Taking a pet on a plane?

[hanafuda]

Does anyone have any advice / experience with this?

We will have to take our cat on a long journey and we have 2 options:

He goes on a 90 minute plane flight with my wife.

He goes on a very long car / car on ferry trip with me.

If anyone has anything to contribute please do.

 

[SSS]

When I read the title, I was thinking for sure they wouldn't let Mr. Kutaragi ride in the cargo hold.

Can't leave kitty with a relative? Cats usually hate any sort of travel. I'd say car trip if it's a must, at least you'll be able to interract with it. Cats are usually high strung to begin with, a plane ride might cause a nervous breakdown.

 

[hanafuda]

When I read the title, I was thinking for sure they wouldn't let Mr. Kutaragi ride in the cargo hold.

Can't leave kitty with a relative? Cats usually hate any sort of travel. I'd say car trip if it's a must, at least you'll be able to interract with it. Cats are usually high strung to begin with, a plane ride might cause a nervous breakdown.

Yeah, Kutaragi is going Class J.

We are moving so the journey is unavoidable.

Car is an option but I'm not sure I want him running around while I'm blasting up the kousoku in my Subaru. Can't really keep him in his bag thing for such a long journey.

 

[Darren870]

Might want to check with the Airlines. Im trying to bring my cats from the USA to the UK. Holy shit what a fucking PITA. Basically they have to ride cargo because no airlines allow cats in the cabins any more. At least none of the approved airlines that the UK accepts.

 

[Fox1]

Might want to check with the Airlines. Im trying to bring my cats from the USA to the UK. Holy shit what a fucking PITA. Basically they have to ride cargo because no airlines allow cats in the cabins any more. At least none of the approved airlines that the UK accepts.

And they allow dogs?

 

[Darren870]

I think its the same for both dogs and cats. This is also on certain airlines and only to the UK. The UK laws and regulations for bringing an animal into the country are ridiculous. It is legally impossible to get your animal into the country sooner the 6 months, unless you want it to sit in quarantine..

 

[Cornerb0y]

I use to have a cat that would get car sick. OMG, that thing use to scream for most of the time, some times she would sleep, but that was awful.

 

[hanafuda]

It would be an internal flight so no quarantine complications.

I want to know about the process and how the animal dealt with it, particularly if a cat.

 

[evil wasabi]

And they allow dogs?

depends on if you're mentally unfit to travel without your dog. Some people are actually mental and need their lap dog.

And those people should have to drive a car across the atlantic to get to Europe.

 

[RabbitTroop]

I've flown every dog I've owned at one time or another. It's a terrible experience for them, I can read that much from them when we land... What has to be done, has to be done, though. My dogs were around $350 a piece to put on as live freight. Contact your airline of choice, or whichever your wife is flying on. You'll need to buy a standard live animal crate. It has to be one they approve of, so ask them for specifics otherwise day of they will reject you. You will also have to have current shot records and a bill of health filled out by the cat's vet. Simple things, but make sure you give yourself enough time to get them before flight or again, he's not getting on the plane. If you can drive him, I'd do that. Get him a larger travel crate, don't use a bag and take him by car. Sure it will suck, but it'll be a lot safer/cheaper/better on the animal. I really wish I didn't have to do it with my last dog, but it was something I couldn't avoid.

 

[aria]

That depends.

Is it a snake?

YEEEEAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!

 

[RevQuixo]

I think its the same for both dogs and cats. This is also on certain airlines and only to the UK. The UK laws and regulations for bringing an animal into the country are ridiculous. It is legally impossible to get your animal into the country sooner the 6 months, unless you want it to sit in quarantine..

When I lived in England we brought over our cats and they were in quarantine for 6 months..it sucked. At least you can visit them though.

 

[SPINMASTER X]

That depends.

Is it a snake?

YEEEEAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!

damn beat me to it.

 

[wataru330]

If you the room, try one of the large rectangle pet carriers for medium sized dogs, for your neko. I have had great results with this as opposed to the bag type carriers for long trips. The extra room to walk around was clutch. It meant towing a trailer as we gave up the entire back seat to the carrier- worth it tho. Our vet recommended *against* flying our cat. The drive was fine. We have a leash and harness for our cat, so every gas/snack stop we made, MOOSHA did his business, and drank some. Have plenty of paper towels and cleaning wipes at the ready in case of carsickness potty mishapps, and you'll be golden. Hope this helps, and feel free to PM if you like. What region you moving to? I would love to be in atami right about now.

 

[Darren870]

When I lived in England we brought over our cats and they were in quarantine for 6 months..it sucked. At least you can visit them though.

Yea we are doing it the other way around. We are getting all the blood tests and vaccinations done in advance so they don't sit in quarantine. Still have to wait 6 months from when the blood test is done.

Oh well, hopefully I'm hear long enough to make it worth it. I have at least 2 years

 

[Domino-chan]

I would say flight, but I don't know how much the rules have changed for flying pets. When I had my first cat, I bought him an airline approved bag, got him checked by a vet with a written consent form, and then paid like $50 to take him on the flight. This was 2000 so yeah.

Driving might be -slightly- better, and all but one experience has been bad. If you have someone else driving with you, you can let the cat free inside while the other person keeps and eye on him.

 

[hanafuda]

I would say flight, but I don't know how much the rules have changed for flying pets. When I had my first cat, I bought him an airline approved bag, got him checked by a vet with a written consent form, and then paid like $50 to take him on the flight. This was 2000 so yeah.

Driving might be -slightly- better, and all but one experience has been bad. If you have someone else driving with you, you can let the cat free inside while the other person keeps and eye on him.

Thanks. I would be driving on my own. Wife and kid are going via plane.

 

[hanafuda]

Looks like JAL lend the cage, or Sky Kennel!

5,000 JPY inclusive.

They even have a pet frequent flyers club!

 

[norton9478]

I would think that for a cat, you would be better off putting him in a carrier, giving him a mild sedative and driving him.

 

[Lagduf]

Eventually my last cat got really used to riding in the car. Especially if there were two people, she really loved it. She'd just get on your shoulder and look out the window.

When she was a kitten she used to be terrified of the car and when we had to move her across the country (from CA to MO) she really didn't like it at all.

 

[SNKorSWM]

I would think that for a cat, you would be better off putting him in a carrier, giving him a mild sedative and driving him.

Does catnip work as a sedative?

 

[hanafuda]

Thanks all.

Yeah, I since read that the vet should be able to get us a sedative to make it easier for him.

Think it will be via plane though so any tips appreciated.

 

[Darren870]

make sure its mild if at all...

I am pretty sure a sedative slows blood flow, which is not what you want at high altitudes...

While I'm in the process of moving my cats here, I was told numerous times NOT to use a sedative.

 

[Eldios]

Thanks all.

Yeah, I since read that the vet should be able to get us a sedative to make it easier for him.

Think it will be via plane though so any tips appreciated.

I have traveled with my dogs by plane a couple of times. If it is a small cat (under 15 pounds or so) just buy a carrier and carry him on the plane. Depending on the airline, they will charge you an extra fee for this and you put the cat underneath the seat in front of you. Most airlines do not let you take the animal out during the flight, but some will let you have the carrier on your lap after take off.

With regards to a sedative, the general rule is only use them if you have to. Under no circumstances do you sedate an animal and then put them in the cargo hold of the plane. That is incredibly dangerous. If you cat is relatively calm and quite you might not need one. If the cat is noisy and anxious, then a sedative is recommended.

Some more advice, all animals react differently to sedatives, so you have to test it out on your cat to make sure you do not under/over sedate the animal. You also need to time it to see how long it will take to take effect. The animal should not be knocked out, but rather be in a clam daze. 1.5 hour fight is not that bad and should not be too terribly stressful for the animal.

Where are you moving to if I may ask?

 

[hanafuda]

I have traveled with my dogs by plane a couple of times. If it is a small cat (under 15 pounds or so) just buy a carrier and carry him on the plane. Depending on the airline, they will charge you an extra fee for this and you put the cat underneath the seat in front of you. Most airlines do not let you take the animal out during the flight, but some will let you have the carrier on your lap after take off.

With regards to a sedative, the general rule is only use them if you have to. Under no circumstances do you sedate an animal and then put them in the cargo hold of the plane. That is incredibly dangerous. If you cat is relatively calm and quite you might not need one. If the cat is noisy and anxious, then a sedative is recommended.

Some more advice, all animals react differently to sedatives, so you have to test it out on your cat to make sure you do not under/over sedate the animal. You also need to time it to see how long it will take to take effect. The animal should not be knocked out, but rather be in a clam daze. 1.5 hour fight is not that bad and should not be too terribly stressful for the animal.

Where are you moving to if I may ask?

He IS an anxious cat though, and I've done a fair bit of flying and don't think I have ever seen anyone carry a pet on as hand luggage. So what do we do?

We are moving to Sapporo!