Anybody got any experience of flying their pets anywhere...?

carolejo · Post by **carolejo** » Fri Oct 14, 2005 10:28 am

I need to arrange to get my Cat Lyra transported from the UK to the Netherlands. Any of you ever flown with a cat before? Are there any particular experiences you could share or do you know of a good source of information?

Cheers
C.

Jammin' Jan · Post by **Jammin' Jan** » Fri Oct 14, 2005 11:01 am

We flew our cat Fatty from Chicago to the US Virgin Islands, lived there for two years, and then flew her back to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was an adventure! We thought that since she would be in a carrier, we would have her in the cabin of the plane with us, but what we found out was: (1) not all airlines would fly her; (2) she had to fly in the cargo hold; and (3) there were flight restrictions. We had to have a flight that did not stop longer than (I am struggling to remember this) an hour or so in Miami, because of the heat in summer. Coming back to the States was easier for some reason. Make sure all shots are up to date. Get a sturdly carrier. Check with several airlines to see what they will do for you. Be ready to pay extra.

We have been back in the US for 11 years now, so what I am telling you may have changed. Also, it might be different for Europe than for here. But this some of what we went through to get her down to the USVI. Leaving her behind was not an option, as I am sure you can understand since you have a cat yourself. I'm happy to say she is about 17 years old now and is still purring along.

Best wishes to you in your feline travel adventures!

carolejo · Post by **carolejo** » Fri Oct 14, 2005 12:08 pm

Thanks Jan.

Glad to hear Fatty is still going strong. I grew up with a cat called Boot, who finally died aged 21, shortly before my 16th birthday. Lyra is very young by comparison - only 4 years old. You're right that there's no question of leaving her behind - she's my baby!!

I think Lyra's journey might be a little easier than Fatty's was, given that the flight time from Leeds to Amsterdam is only an hour and a half, with no difficult lay-overs.

I've been checking several airlines, but KLM (Dutch Royal Airlines) look to be the best option I've found so far. They say she can travel in the cabin with me if her carrier fits under the seat in front of me and as long as no other passengers complain of cat allergies(!), otherwise she will have to go in the hold... but I think 90 minutes is not too bad anyhow. They'll charge a sizable fee for this, whatever happens, but I was expecting that already. Everything comes down to money in the end, it seems.

I'm expecting the outward flight to be easier than any return to Britain, given that the UK is currently rabies-free, so we have some pretty extreme animal health restrictions to keep it that way. I'm in the process of getting a pet passport for her though, which should fulfill the paperwork requirements.

I'll let you know how it goes, anyway!
C.

Jammin' Jan · Post by **Jammin' Jan** » Fri Oct 14, 2005 1:27 pm

Be sure to keep her health papers on your person at all times, so they will be handy when you need them. Good luck to you. As traumatic as this all seems now, you will both survive and then it will be done.

carolejo · Post by **carolejo** » Fri Oct 21, 2005 10:12 am

Thanks Jan.

I just got the pet carrier today - it came overnight, I'm super impressed!

I went for one of the soft-sided ones in the end. It's a 'Sherpa Original Small Pet Bag'. Looks so dead cute and comfy, I'm tempted to curl up inside it myself but I *definately* wouldn't fit yet! (give it another 2 years of NoS though....)

I only hope Lyra is as fond of it as I am.

I'll let you know how it all goes, anyhow.

C.

Jammin' Jan · Post by **Jammin' Jan** » Fri Oct 21, 2005 11:45 am

I hope it's strong enough that it can be carried by the handle and not break apart. I don't know how much your cat weighs. Ours was 22 pounds, so we went with the rigid plastic, metal door type. We put a towel or something like that in there for her.

Also, before you go, you may want to check with your vet about feeding/watering her before you go, and what to do if she gets motion sickness.

Your flight time is short, but remember she will also be on the ground and in the plane for longer than the hour and a half, and she will have to be hauled in the carrier from one place to another. You want the carrier to be strong and Lyra not to be barfing all over it (sorry to include that gross detail!).

I hope you both have a wonderful trip! Fatty has been all over the US and down to the Caribbean with us and she thrived through it all. Paws, on the other hand, has only been from Minnesota to Nevada and back. But he's young -- only 10 years old -- so give him time! Who knows what adventures are in store for him!

carolejo · Post by **carolejo** » Fri Oct 21, 2005 1:10 pm

No, don't worry about including the gross stuff! These are major details and are very important!

The carrier looks to be pretty robust, as well as being pretty cozy. It's rated for pets up to 8lb in weight. Lyra only weighs just over 3kg anyway (about 7lb max) as she was the runt of the litter. It comes with a washable 'sheepskin' type liner, and I'm going to take a couple of old towels with me too, incase she needs to be cleaned out at any point. I'm considering getting a waterbottle (the same style as you have for hamsters and rabbits) so she can have a small drink if she wants it during the journey. Cats can lick at these to get some moisture, provided they're trained a little beforehand! (she already refuses to drink most still water and will hammer on the tap with her paws instead, asking for it to be turned on. This is a legacy of the time she stayed with my parents, and is both cute and very annoying at the same time!!)

The vet recommends not feeding her for 6 hours before travel and withholding water from 2 hours before. Water can be offered during the journey then, if she'll take it. Even if she doesn't get to eat for nearly a whole day, it won't do her any harm as cats in the wild often have longish stretches without food. That will supposedly minimise the chance she might get airsick, and also the likelihood of an accident from the other end as well! She's not a very 'sicky' cat anyway at the best of times. I think in the 3 and a half years I've had her she's only actually been sick about twice, and both times that was because she'd been chewing on the grass outside. She doesn't even get hairballs, that I've ever seen! Mind you, her fur is pretty short and she loves to be brushed, so she probably doesn't swallow much of it anyway when she grooms herself.

Anyhow, it's a big adventure for both of us! I can hardly wait to get the new carrier home and see what she thinks of it.

C.

Jammin' Jan · Post by **Jammin' Jan** » Wed Oct 26, 2005 11:13 pm

What your vet said about food and water is what I have heard elsewhere.

Keep me posted on your adventures with the Travelin' Lyra!

carolejo · Post by **carolejo** » Sun Oct 30, 2005 8:07 pm

Well, like I posted on my checkin, Friday is Lift-Off day for Lyra the Cat!

She's considerably less enamoured of the pet bag than I was - they seem to have a 6th sense about these things - she won't be seen within 5 metres of the thing, although I know she's been inside at least once cos the freeze-dried prawns I left in there have vanished.

So, anyhow... I'll let you know what happens !

mondurvic · Post by **mondurvic** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 8:24 am

I have used a Sherpa bag for years and am very happy with it. It's lightweight and easily carried, and fits nicely under the seat. I travel with a small dog, not a cat, but there's never been a problem.

Judith

carolejo · Post by **carolejo** » Wed Nov 02, 2005 10:06 am

I put Lyra in the pet bag last night for a whole 2 hours to get her acclimatised. It wasn't a great hit.

She spent the whole time going through a cycle of protesting loudly (fortunately just the indignant 'you've shut me up inside here and I want to be let out' mieow she has, not the 'I'm seriously upset / freaked out / in pain' noise - that's a good 2 octaves lower in pitch

), followed by random escape attempts (digging at the bottom of the bag, pulling at the zipper, standing upright and arching her back to push up etc), followed by a period of sulky silence lasting about 15 minutes cos she'd tuckered herself out, followed by more indignant catty shouting and so on!!

Crikey. She's a nightmare!!!!

I'm now worried she'll make such a pest of herself they'll refuse to let her on the plane. Afterall, if she makes too much noise and fuss, it'll annoy the other passengers.

I'm gonna put her back in the bag again for a couple of hours this evening and try again. The stupid thing is, if I could carry her onto the plane in my arms like a baby, she'd probably sit on my shoulder calm and quiet the whole way! She just hates being shut inside anything though.

I hope she calms down. I'd hate to get to the airport and have them refuse to take her. I don't know what I'd do, really.

C.

Jammin' Jan · Post by **Jammin' Jan** » Wed Nov 02, 2005 11:46 am

Airplanes are really fairly noisy, so she probably won't be heard over everything else.

Could you get a mild tranquilizer from your vet?

If the airline balks at her flying with you as a passenger, how will you feel if they put her in cargo with the luggage? That's what we ended up with. Not great, but we all lived.

carolejo · Post by **carolejo** » Wed Nov 02, 2005 12:23 pm

Luggage would probably not be a total disaster, as long as she only went on at the last minute and then got collected directly at the aircraft door (kind of like what they do with kid's strollers and business class additional cabin baggage), but in that case I'd be a little worried, cos the bag is deliberately soft sided (so it fits in the cabin) and she might get bashed or squashed.

I'm gonna give her another couple of hours tonight. Maybe she'll eventually calm down. I hope so, anyway!

C.

mondurvic · Post by **mondurvic** » Wed Nov 02, 2005 12:30 pm

I think they put pets on first (if they're in cargo), and they come out last. You wait for them in the luggage area. Of course, if they let her on with you, that won't be a problem. Did they assure you you'd be able to take her into the cabin? I, too, would be concerned about the soft sides of the carrier in cargo.

If it's not too late, I second the idea of giving her a pet tranquillizer, something from the vet. Makes it less stressful for you and easier on Lyra, too.

carolejo · Post by **carolejo** » Wed Nov 02, 2005 1:52 pm

Yeah, I have it in writing that she can come on the plane with me as long as 'all the conditions laid down by ground staff are met'. Whatever the hell that means! I guess I have to hope that my check-in staff member is not a cat-hating mini-hitler

I'm sure it's just me fretting and she'll be OK.
C.

navin · Post by **navin** » Wed Nov 02, 2005 11:52 pm

Yeah, good luck with that! I've driven (even long distances) with my cats before but never flown. Yeah, do everything in your power to get her to fly with you as carry-on. Sometimes if somebody says they're allergic they wont' let you, I wonder though in that case if you could volunteer to be bumped to the next flight or sometihng.

Now I don't mean to scare you, but I'd avoid putting the cat in cargo. There are just so many things that could go wrong... she could get lost (who here hasn't had luggage lost at some point?), escape from her carrier, or they could forget to climate-control the cargo hold. I'm sure that she'd *probably* be OK, but why take that risk if you can avoid it?

mondurvic · Post by **mondurvic** » Thu Nov 03, 2005 1:20 am

I understand the confurn over furlying in cargo, and I always prefur to take pets in the cabin with me, but I have also had to fly them cargo on at least half a dozen occasions (including having them shipped cross-country to me when no-one was on the plane with them), and they have always arrived just fine. They don't like it, of course, but that's another story . . .

carolejo · Post by **carolejo** » Thu Nov 03, 2005 12:23 pm

Well, I got the European Union Pet Passport today from the Vets. I put Lyra back in the bag last night for about 90 minutes and she was much better behaved and much calmer. She shouted at me quite a bit at first, but then settled down a lot. I think she's getting used to it and will be OK. Yay!

So, tomorrow morning the pair of us are getting on the plane... it hardly seems real.

C.

gratefuldeb67 · Post by **gratefuldeb67** » Thu Nov 03, 2005 4:02 pm

This reminds me of the scene in The Return of Spinal Tap, where Nigel talks about how he is now getting into animal activism and creating an organization called
TFA...
Travel for Animals...

Then he shows the little tiny passport, which is doll sized, of his his ferret Trevor...
It was so funny!!!
Have fun flying your furry critter... It will all be fine girly!!!
Love,

Deb

Jammin' Jan · Post by **Jammin' Jan** » Fri Nov 04, 2005 12:14 am

Hope you two have a happy trip!

carolejo · Post by **carolejo** » Fri Nov 04, 2005 1:13 pm

The LyraCat has been sucessfully relocated to Amsterdam! Yay!
She was ever so good. She did keep telling me how tiresome it all was, every now and then, but only in a world-weary "please will you let me out of here now? I promise I'll be EVER so good, honest" kind of mieow. No nasty loud shouty mieows and almost no freaked-out yowling or howling, apart from when she got a bit scared on takeoff - easily soothed by the sound of my voice.

The Airline were super good about it all too. Check in lady found it all too cute for words, the flight controller wanted to have a good look, but was otherwise unconcerned. It turned out she was the first cabin baggage cat that anybody had ever seen at LeedsBradford! Security check was entertaining cos they needed to search the bag (of course she couldn't go through the X-ray machine *grin*) but I held her down gently but firmly whilst they checked she wasn't smuggling any illegal substances(!) and there was no trouble. The security staff actually lined up to pet her and say hello!

On the plane, we got some interesting looks from our fellow passengers, but they were overwhelmingly supportive and positive about it. "So much less hassle than the screaming 3-year-old I had to put up with on the way over!" commented the lass sat next to me.

Arrival in Amsterdam was very straightforward. Into the terminal and through to passport control. Both our passports given the once-over, then on to customs. I took her into the 'red' channel as I wasn't sure, but after a quick glance to see I had the proper paperwork, there was no problem at all and they waved us on our way.

So, here we are. I suppose I'd better get on with some work now!
C.

Jammin' Jan · Post by **Jammin' Jan** » Fri Nov 04, 2005 1:19 pm

I'm so glad the trip went well and you and Lyra came through with no problems! How long will you be in Amsterdam? Must be exciting, getting to travel around Europe like that!

carolejo · Post by **carolejo** » Fri Nov 04, 2005 1:38 pm

I've really no idea how long we'll be here. We both have permenant jobs here, but what does that reallyl mean, these days?

Our best guess (and it really is a guess) is somewhere around 5 years here. Neither Steve nor I get the feeling that this will be our last move, neither of us have any idea where the next move might take us, but we don't think that it'll be straight back to the UK either. I think that tends to happen. If you show on your CV that you're prepared to move to a different country, then they tend to move you again to somewere else sooner or later. At least we're in a position to be able to choose for ourselves, which is important. It would really suck if we were on fixed term placements or something.

...It's also a bit wierd, cos we always figured we'd move about a bit, but that he'd be following ME (back when I still figured on using that Ph.D in Physics a little more 'directly'). In the end, the reverse is true!

In the meantime, life is a blast. We're pretty young (I'll be 30 in a couple of month's time and he'll be 34 in Jan.), healthy, and doing well for ourselves, so there's little else we could wish for. One funny thought when I first moved though was the idea that when we start a family in a few years time, our kids will be Dutch! I don't know why that's so funny, but it really is!

carolejo · Post by **carolejo** » Thu Nov 10, 2005 2:37 pm

Just a quick update to say that Lyra-the-Wondercat has been here for nearly a week now, that everything in the house now 'belongs' to her and that she's behaving as if she's been here for 6 years, not 6 days

It's nice to be all together again.

C.

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Anybody got any experience of flying their pets anywhere...?

Anybody got any experience of flying their pets anywhere...?

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