Flying with cats as either cargo or in the cabin of the plane

[Tale Grude]

Hello!

Me and Kisa might be moving to Toronto, Canada next fall. And I'm already trying to figure out how I can make the whole moving process as smooth and as comfortable as possible for Kisa.

I have read a lot about it, and I know most of it in theory, rules and regulations etc. I know that it is possible to find airlines that let you have your cat with you in the cabin of the plane when flying long distances. When I picked up Kisa in Oslo I met a girl on the plane who had moved from Texas to Norway with her cat. She had her cat with her in the cabin of the plane. Thinking back, I very much regret not asking for her contact information.

But I would love to come in contact with some one who has flown for that long with their cat in the cabin of the plane. Or as cargo. Kisa deals well with car trips. She meows a bit at first, but settles down quickly. But I want to know how, whoever has flown for up to 8 hours or more with their cat, feel their cat dealth with it? And especially how to deal with the litterbox issue and food. Cause Obviously when flying for that long, the cat would need to go at some point. And you have limited amount of room for the cat on the plane. I know it's possible to have pads in the bottom of the cage. But that can be very messy if Kisa goes number two. But I know that when cats aren't fully adjusted to their enviroment, they might not eat or go to the bathroom until they are. So I'm scared she'll end up not eating or peeig/pooing in the 11 hours it'll take to get there.

I would like to hear from someone, what the best way to approach this will be.

Thanks!

 

[suzfoote]

Hey! I am living in Alberta, Canada and recently flew across the country with one of my kitties Billie. With the layovers, delays, and everything.. one way of the trip ended up being about 30 hours. If you have any layovers where you can get off the plane to walk around for a bit, it will make the trip a lot easier for you and your kitty. Also, you have to for sure find an airline to have her fly with you in the cabin!! Flying beneath the plane would be very cold and traumatizing for her!

For food, I brought a couple little tupperware containers full of kibble in my carry on. For water, just brought an empty tupperware container and bought bottles of water whenever needed.

For litter, I brought a bigger size (maybe 8x11") tupperware full of litter (make sure to tape it shut, because litter falling out all over your carry on bag would not be fun lol), and on layovers I would go into the airport and find a single person bathroom and let her out and I would put her feet in the litter so she knew to use the bathroom. When she went, I just used some toilet paper or whatever I could find, to kind of push it out into the garbage... gross, but had to be done haha.

For keeping her comfortable for such a long time, I brought a thin sweater for her to wear, I find they calm her down. Also make sure to have a leash and harness, because they will make you take her out of the carrier to go through security. I also got this calming spray at PetSmart, calling 'At Ease' by the brand Whisker City. You spray it inside their carrier before they go in it, it realises calming pheremones. Also Feliway has a calming spray that I'm sure would work just the same!

Before you go on your trip too, maybe even try taking her on a few hour long car ride, just to see how she reacts. Or even buy the calming spray, put her sweater on, do everything pretty much exactly how you will be doing it for the trip.. just to get her used to it. For the taking off of each new flight, Billie would meow a bit, but honestly the plane was so loud you could hardly hear her unless you were right by us. After we got going, she pretty much calmed down and went to sleep. And if you get a chance to get out of the plane, it is nice for them even to get out for a few minutes with their harness, just to stretch and walk a bit.

Good luck!! and let us know how it goes