Have you been on a plane with your cat in cabin- need your help!!?

Question

I'm currently an American expat in Singapore and while living in Singapore, I adopted a kitten that I just love to death. I will be returning back to NY this year and will be bringing her back home with me. I found that Thai Airways allows pets in the cabin which is my preferred choice for the almost day long journey. I have already checked all the regulations with bringing her into the states and she is old enough to fly, does anyone have experience with in cabin flying with a cat. Do they allow you to feed the cat, the carrier size allowed isn't very large so how do I deal with litter, she's very particular and will only use the litter box, where exactly in the cabin was the cat kept. All information you have would be very greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

Hi. I moved from Mexico to Canada and brought my 3 cats with me in cabin. Do not feed or give water 1 hour prior to the flight. You cannot open the kennel during flight (sometimes they won't even let you take the kennel out from under the seat).

Our connecting flight was delayed for 8 hours and we had to wait in the airport, so again we couldn't take the cats out of the kennels. But I brought a little ziplock bag with a little cat food and during our wait I put a about 2 Tbsps of food inside and about a cap full of water for each cat. But they were so nervous that they didn't eat or drink (or need to use the litterbox).

So in total our travel was 12 hours and they were fine. As soon as we got to the hotel, we had to go to a 24 hr store and buy food because the one we had brought was taken by customs. I also brought my cat litter and that was the first thing that they used.

But cats will be fine if they don't eat or drink for 14 hrs.

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

Flying With Cats In Cabin

Answer 3

To respond to the other answerer - No, the cat does not go into overhead bins. It's not even allowed. And unless the cat is an agitated cat, you DON'T want to sedate him.

I agree to talk with your vet, however. You may not want to feed the cat 12 hours hours before the flight. This will prevent poop accidents. No water 8 hours before. This will help prevent pee accidents. I'd buy a 'puppy pad' and place it at the bottom of the carrier, under the pad. This way if there *is* an accident, it won't leak through.

Also, security will require that you take the cat out of the carrier during the security check. Have a collar and a leash on the cat in the carrier so that there is less chance of him getting free. Take it off once you get on the plane and keep an eye on him whenever he does have it on. Be sure that you have tags on him in case he does get lost someplace. Use your cell phone & e-mail address so that you can be contacted right away.

When you check in, see if they can try to keep a seat next to you open. This way you may be able to set the carrier on the seat once you are in the air and talk to him and help him relax. You can try to offer her some water maybe halfway through the trip, but chances are she will not want it. But, defer to your vet if they suggest something else.

Have all her paperwork ready to go for customs. Don't be fumbling around for it and don't have it packed in your checked baggage. If you can, keep it with the carrier.

Be sure to call Thai Air and let them know that you are traveling with a cat. Most airlines only allow a certain amount of animals in the cabin, so it's incredibly important to make your resrvation now.

When you arrive home, set up food, litter, water, and a bed in an unused bathroom or quiet, protected area. Confine her there for awhile - until she's settled down. This way she won't get under the dishwasher/washing machine/couch/refrigerator and refuse to come out. It will be her safe zone.

Good luck to you and congrats on rescuing this little one! She's so lucky to have you!

Answer 4

I flew my 2 cats from Boston to CA. One is very old 16 at the time and the other about 10. You did the right thing by checking with the airline in advance. I too, kept both cats in the cabin with me under the seats.

macleod... is correct. Before you can bring a cat on board, they must have a certificate from the vet (all shots, in good health, etc.) that you must present to the airlines.

Some tips: I would suggest asking your vet for some feline sedatives. It's very stressful for them and they will sleep through most of it. Give it to kitty about an hour or so before having to get to the security checkpoint (or however long the vet says it takes to kick in). You will have to remove kitty form her carrier while going through security and you don't want her getting freaked out.

As far as litter goes, feed them just enough so they're not starving and put a diaper at the bottom of the carrier just in case. They probably won't go due to stress anyway, but better safe than sorry.

I'm so glad you chose to fly her in the cabin with you. At least if kitty gets scared you can pet and coo to her to calm her down if she wakes up.

Good luck and try not to stress, your baby will be fine :)

Answer 5

I flew with my cat from California to Florida.
Definately call the airlines and ask them what they need. I needed a Certificate of Health from the vet that was issued less then 1 month from flight date (i think). Kitty would not take a sedative, so she was wide awake for the whole thing. She rode in the cabin with me, I put her under the seat in front of me during take off and in my lap (in the carrier) during the rest of the flight. She is not very vocal and meowed a lot, but due to the humming of the plane and people using earphones, hardly anyone even noticed I had a cat with me. Very Important: get a small carrier bag (too big means too much room for them to move around in... keep her snuggled) that has thick netting and a solid hard plastic or leather bottom. And trim her nails. My Kitty shredded through her first generic & cheapie carrier that I got at PetCo within 15 minutes of the first leg of our flight. I ended up buying her a $300 Brighton bag in the Arizona airport. It was either that or surrender her, because she had ripped a hole through the cheap bag big enough to push her head out - and if they can fit their head out, they can fit the rest of their body. She was not interested in food, water, pooping or peeing. I put some washcloths in her bag, but nothing happened. Kitty was fine when we were in airports, it was just on the plane she had a problem. Also, airport security had me take Kitty out of the bag so they could see that she was a real, live cat and that I didn't have a weapon of mass destruction in the kitty bag. But, remember, my Kitty wasn't drugged, and actually, vets don't like to drug animals. She was fine going one day without food and water...as soon as we got to our destination, she was definately thirsty, but just fine. I now have a very nice, $300 dust collector to reminded me of the trip. However, I don't think Kitty recalls a thing.

Answer 6

It's been quite a few years ago that I flew with my cat. At the time, he had to fit in a very small, almost flat cat carrier that fit under the seat.

He had to lay down in the container. I was only flying from Hawaii to California, which isn't a long flight compared to Singapore.

I didn't feed him after midnight, hoping he wouldn't have to go to the bathroom. He did just fine. Never meowed or anything. After the flight and a 3 hour drive he was glad to get out of his container. I'd say he'd been in the container for about 9 hours.

We then flew from California to Oklahoma with a long layover in Denver. He didn't mind getting back in the pet carrier and I never heard a word out of him the whole time. He was a good kitty.

Hopefully your cat will be ok too. I'm sure you could feed it through the animal carrier, but they won't let you take it out, unless your in first class. Don't know that it's true, but you always hear about famous people flying with their pets in first class!!! Good luck.

Also glad you care enough to take it. When I left Hawaii, I wouldn't dream of leaving my kitty behind. Almost everyone I know did though. It was just an animal, they could care less.

Answer 7

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RE:
Have you been on a plane with your cat in cabin- need your help!!?
I'm currently an American expat in Singapore and while living in Singapore, I adopted a kitten that I just love to death. I will be returning back to NY this year and will be bringing her back home with me. I found that Thai Airways allows pets in the cabin which is my preferred choice for...

Answer 8

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Answer 9

best bet is to all the airline and ask them these questions. the few things I do know is that your cat would be your carry on luggage and would have to be stowed under the seat infront of you (or in the overhead compartment, which I wouldn't reccomend).

talk to your vet about if it would be best to sedate her some for the trip also make sure she is up to date on her shots etc and bring a copy of her medical record with you when you go.

Answer 10

I would suggest that you ship her as cargo as in the cabin you will not be allowed to take her out and you have to be able to stow just like carry on luggage in the over head or under the seat in front of you but you may want to call the airline and ask them directly.