Traveling with a cat - questions for people who flew with their cat in the cabin

[MordecaiRigby 29]

Hi, my flight is in 5 days and I'm getting extremely nervous about travelling with my cat.

He will be travelling with me in the cabin. I have all the required documents.

I am, however, worried about the basics. Although our cat is quite used to travelling (regular 4-hour travels by train), he has never been on a plane (it will be a 10-hour flight). The vet I spoke to said it is not a good idea to give the cat any tranquillizers, because it is such a long journey and it is uncertain how he will react to the meds (in the middle of the flight it will not be possible to help him if he gets sick from the meds). If you have experience travelling by plane with a cat please let me know if you have used any tranquillizers. I will definitely spray the pet carrier with cat pheromones that are supposed to make the cat calmer.

Another thing I'm worried about is getting the cat through the security check at the airport. I have just read that I'm supposed to take the cat out of his carrier and walk with him through the body scanner. It terrifies me since I know my cat will freak out and will not make it easy. I'm scared he will run away into the airport and I will never find him again.

And the last thing that keeps me up at night is the size of the pet carrier. LOT Polish airlines (that I will travel with) says on their website that the pet carrier height cannot exceed 20cm. At the same time the size of the container, according the website, needs to make it possible for the cat to stand up inside the carrier and turn around without a problem. Obviously this is not possible if the height of the carrier is only 20cm. My cat's carrier's height is around 29cm, but it is soft shell so it can be pushed at the top, so it will fit under the seat. I have not even seen any pet carriers in online stores that were only 20cm high. Do you think this is going to be a problem at the check-in counter or at the security check, do they actually measure the carrier? Or are they reasonable enough to understand that the pet carrier cannot possibly be only 20cm high, unless you're travelling with a ferret?!

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

We had our cat travel in the hold with the other animals, but I just wanted to say we were also warned against tranquilizing her for the same reasons you were told.

I'd suggest you contact the airline for clarification about the carrier size. The last thing you need is to arrive at the airport and be denied boarding (or rather have the cat denied boarding) because the carrier size is wrong. I'm also not sure they'll allow the soft shell as meeting the minimum height requirements for standing and turning around, but maybe they'll be more flexible on that if the pet is in the cabin.

Quite honestiy, I think you're very brave to consider taking a cat through an airport yourself. For taking him out for security, and in fact probably for the entire journey, I'd suggest putting him on a cat leash.

Edited July 19, 2016 by SusieQQQ

[JenniferNangel 137]

We had our cat travel in the hold with the other animals, but I just wanted to say we were also warned against tranquilizing her for the same reasons you were told.

I'd suggest you contact the airline for clarification about the carrier size. The last thing you need is to arrive at the airport and be denied boarding (or rather have the cat denied boarding) because the carrier size is wrong. I'm also not sure they'll allow the soft shell as meeting the minimum height requirements for standing and turning around, but maybe they'll be more flexible on that if the pet is in the cabin.

Quite honestiy, I think you're very brave to consider taking a cat through an airport yourself. For taking him out for security, and in fact probably for the entire journey, I'd suggest putting him on a cat leash.

I was going to suggest the cat leash as well. I had a indoor cat that loved to eat grass outside the only way I trusted bringing her outside was on a harness and leash. I wanted to bring my husbands kitten with us when we get his visa for USA but I think she wouldn't like it too much. So she'll have to stay with his family ?

[awaywego 28]

We did a ten-hour flight with our cat in a soft-sided carrier under the seat on the window side (farthest from the weird smells and noises). We didn't do tranquilizers, but we did spray the carrier (and new home) with pheromone spray. We also brought a small blanket that smelled like home to cover part of the carrier during flight. The cat wasn't happy, of course, but she did calm down after a little bit, and we're pretty sure she even slept a good chunk of the flight.

We have a harness that the cat wears whenever she leaves the house. When going through the metal detector in security, I had one hand through the harness in case she tried to bolt for somewhere dark and small. (She held on to me like a lifeline. Poor thing.) The TSA agents gave me a bit of priority so that she would be out of the carrier for as little time as possible, which was nice for both of us.

Sorry I can't help much with the bag. Ours fit the airline's regulations, so we didn't need to worry about the height issue. It was a snug fit, though. (Small Sherpa bag is reportedly 22cm; Lufthansa max 23cm.)

P.S. There's a good chance that we'll do POE with the cat. I'd love an update for how it goes for you, in that regard.

[dub42 17]

taking our cat to chicago from dublin later this year and we will check with Aer Lingus cargo so he'll stay in his crate in the cargo hold for the flight.

Edited July 20, 2016 by dub42

[Marrienne 112]

Hey there.

Just immigrated two days ago and we flew 13 hrs total.

No tranquilizers.

We had issues with the carrier (Delta) too but we just got a soft one with a hard base and had no issues.

The plane was an Airbus 330-300

I had to take him out of carrier so they could scan it and I walked with him through the metal detector..then in the US they checked him for drugs. YES you read that right.

They just ran a special strip of paper over his fur and my hands then put it in a machine.

Just grab him by the scruff of the neck tightly. And the leash is a good idea.

Some airlines have embargoes on animals traveling in the cargo hold in the summer. Delta did due to the high mortality rate.

They didn't even check him (other than drugs) at the POE. No vet no health book.

Make sure you register his microchip with the USA rfid registry when you get here.

Happy travels!!

[awaywego 28]

Hey there.

Just immigrated two days ago and we flew 13 hrs total.

No tranquilizers.

We had issues with the carrier (Delta) too but we just got a soft one with a hard base and had no issues.

The plane was an Airbus 330-300

I had to take him out of carrier so they could scan it and I walked with him through the metal detector..then in the US they checked him for drugs. YES you read that right.

They just ran a special strip of paper over his fur and my hands then put it in a machine.

Just grab him by the scruff of the neck tightly. And the leash is a good idea.

Some airlines have embargoes on animals traveling in the cargo hold in the summer. Delta did due to the high mortality rate.

They didn't even check him (other than drugs) at the POE. No vet no health book.

Make sure you register his microchip with the USA rfid registry when you get here.

Happy travels!!

Thanks for posting your POE experience! Was there anything extra beyond the drug swipe? (When we flew from the US, the TSA agent told me that test was for explosives residue. Fancy machine.) I worry about the waiting and huge number of strange people/noises/smells/space with an animal that's already been through a lot, and I don't want any surprises on top of that.

[Marrienne 112]

We were lucky that Detroit was pretty empty so not many noises etc and Leo is a pretty easy going guy.

Of you are afraid he will go wild you can tell the agent and they will not let him out but scan him with the container. It is harmless to him

[lacolinab13 86]

I flew with my cat from Peru to the US (1 hour flight + 8 hour flight but almost 20 hours in the carrier for my cat with driving time, layover time etc).

I was also worried about the carrier dimensions as the airline for my first, short, domestic flight listed a very small container size, and kept telling me that they would check. I ended up using a larger soft-sided carrier, they didn't check, and the carrier easily fit under the seat. I did bring a smaller carrier that fit their dimensions in case they argued, but I would have had to basically stuff the cat in there, so I'm really glad I didn't have to use that one.

However, my cat was absolutely panicked while on the planes, completely frantic, and tried to escape from his carrier the entire time we were in the air (he was obviously unhappy but relatively calm while we were on the ground, just meowing but otherwise not making too much of a fuss). He tore holes in the (high-quality) soft-sided carrier during the first flight, and figured out how to open the carrier by biting through the zipper, and did so about every 15 minutes during the long flight, so that I had to fight with him to stuff him back in about every 15 minutes. It was hell - and I was very glad I had a tranquilizer which I gave him throughout the flight. It obviously didn't ease his nerves, but at least it meant he couldn't run out of the carrier when he escaped, because, although he was combative, he couldn't really walk.

I've flown with cats before and it's been fine. I had no idea he would react this way - he'd never been in a carrier for a particularly long time, just to go to the vet and back (1-2 hours), but he had always seemed annoyed but fine in those situations. It was one of the most stressful and distressing experiences of my life. I was worried he would escape on the plane and I would never find him again, or that I would overdose him on the drugs and he would die. I'm not sharing this to scare you, just to give you some advance warning that you may be in for a rough ride and to share that personally, I was glad to have the tranquilizer on hand. I would also never fly with this cat again without him being in a hard-sided carrier, and probably wouldn't do so for any cat just because I've seen how easily a motivated cat can tear through a soft-carrier.

(We recently drove six hours with cat in a hard-sided container and while he meowed quite a bit, he didn't show any of the frantic, panicked, trying to escape behavior that he partook in on the planes. I think the noise on the plane is what got him - planes are super loud because of the engine sounds).

I did have to take him out of his carrier to get through airport security. I had trimmed his nails in advance so he couldn't scratch me and was prepared to hold on for him for dear life no matter what, but he was obviously terrified and just clung to me.

In the US (Newark airport), I had to go through the "something to declare" customs line, but they just looked at him and then waived us through. They didn't check any paperwork.

My cat took a long nap when we finally got home, and then was back to his normal self.

I really hope it all goes well for you and your cat has a good flight!

[MordecaiRigby 29]

Hi guys, thank you all so much for your answers!

I have flown into USA with my cat 3 days ago.

As you could see in my original post, I was worried sick about everything, but in the end the experience was very good and I was truly surprised by how smooth everything went.

First of all, the airline I traveled with (LOT Polish Airlines) didn't care at all about the pet carrier - nobody checked the dimensions. I had a soft-sided carrier that was 9cm too high but I knew that I could push down on it and it would fit under the seat in front of me. At the check-in desk they only asked to see the one document from the Polish veterinary agency that states that cat is good to go outside of EU.

What I didn't realize is that the security agents want the cat to go through the body scan completely "naked" (=no harness, no collar, nothing). So I took the cat out of the carrier, I took his leash and harness off, no problem there. The problem was with his collar. It's not a regular fabric collar but an anti-parasite collar that he's wearing now (we just put it on him 1 month ago and it's good for 8 months). The problem is, it only goes one way - you can put it on, but to take it off you need to cut it. So I told the security agent: "I can take the collar off but I will need to cut it, do you have scissors?", she said "No". But at the same time the other security agent who stood on the other side of the body scan said: "It's OK, just walk with him through the scan", so we did that. The scanner beeped, because the cat had his metal name tag and a little metal bell fixed to his collar, so the agent just patted the cat down, and he was good to go!

While we were on the plane (9h 40 min) the cat was in the carrier under the seat all the time. The airline policy says that the pet needs to be in the pet carrier under the seat during taxi, take off and landing, but there was really no room to put him anywhere else during the flight. He was super calm. He behaved like a little angel. He didn't make a sound. I gave him him water and snacks to eat, but he didn't want any. I didn't use any tranquilizers (I was told by the vet not to), but I did use cat pheromones. I sprayed the cat carrier 15 minutes before we got into the car to go to the airport and then again halfway through the flight. I also lined the bottom of the carrier with material that would soak any pee (I got it at a pharmacy), but he didn't pee or poo during the flight.

When we got to POE (Chicago), I of course had to declare that I have a live animal with me. I didn't need to take him out of the carrier at all. The CBP agent just asked to see the cat's documents, so I handed him the whole folder, which contained the letter from the vet in English with all of the info about the cat--his health and immunization record, his booklet with all the shots he ever got and the document from the Polish veterinary inspection that said he's OK to go abroad. My cat was never micro-chipped. He didn't need to be micro-chipped to be able to travel to the USA. I figured that the micro-chip from EU might not be compatible with the US system, so we will get him micro-chipped here.

[lacolinab13 86]

That's great! I'm so glad it went well and your cat was calm during the flight. My cat didn't pee or poop or eat or drink either - I think that's pretty typical for cats traveling.

Welcome to the US!

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

So glad to hear it went so easily!

I laughed at the line about the security agent patting the cat down

[TBoneTX 43,041]

This is great news -- thanks for the detailed update.

[awaywego 28]

Hi guys, thank you all so much for your answers!

I have flown into USA with my cat 3 days ago.

As you could see in my original post, I was worried sick about everything, but in the end the experience was very good and I was truly surprised by how smooth everything went.

First of all, the airline I traveled with (LOT Polish Airlines) didn't care at all about the pet carrier - nobody checked the dimensions. I had a soft-sided carrier that was 9cm too high but I knew that I could push down on it and it would fit under the seat in front of me. At the check-in desk they only asked to see the one document from the Polish veterinary agency that states that cat is good to go outside of EU.

What I didn't realize is that the security agents want the cat to go through the body scan completely "naked" (=no harness, no collar, nothing). So I took the cat out of the carrier, I took his leash and harness off, no problem there. The problem was with his collar. It's not a regular fabric collar but an anti-parasite collar that he's wearing now (we just put it on him 1 month ago and it's good for 8 months). The problem is, it only goes one way - you can put it on, but to take it off you need to cut it. So I told the security agent: "I can take the collar off but I will need to cut it, do you have scissors?", she said "No". But at the same time the other security agent who stood on the other side of the body scan said: "It's OK, just walk with him through the scan", so we did that. The scanner beeped, because the cat had his metal name tag and a little metal bell fixed to his collar, so the agent just patted the cat down, and he was good to go!

While we were on the plane (9h 40 min) the cat was in the carrier under the seat all the time. The airline policy says that the pet needs to be in the pet carrier under the seat during taxi, take off and landing, but there was really no room to put him anywhere else during the flight. He was super calm. He behaved like a little angel. He didn't make a sound. I gave him him water and snacks to eat, but he didn't want any. I didn't use any tranquilizers (I was told by the vet not to), but I did use cat pheromones. I sprayed the cat carrier 15 minutes before we got into the car to go to the airport and then again halfway through the flight. I also lined the bottom of the carrier with material that would soak any pee (I got it at a pharmacy), but he didn't pee or poo during the flight.

When we got to POE (Chicago), I of course had to declare that I have a live animal with me. I didn't need to take him out of the carrier at all. The CBP agent just asked to see the cat's documents, so I handed him the whole folder, which contained the letter from the vet in English with all of the info about the cat--his health and immunization record, his booklet with all the shots he ever got and the document from the Polish veterinary inspection that said he's OK to go abroad. My cat was never micro-chipped. He didn't need to be micro-chipped to be able to travel to the USA. I figured that the micro-chip from EU might not be compatible with the US system, so we will get him micro-chipped here.

Thank you so much for this great post! I hope Frankfurt doesn't ask us to take off the harness. I have horrible visions of a scared animal with a fondness for tiny spaces getting lost in a giant airport. Good idea to keep the medical records accessible in case they're requested.

Your post reminds me of a couple things:

Our cat also didn't eat, drink, or potty until we got to her new home, even though we offered a bit of dry food and water in one of those plastic on-board cups. (We also put "puppy pads" in the carrier in case.) The first thing we did was show her the litterbox and shut her into that room with a small bowl of water. That got her potty bearings, gave her access to water (more important than food for survival), and let her be somewhere quiet that didn't need much exploring while we unpacked and sprayed the rest of the apartment with pheromones. She was allowed out after she'd had some water and used the box. She spent the next few hours exploring before finally eating something.

The EU and US do have different microchip standards, which means that a US reader won't properly read a EU chip, and vice versa. (Our cat has a dual microchip, which the vet was able to special order.)

[dub42 17]

Hi guys, thank you all so much for your answers!

I have flown into USA with my cat 3 days ago.

As you could see in my original post, I was worried sick about everything, but in the end the experience was very good and I was truly surprised by how smooth everything went.

First of all, the airline I traveled with (LOT Polish Airlines) didn't care at all about the pet carrier - nobody checked the dimensions. I had a soft-sided carrier that was 9cm too high but I knew that I could push down on it and it would fit under the seat in front of me. At the check-in desk they only asked to see the one document from the Polish veterinary agency that states that cat is good to go outside of EU.

What I didn't realize is that the security agents want the cat to go through the body scan completely "naked" (=no harness, no collar, nothing). So I took the cat out of the carrier, I took his leash and harness off, no problem there. The problem was with his collar. It's not a regular fabric collar but an anti-parasite collar that he's wearing now (we just put it on him 1 month ago and it's good for 8 months). The problem is, it only goes one way - you can put it on, but to take it off you need to cut it. So I told the security agent: "I can take the collar off but I will need to cut it, do you have scissors?", she said "No". But at the same time the other security agent who stood on the other side of the body scan said: "It's OK, just walk with him through the scan", so we did that. The scanner beeped, because the cat had his metal name tag and a little metal bell fixed to his collar, so the agent just patted the cat down, and he was good to go!

While we were on the plane (9h 40 min) the cat was in the carrier under the seat all the time. The airline policy says that the pet needs to be in the pet carrier under the seat during taxi, take off and landing, but there was really no room to put him anywhere else during the flight. He was super calm. He behaved like a little angel. He didn't make a sound. I gave him him water and snacks to eat, but he didn't want any. I didn't use any tranquilizers (I was told by the vet not to), but I did use cat pheromones. I sprayed the cat carrier 15 minutes before we got into the car to go to the airport and then again halfway through the flight. I also lined the bottom of the carrier with material that would soak any pee (I got it at a pharmacy), but he didn't pee or poo during the flight.

When we got to POE (Chicago), I of course had to declare that I have a live animal with me. I didn't need to take him out of the carrier at all. The CBP agent just asked to see the cat's documents, so I handed him the whole folder, which contained the letter from the vet in English with all of the info about the cat--his health and immunization record, his booklet with all the shots he ever got and the document from the Polish veterinary inspection that said he's OK to go abroad. My cat was never micro-chipped. He didn't need to be micro-chipped to be able to travel to the USA. I figured that the micro-chip from EU might not be compatible with the US system, so we will get him micro-chipped here.

hi there just wondering did you get your cat the rabies vaccine? also did you get your papers from pettravel.com or did your vet just write up their own letters/record of vaccinations etc?