Flying with a Cat?

[Haley53]

I'm curious as to if anyone's had experience flying with animals, more specifically cats. He would be able to fly in-cabin with me, but they also ask that the animal is "not disruptive," and I can't promise he wouldn't cry. The only time he's comfortable with something is if he's in my arms/lap and that's not allowed during the flight. The issue with tranquilisers is that veterinarians are hesitant to prescribe them due to, I think it was changes in blood pressure with the altitude?

Regardless, I have been considering bringing my cat along with me - if it worked out - for my working holiday. Assuming I'm approved for the full time, I will be there a year, and with a pet passport, however much money in vet expenses and additional pet fare that'd be, he wouldn't need to be quarantined as I understand it. We'd simply need to get through the flight. But I do worry about the process/procedure, about what would happen if he were down in the pit of the plane as opposed to inside the cabin, etc. and I was simply hoping to talk with someone who'd had experience either flying with their cat or another animal.

I will be doing more research but I would love to talk with someone personally. This may or may not fly and I do intend to go over an extensive pros/cons list before I make my say. But I simply would like to talk it out with someone, if possible, who's been in my position. :/

[Haley53]

Hrm, realising a pet passport may not be valid as I'm from the US, but I would still be open to hearing people's experiences.

[snow_girl]

I think ou'd have to see how easy it is to find a place to rent that is pet friendly first. Also I don't really like the idea of cats in the cabin, I'm not entirely sure how it works but I am really allergic to cats and I know it is quite a common allergy so I would hate to be stuck beside it for a long haul flight.

[Haley53]

I thought of that too. I simply have a lot of anxiety about him being down below where I won't feel in control, though there are a lot of airlines that don't allow pets in cabin when flying internationally, so. :/ And my boyfriend's on duty of the first part. It's not a definite "I'm doing this" or "this is a horrible idea" yet. I'm actually extremely conflicted because I have pros and cons for each and everything seems to cancel the other out and I'm at square one. I simply had hoped to find someone to talk to about their experiences personally so I know what I can be prepared for, so to speak, if I do decide to go through with it. I know it's a long process that I'd have to start several months early, even before I applied for my visa, so that is also stressful. xD

[GatoGirl]

Hi, Eclaire,
I've never flown internationally, but I have flown from Cleveland to Phoenix non-stop with a veeeeery active young kitty. My vet had no trouble prescribing a mild sedative for her, just a light dose to calm her, not knock her out completely. I gave it to her when we left for the airport so she would be quiet at security, because you HAVE to take them out of the carrier, and this little cat was soooo hyper. She did okay until about 3 hours into the 4.5 hour flight. I gave her a second bit of the sedative, just a tad, and she quieted down. The hardest part was that she just wanted to be held, and it was so hard to dose her and then put her back under the seat because I just wanted to cuddle her! Once the meds wore off on the drive to my parent's house, she was her normal off-the-wall bonkers self.

[princessmeg1328]

I know you're looking for someone who has experience with flying with a pet, and I don't. BUT I do have an idea for how to get your pet over to Ireland without putting him in the pit of the plan (at least I don't think so): a pet relocation company. There are tons of them out there that will take your pet over to another country. It might be worth looking into and asking how it's done. I've read about it on another forum, but I don't remember exact details about the whole process.

[Haley53]

Thank you both!

@GatoGirl (great name btw!) - That's likely going to be the hardest part for me as well. I unfortunately have a very codependent cat. xD He's extremely reliant on me and even when terrified, will sit quietly so long as he's cuddled up in my lap, which unfortunately wouldn't be an option for the flight. :/ But your story gives me some hope about sedatives.

@princessmeg - I will definitely look into it. I keep going back and forth as to whether or not it's something I can swing, if it's worth swinging, etc. The pros and cons pretty much cancel one another out, but I'll look into a pet relocation company. Something interesting to learn/think about, if nothing else.

[lucybelle]

I think it really depends on the airline, but a lot of people who travel with pets use the courtesy of flying 1st class so the pet has more room and there's not as many people around the pet. I have a pet passport for Perlita, and I'll definitely be bringing her back up when we move I'll definitely drug her up cuz she freaks out pretty easily, but she's way too big to bring on the plane.

[Haley53]

I think it really depends on the airline, but a lot of people who travel with pets use the courtesy of flying 1st class so the pet has more room and there's not as many people around the pet. I have a pet passport for Perlita, and I'll definitely be bringing her back up when we move I'll definitely drug her up cuz she freaks out pretty easily, but she's way too big to bring on the plane.

Are pet passports obtainable by everyone, or are they area-specific? For example, what passports I could find for pets to Europe involved being a part of the EU. :/ The research I'm finding on it is slim to none. Maybe I'm searching the wrong things... but aww, I love Perlita. Poor thing though. My dog would likely react similarly.

[lucybelle]

You know, I'm not sure. All I know is that when I took her to the vet, they gave her a passport. I haven't looked much into bringing a pet overseas yet because we don't have to worry about that right now. I do know that *most* places require a rabies shot a certain time before you travel. Something like at most 6 weeks before and at least 2 weeks before.

Here's Perlita and her passport. I was hoping since I'm a direct relative I could apply for Costa Rican citizenship too. Doubt it'll hold ground in migracion

[Haley53]

Hm, strange. I know that there are a lot of hoops to jump through to avoid quarantine on arrival. One involves a blood test that takes six months to process. There's so much to consider, and it's stressful considering I'd have to start working on getting my pet ready to travel long before I even submitted the visa application! Fleas, tapeworms, etc. is something like 24-48 hours before arrival. Rabies is required too, but I forget the length of time we're given for that.

That picture of Perlita is adorable. She seems to almost hope the passport contains food though... XD

[eveningsky]

I don't know if I'm too late to this topic and you've already figured everything out but regardless, I found this:
https://www.catster.com/cats-101/cat-air-travel
At the very bottom they suggest training your cat for the flight. I think that would be a good idea.
I am personally a cat person. I hope you keep him in the cabin with you.

[Engel]

Dear Husband and I will buy two kittens end of next month! we will go this sunday to visit them and choose them in person, but they are only 8 weeks old, and will come home only end of may!

anyways, this year i will go for one month to brazil for vacations, and DH works the whole day, so we are considering, maybe, me taking the cats with me for the month i spend in brazil, as he would have little to no time to play with them, just feed them and clean their litter box. the guy in the pet shop in my city told me usually when you buy from a breeder here in Germany the pet already comes with a pet passport, so I am hoping this is the case, as it would make things a lot easier!