anyway, the cabin pressure on the plane may effect kitty in a negative way and

he may

start meowing because he's uncomfortable. A seditive might help.

 

You'll likely be at the airport for 1.5 hours before the flight b/c of security.

I'd

put kitty on a leash and take him outside to see if he'll do his business in

some grass

before putting him in the carrier, and go through security at the last possible

moment.

Kitty probably won't do his business in the carrier though. Animals typically

don't

like to hang out in their own flith. I wouldn't give him treats on the plane

though,

unless it's a really short flight... 'cause ya might be encouraging exactly what

you're

trying to prevent: cat poop on a plane! (sounds like another Scary Movie sequel

*lol*).

 

Good luck with your move! Ear scratches to kitty

 

Denise Gontard Cartwright

-----

From : Jenni[]

Sent : 10/27/2007 10:06:32 AM

To :

Cc :

Subject : RE: OT flying with a cat???

[Guest guest]

I have some ideas for you. first off dont feed her anything but water 12 - 24

hour before your flight it helps with the poop and some cats get nervous and

puke. Also wear a shirt to bed for a few night in a row so it has your smell and

put it in the carrier with the kitty for comfort.

 

Jenni < wrote: HI Everyone...

 

do any of you have any experience flying with a cat? Our kitty will

be in a soft carrier, in the cabin along with us... but still... I'm

a little nervous.. any tips would be greatly appreciated...

 

The carrier is on it's way to us. We plan to try to acclimate Wicky

to it prior to our trip (we're moving at the end of NOvember) . We

figure we'll try to make it cozy... give her treats in there and

stuff like that..

 

but.. how do you deal with cat poop in the carrier... will a cat even

go in the carrier?? has anyone ever traveled?? please share your

do's and don'ts! =)

 

oh.. we'll be traveling with a newborn as well, and my hubby and our

9 & 11 yo kids. =)

 

thanks!

Jenni

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Hi Jenni

I don't have experience of flying with a cat (over here I think they

would insist on it going in a hard case in the hold) but on two

occasions I have made a couple of 5 hour train journeys with a cat.

In each case the cat hated travelling by car and bus and would

constantly howl but each was good as gold on the train and did not

make a sound. I think part of what helped was that I would sit the

cat in her carrier on the table in front of me so that she could see

me at all times and be reassured. As I imagine that will not be

possible on a plane, I would sleep for a couple of nights in an old t-

shirt and put it into the carrier with the cat so that she has your

familiar smell to reassure her.

 

Over here you can get a cat pheromone spray called Feliway. I buy it

at the vet. It makes cats feel safe and secure and you could spray it

in the carrier. If you are familiar with Bach Flower remedies you

might like to try those. I bought some Emergency Essence for one of

my cats who gets stress-related cystitis whenever I went away. With a

few drops of Emergency essence in her water bowl I was able to go

away for a fortnight and she did not get cystitis. Scleranthus is

meant to be good for travel sickness in cats or there are homeopathic

remedies which can help.

 

I looked up air travel in my Natural Cat book. They recommend:

acclimatising the cat to the carrier by holding weekly catnip parties

in it before you go away; not feeding the cat the day of travel;

being casual about the trip (although this may be difficult with

2kids and a baby); generally being reassuring and confident about the

trip to the cat. They do not recommend tranquillisers because they

say it can be difficult to get the dosage right and some cats can

have the opposite reaction and become hysterical on them. It is an

oldish book (c 1982)and sedatives may be better these days.

 

HTH

Christie

 

, Jenni < wrote:

>

> HI Everyone...

>

> do any of you have any experience flying with a cat? .......

[Guest guest]

HI Everyone...

 

do any of you have any experience flying with a cat? Our kitty will

be in a soft carrier, in the cabin along with us... but still... I'm

a little nervous.. any tips would be greatly appreciated...

 

The carrier is on it's way to us. We plan to try to acclimate Wicky

to it prior to our trip (we're moving at the end of NOvember) . We

figure we'll try to make it cozy... give her treats in there and

stuff like that..

 

 

but.. how do you deal with cat poop in the carrier... will a cat even

go in the carrier?? has anyone ever traveled?? please share your

do's and don'ts! =)

 

oh.. we'll be traveling with a newborn as well, and my hubby and our

9 & 11 yo kids. =)

 

thanks!

Jenni

[Guest guest]

I have lots and lots of experience traveling with pets, both cats and

dogs. I bring plastic bags and paper towels with me just in case my

pet gets sick or has an accident. Only one of my cats had an accident

in his carrier, but I had extra bedding, and we just changed it out. I

expected him to. I have never had another cat have an accident in its

carrier. Especially on short domestic flights. All of my pets but one

puppy flew in the cargo. They were too big to fit under the seat. I

have large cats. I bring a small bag of kibble for the hotel room or

the first night in the new home, and I bring a portable, sealed litter

box in case we get stuck in a hotel. (We've flown overseas a few

times and had planes break down.) A lot depends on where you are

moving to. I also bring a sedative in case one of my cats wigs out,

but I have only had to use it once in a hotel room with my one cat.

After that, they were all fine. There are pads you can get that go in

the carrier that are extra absorbent if you want peace of mind. Lori

 

 

 

 

 

-- In , Jenni < wrote:

>

> HI Everyone...

>

> do any of you have any experience flying with a cat? Our kitty will

> be in a soft carrier, in the cabin along with us... but still... I'm

> a little nervous.. any tips would be greatly appreciated...

>

> The carrier is on it's way to us. We plan to try to acclimate Wicky

> to it prior to our trip (we're moving at the end of NOvember) . We

> figure we'll try to make it cozy... give her treats in there and

> stuff like that..

>

>

> but.. how do you deal with cat poop in the carrier... will a cat even

> go in the carrier?? has anyone ever traveled?? please share your

> do's and don'ts! =)

>

> oh.. we'll be traveling with a newborn as well, and my hubby and our

> 9 & 11 yo kids. =)

>

> thanks!

> Jenni

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Jenni,

 

I think others have already given you great tips and I agree with those

who have said that Wicky probably won't poop in the carrier. On the

other hand, we once had to take a lovely old cat who had IBD on a

longish flight. At a friend's suggestion, we put a small foil baking

tin (3 " x5 " or so) in the corner with a tiny bit of litter in it and some

newspaper nearby that she could use to shred to her heart's content.

(The litter was more to let her know it was okay to use the tin than

anything else. The newspaper was so she wouldn't get more stressed

thinking she couldn't cover anything up, even though of we cleaned it

out right away.) Worked like a charm and made clean-up much easier.

Hope this helps and that your move is an easy one!

 

Peace,

Maureen

 

Jenni wrote:

> HI Everyone...

>

> do any of you have any experience flying with a cat? Our kitty will

> be in a soft carrier, in the cabin along with us... but still... I'm

> a little nervous.. any tips would be greatly appreciated...

>

> The carrier is on it's way to us. We plan to try to acclimate Wicky

> to it prior to our trip (we're moving at the end of NOvember) . We

> figure we'll try to make it cozy... give her treats in there and

> stuff like that..

>

>

> but.. how do you deal with cat poop in the carrier... will a cat even

> go in the carrier?? has anyone ever traveled?? please share your

> do's and don'ts! =)

>

> oh.. we'll be traveling with a newborn as well, and my hubby and our

> 9 & 11 yo kids. =)

>

> thanks!

> Jenni

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

, Jenni < wrote:

>

> HI Everyone...

>

> do any of you have any experience flying with a cat?

 

Yes, I do. Though we did have our cat placed in the

animal luggage hold. But while on-flight we saw another

person with a cat on board in a soft carrier.

 

>

> but.. how do you deal with cat poop in the carrier... will a cat even

> go in the carrier?? has anyone ever traveled??

 

Don't worry about pee or poop. Cats and dogs will not go where

they sleep as a general rule. I traveled from Hawaii all the way to

NY and my cat never went in his carrier. Just avoid feeding them,

and giving too much water prior to the trip; your kitty will hold it,

but why make them more uncomfy than they already will be during

this new experience.

 

~ PT ~