I know what paperwork I need. What I'm trying to figure out is what is the best way to get them out there as they won't be flying out with me on the first trip out to activate visa (I am banking on the fact that I get accepted to college and get the study visa here).

What is best for the cats. Travel as cargo? Travel in the cabin (i.e. get a friend to come along as it's only 1 cat per person in the cabin)?

If they travel as cargo I could ship them, really. I wouln't use an agent as it's easy enough to find crates and we live near enough to the airport.

Now back to chasing shipping agent for the slightly larger grass eating 1200lbs baby.

Most passengers on the plane would probably suggest cargo
What are the cargo shipping costs compared to buying another ticket for the friend?

Save the money. Get new ones. There's more than enough cats here already, you can get them for free.

I have to say that when we came over we went with Aviators suggestion - rehomed the cats with the next door neighbour who loved them anyway.

And once we were hear and settled we got a couple of rescue cats.

It saved in several ways - not only did it mean that our cats were not subjected to a long flight plus stays in a cattery both ends, it also meant that we were not having to look for a rental place that allowed pets. (we didn't get our rescue cats until after we left the rental and bought a house). And we saved all the costs involved as well.

In addition, we got to give 2 cats who really needed a good home a loving home....

I remember when we were landing at Calgary, there was a very bedraggled and distressed cat in a carrier when we went to pick up our baggage who was yowling and really NOT happy!. I am glad I didn't subject our UK cats to that ordeal.

And the benefit is that we now have 2 lovely cats that didn't cost us a penny and have a home that they otherwise wouldn't have had.

i brought my cats with me they have been my friends for the last 6 years and were not the least bit bothered by the flight they did fly cargo along with my two dogs and none of them were ill or bothered by the journey they were just happy to see us when we picked them up, it all depends on you as a person but there wasnt any way i was leaving them behind even though their tickets cost more than ours ! whatever you decide dont worry about the flight they will do what cats do best SLEEP ! good luck

Years ago, we used an agent. They picked up our cats at the door in the Netherlands, flew them across, delivered them to the door in Ottawa.
It took less than a day for the cats to be totally settled in to their new home with no trauma at all. Apparently the last leg of the flight had some turbulence and they didn't enjoy that, as evidenced by the state of the carrier box, according to the handlers, but recovery time from the whole ordeal was practically zero.

Well, thanks for the suggestion of rehoming my cats. That is NOT an option. I lost 3 cats in a fire exactly a year ago and received two kittens end of august this year. Cats have been and always will be a part of my life and the two I have are my kids, so to speak, as I can't have kids. Would you re-home your kids? It's cheaper then flying the ones you have?

I won't re-home my horse either. Flying him out will cost but buying a new of the same caliber would cost more than flying him to Canada and back to europe again, twice.

So back on topic of best way to transport the cats. Yes, I am sure other passengers would appreciate the cats going in the hold and I am thinking of the people on board who are allergic. My concern is also what is best for the cats.

Happy New Year, everyone.

im glad they are staying with you and to fly the horse thats amazing tbh i dont think animals are allowed in the cabin across the atlantic as its a long flight i could be wrong but ive never seen any animals on board anytime ive flown happy new year to you as well

Read this link
http://www.paylessflights.com/en/art...379/index.html
http://gopetfriendlyblog.com/tips-re...-for-airlines/

Being in the hold is much better for the animals.

It is heated and pressurised, of course and once the flight gets under way it is dark in there, so the animals usually sleep.
They try to make sure that species which might not like one another are not on the same flight, so you should find that cats are not put on with strange dogs, for instance.

It worked well for all of our cats; although some took the journey better than others they all got over it after a while.

Thanks! They are sisters and hang out a lot. So getting them a large crate and let them travel together in the hold might be better than a small crate each and in the cabin.

:-)

Cheers!

You need to check with the airline. When we flew our cats from UK to Canada, 5 yrs ago, it was not an option to have them in the cabin. I've just checked and it is still not possible on flights from the UK, with Air Canada, and I think you'll find the rule applies with other airlines too. They have to travel in the baggage compartment.

Nor was it possible to put them in one container. They had to go in individual containers and there were strict regulations about size, which depended on the size of the cat. We used an agent who made the containers for them. One was much smaller than the other, because the cat was tiny, and that saved money with the airline.

They do not actually travel in the baggage compartment. That is not heated.
The animals travel in a heated, pressurised compartment just like human passengers but it is below decks and is kept dark after take-off.

Two cats can travel in one container on most airlines (in my research late last year I didn't come across any who would not allow two cats to travel together) providing that the animals are either from the same family or usually live together and so are comfortable in each others company and providing that the container is large enough to accommodate the dimensions of both animals under IATA regulations.

We chose to ship ours in individual containers,even though our cats live very happily together, just because we didn't know how each one would react to the stress of the journey.
We didn't want one cat who might otherwise have taken it all quite calmly being upset by one who took it badly.

I think if you aren't absolutely sure, then separate containers are a better bet.

Actually, the pressurised cargo compartment is still called a baggage compartment, but no big deal.

OK, just wanted to clarify in case anyone was worried about that aspect.
Funny, but if you have never done it (like I hadn't) you worry about that sort of thing.