Sally Redux

Aargh.

jmood

I also flew a cat into the US in the cabin. It was an 11 hour flight. She did NOT soil her carrier. At one point I took her into the toilet, took her out of her carrier put some sand in a litter tray and waited, but she didn't use it.

To whoever said they would soil: They are very good at bladder control and are obsessive about their own cleanliness. Unless they are sick, they would rather explode than to soil.

I could never accept the idea of putting my pet into the hold. Too many unknowns. Too many horror stories. It could simply be a matter of the pilot forgetting there is a pet there and turning the temperature down. It's too easy a mistake to happen. Would you agree to put your baby into the hold (because they are an annoyance to some passengers)?

But I understand the dilemma of people with large pets who are relocating. I guess if it was me, I would consider coming via cruise ship - though I have no idea of their pet policies.

Pulaski

Phooey! Your cat maybe, but not all cats. One of ours will pee in her carry box about 10% of the time on a 75-90 minute journey, so we have to line it with a disposable "piddle pad" every time we transport her.

jmood

Ohh. Sorry. Did she get checked that she/he doesn't have a urinary tract infection or kidney stone/sand?

Pulaski

She's been to the vet on occasion for tests, and has been treated several times for a UTI but when she has a clean bill of health she pees in her box about 10% of the time.

yellowroom

Yeah, my previous cat hated travel so much that she would soil her box within about half a mile of my house - from any and every orifice. Any journey with her involved turning up with cat plus bag of gloves and wipes and newspapers to clean her up. Moving house I had to stop every 20 minutes. I think she only stopped eventually because she was empty.

Feliway spray helped eventually on shorter journeys such as to the vet, but there is no way she could have ever done a flight anywhere, she would have been in a complete state.

MoshiMoshi

It's your call -- but if flying pets in the hold were the incredibly hazardous procedure you suggest, then no airline would even offer the option. Why bother taking bookings if there's a large chance you're going to end up dealing with litigious bereaved pet-owners afterwards? Not worth it. There's a reason airlines won't carry flat-nosed breeds, or accept pets when the temperature hits a certain point.

I've read scores and scores of threads about transporting pets here on BE, over a period of several years, and one person has suffered a loss. I believe the cause is still under investigation, but was thought to be human error. In general, airlines take good care of pets and have lots of procedures in place to minimize risk.

Bob

People don't generally have allergies to other people, even if they are small and annoying at times.

Jerseygirl

A little OTT methinks.

Firstly yes there are horror stories...but they are far and few between. Thousands of animals are flown without problems. As for the comment about babies...that really is silly.

Pulaski

That's a "cat person" for you.

We have cat's but we're not "cat people". We look after ours, feed them well, keep them warm and safe, and to the vet when necessary, but we not weirdly obsessive about them!

Dixie101

The OP isn't obsessive, just a caring person. Many of us have close bonds with our animals. The only reason I have waited until now (in my 60s) to buy a place in Florida and spend a few months here each year is because I wouldn't leave my cats to be looked after by someone else and wouldn't have subjected them to the anxiety of a 9 hour flight. They both died of old age and I have decided not to have any more pets.
With regard to a cat that pees a lot and also pees elsewhere other than the litter tray - classic symptom of kidney failure, which affects a good percentage of older cats, especially male. My old ginger cat had kidney failure and he would pee beside the litter tray quite regularly.

jmood

Of course not I wrote that as a response to others earlier in the thread who implied (maybe jokingly) that they were.

jmood

Regarding litigious owners. I don't know under which country or which state's jurisdiction a case would fall under when flying from A to B. However, I did check about suing a top University Vet Hospital in the US. I found out that both in NY and in NJ pets are considered chattel and in litigation are not worth more than what you paid for them.

And you mentioned human error. Exactly my point. I personally would worry that human error is more likely to happen with a part of the plane that is out of sight (and so more out of mind) of the airline staff.


This is not about pets and mostly unrelated, but just a few days ago I read an excellent excellent article about how the Air France crash over the Atlantic a few years ago happened. Pure human incompetence and unimaginably simple errors (though the article does NOT call it that). The article is so good, you almost hold your breath reading it. Here it is:

WriterChick

Everyone who is anyone knows that children are just pet substitutes for people who have cat allergies...

;-)

lizzyq

You'll be taking flights via Europe then because as AFAIK no carriers will fly pets in the cabin direct from UK to USA.