Cats and airplanes

[AlecBGreen]

I live in China and my wife and I will be coming back to Virginia June 1st. We've checked all the CDC/USDA regulations about bringing our 2 cats back home with us and we're cool on that. Unfortunately I just found out some air carriers WONT ALLOW pets on flights. If thats true, what are our options? We will be buying tickets in a few days, most likely using Air China. We dont know their policy yet but if they dont allow cats, how can we get the little guys home? Is it possible to ship home freight (in this case, 2 cats) on a flight that we dont take?

:shrug: Any help would be appreciated.

Heres a pic BTW.



The white boy is Dicos and the spotted girl is Xiao Lajiao (Little Chili Pepper)

[Whoa_Nelly]

1. Don't leave China...

Until you find a flight that takes animals and you can go through the quarantine to have those cuties with you in the states! :hi;

[LisaL]

2. Call the airline up, and find out what their rules are.

[AlecBGreen]

3. good points

Whoa Nelly - I gotta leave June 1st b/c I have take a teachers certification test back in the US to get my job. Cats arent quarantined in America. Unless they are "visibly sick" they can go in, no papers required. My home state requires rabies vaccination but we've already taken care of that.

Lizzy - Im waiting for my wife to get back from her hometown. I can speak some Chinese but not enough to discuss airline regulations. Thats the next chapter in my book ;)

[grace0418]

11. I would go to their websites. Do they have English language versions?

It seems like a lot of companies do nowdays.

[begin_within]

4. On a domestic flight, I saw a woman with a cat sleeping on her lap. This

was not an international flight, and I can't remember what airline. I have heard too many horror stories about pets being flown in the cargo holds of airlines, so that personally I would never do it. I would only fly if I could take the pet on my lap the whole time, or in a small cage. The biggest problem is that it is such a long flight from China to the U.S. (when I flew from Hong Kong to L.A. once it was a 15 hour flight). I would probably do this in several shorter flights, such as a rest in Hawaii, then another rest in California, etc.

There are links to more information, information on regulations, and airline policies at this page:

http://www.nal.usda.gov/awic/companimals/travelpets.htm

Do a Google search on "traveling with animals" for more links to more advice.

[madinmaryland]

7. My wife used to do that with her cat on domestic flights

She would take her cat (seen in my sig line), to FL when she went to see her parents. He was perfect content flying, though being a maine coon, he took everything pretty well. She would use a cat carrier and occasionally take him out during the flight.

[begin_within]

8. I think that's the proper way to do it - never, ever in the cargo hold.

[madinmaryland]

12. She never put in the cargo hold.

The cat would fit under the seat in the cat-carrier and she was not charged for an extra seat. One airline tried to make her put the cat in the cargo hold, but she refused to let them, and she ended up on another airline. She never flew that airline again.

[begin_within]

14. Well good for her. And if it's a young, energetic cat I would suggest a

very mild tranqulizer before the flight.

[Dead_Parrot]

5. Cats normally fly as frieght...

...I brought mine from the UK to NZ this way. It might be worth checking to see if there's a pet transport specialist you can use, since there are also regs for the case that normal pet carriers don't meet, but they'll sort out for you.

As for airlines, shop around. I think most will take them without any trouble: It can get pretty expensive though, so be warned...

:) Good luck.

[AlecBGreen]

6. kick for the afternoon crew

:kick:

[electron_blue]

9. Hawaii does quarantine, so ask if you've got a connection through there

Don't fly them freight - high probability of ending up with a dead kitty with such a long flight.

Call ahead and find out which flights allow 2 cats/cabin. I think that is the normal limit. Make sure you grab those spots. Call aheadto make sure you're using their approved of sized carrier. Get it in writing and take it with you when you get to the plane.

You might have to assign one cat to you and one to your spouse, some have rules about only one cat per customer, or family. So be ready to split up if you have to.

Consider a tranquilizer and have a game plan - what are you going to do for litter box, food & water for such a long flight?

[Deep13]

10. Make sure this is not your cat:

http://gprime.net/video.php/pinkythecat

I would rather have snakes on the plane than a psycho kitty.

[LaurenG]

13. Continental allows pet carry on as long as carriers meet the size

requirements. I think it's extra $ but better than shipping them freight. I would not allow my pets to be shipped in cargo. I hope they allow you to carry on. How long is the flight?

[AlecBGreen]

15. good advice

thanks.

The flight is 13 hours so yeah, its a doozy. Ill bring litter to the airport hotel and try to get them to use it before we get on the plane but I have a feeling they'll be freaked out by the unusal surroundings. Ill put an old shirt in the cage to let the scent reassure them and to soak up any urine. Im not gonna use tranquilizers (Ive heard bad stories) so we'll just hope they stay calm. They have travelled in the cage before - a four hour ride in the undercarraige of a bus. If you knew Chinese bus drivers and their love of the horn, you would know that these cats can handle anything.

I saw the video ... PINKY IS INSAAAAAAANNNEE!

-Alec

p.s. Is NO ONE going to compliment my cats on their stunning good looks? I mean cmon people, they're b-e-a-u-tiful ;) Just look at those cute little pot bellies!

[radwriter0555]

17. Not a good idea at all. Having flown animals exotic and domestic all over

the world, my advice is this:

First find out which airlines will allow your cats in the cabin, in APPROVED CARRIERS. BUY THE APPROVED CARRIERS. No exceptions. Scrutinize ALL the rules and follow them to the LETTER.

I can't imagine what bad things you've heard about tranqs. They're not bad for humans or critters. It spares them the extreme stress and discomfort and drama. Perhaps you're confusing them with anesthesia? I've transported every animal imaginable from rhinocerous' to giraffes, to snow leopards and penguins and without exception, we've always tranq'd our critters for transport. And we've never had one go ill or die. Ever.

Have someone from the states ship you some vet assigned cat tranquilizers. Administer said tranqs about 6 hours before the flight so the cat is almost comatose once you've boarded the plane. Then, put the cat under your seat and forget about it!

You must know your cat's weight, and check into what papers will be needed for allowing it into the US from china. Google all that.

But don't even think about trying to get your cat to piss on the plane. Won't happen. Bring a manner to give it some water and possibly a little snack, but the cat won't be interested, frankly. And it will be just fine without food for 13 hours. Hungry, yes, but to no harm.

It's far more cruel to put the poor thing in cargo while fully coherent, then to tranq it out and tuck it under your seat... please trust me on this. You've never heard of a cat being lost in the cabin of any airline, now... have you?

[joneschick]

16. what beautiful markings! and unusual

good luck getting them home safe and sound. I have no help or info to offer--I just had to say what lovely kitties they are. How old are they?:hi:

[AlecBGreen]

18. Thanks JC

in that picture they are pretty young. Maybe just a month or two. Theyre much bigger now. Thanks for noticing ;)

:hi:

[AtomicKitten]

19. don't leave home without them

they are too cute.

[meti57b]

20. My cats have flown American Airlines in pressurized cargo inside the U.S.

There are federal regulations for this (unless bush has changed that). Live animals board last after passengers and cargo and are the first to be taken off the plane. One of the AA personnel hand-carried them to the desk and handed them to me. There are a whole bunch of other restrictions. I felt they were well cared for.

You can also take them in the passenger compartment but the carrier has to be able to fit under the seat in front of you.

My main concern were those very rare instances when the cat carrier comes apart or breaks and the cat gets out into the airport. I beefed it up a little and used lock nuts to hold it together.