Within the next 3-4 months we will be moving to NS, taking along with us my 13 month old Ragdoll cat (medium/long hair cat). I am sure that anyone who has flown their pets over has had concerns as to how their pet will be affected during transportation. My poor cat pooped on her way to the vet and it is only 3 miles

I have seen some of the boxes online that are suitable for flying a cat abroad and am concerned that there doesn't seem to a small section for cat litter.
Now, you can take a dog out for a pee but that just can't be done with a cat

Its going to be a long journey as there are no direct flights to NS from Scotland after October so the flight will be Aberdeen - London - Halifax, then a 1 1/2 drive north. This all adds up to around 10 hours at least.

Which pet transport company did you use and how was you cat when you got her back in Canada?

Thanks

Hi there

I don't know if this will help at all, as I haven't had the pleasure of transporting our cat yet ! (I more worried about that than anything else), but our friends run a cattery and they have had a couple of cats in from Australia. They have been to Australia and back to Scotland two or three times in the last five years, due to the owners work. The couple who own them use Jets for Pets and think they are excellent. I know this is just word of mouth, haven't used them personally, just for info. Maybe some other BP members have had positive/negative experiences with Jets for Pets? It's easy to get more information about them via google or any other search engine.

Send a PM to "third time lucky" they use this forum and have brought a cat and 2 dogs over, they are nice and friendly and will be able to give you good advice.

I got quotes from http://www.jets4pets.com/ Have a look see what you think they quoted me about £450 for two cats.

Emma x

Hi,

We transported our two Ragdolls over last July and used Ladyhaye. PM me and I will fill you in with all the details.

SAW 04

We transported our two cats over to Toronto using airline: Transat. No hassle pickup at Glasgow check-in desk and then next time we saw them was at the baggage reclamation hall in Lester pearson. Transat will take a maximum of 5 pets per flight and I know other airlines offer a similar service. If you go with pet cargo company then you are all over the place when you land at Toronto, making several trips back and forth (no extra stress needed).

We bought two carriers from Pet Cargo Cabrio carrying boxes - very modern with both top and side opening and feeding trays built-in. Lots of nice comments from vets and nurses over here about them.

Unfortunately the female had both pooed and wet her carrier and no, they don't allow cat litter in the boxes (no space for it to go and it would get all over the place anyway). The smell when we picked them up was horrendous but no-one else was in immigration or customs at Toronto so wasn't bothered. My wife cleaned the box while I talked to customs bloke then she left a lovely parcel for them in the airport garbage cans.

The male was fine and they both settled down as soon as we got them into the cattery over here. They also cleaned up the smelly one. Well worth the money.

It was all in about 13 hours from start of journey to end for them and they are back to normal now. Don't worry, pets cope fine(ish).

I flew my cat from Australia to British Columbia, using a cargo company. It was a major trip for the cat, taking three days in total as he had to stay in Sydney overnight for the compulsory government vet check before he was allowed on the plane (an Australian requirement,not a Canadian one). After the stay in Sydney he faced the horrible 22 hour flight to Vancouver, with a stop in Honolulu, then several hours waiting in the in the Vancouver airport for the connecting flight (I collected him from there from customs) and THEN the poor thing had to get onto a tiny Dash 8 and fly into the interior. I was worried sick on the Dash 8 because I didn't think it would be pressurised enough for him, and that he would freeze to death. However, he survivied (but I still don't like to imagine what he went through).

I think he spilt his water within the first hour and so his bedding was wet the entire time. I doubt he got a top up in Honolulu (probably would have just spilt that too, and got even wetter) and so at Vancouver he was very thirsty. Fortunately the staff in customs made sure he had water as it took several hours to clear him.

As for the kitty litter issue--cats won't generally eat when stressed, and the cargo company didn't feed him while in their care to avoid him having to soil his bedding. A few days with out food for a cat isn't that big of a deal. They generally go into shut down mode when stressed as well, so their energy needs are low. So for most cats, they won't soil their cage while travelling. At least that is what the cargo company told me and certainly my cat didn't. I don't think he even peed as there was no smell when I got him again.

All up it was a very tramatic experience for him but well worth it as he is happily settled and has been our link from our home in Australia to our new home in Canada. I would be forever wondering how he was doing if I had left him behind in Australia.

May I add that my cat is only 2 whereas yours is 13--that might make a difference. However, your cat faces a much shorter trip so an older cat will most like handle it very well. Good luck.

By the way, a lot of airlines won't fly a pet to Canada in the winter because it would freeze to death on the tarmack while waiting to be loaded. This is something you need to check out, I would say.

Air Tarnsay Edinburgh to Toronto in October last year with 2 cats - used Vet beds in the boxes as it wicks away the pee.
Most airlines will not carry animals over the winter period due to extreme cold and at times during the summer for the opposite reason. More related to temperature while aircraft is on the ground, eg during delays. Animals could freezed to death! Airline websites will give details of carriage dates.

Thanks for all the responses.

As Zoom stops flying direct to Halifax after October I have been now looking at Air Canada as you can check your pet in as extra baggage (also have thread about return ticket being cheaper than single ticket ). Also means that we should be apart for less time. Have been in touch with my breeder ref those special travel sheets that you put down in the travel box to draw away the pee should it happen. That would certainly help as my cat has medium/long hair (Ragdoll breed).

Will also check out flying in cold weather restrictions on pets.

Thanks also be travel carrier box recommendation.

We flew with Air Transat (because Air Canada stopped the Glasgow to Toronto flight).

Go with an airline that lets you take the cat on as extra baggage........ try not to go down the cargo route. (It is much more stressful for you and the cat.) Also of note is that the cost to take our two cats as extra baggage on Air Transat was the same as the cost if I had used a cargo company.

We used the "vet bedding" in the bottom of the cat boxes to catch any spills and the box we used - as mentioned by hubby above - had a small drip area for spills although the vet bedding did a good job of absorbing a lot of the mess. One cat was fine and one cat was not so fine......... each animal is different but they do settle once they are here.

Don't think they allow pets in the cabin for transatlantic flights. Also, I think I heard something recently about AC stopping pets in the cabin due to other passengers having allergies.

If only

Pets taken on as excess baggage are stored in the "heated hold" area of the cargo section of the plan and are not in the cabin.

The theory is .......... if your animal, in its carrier box, can fit under the seat it can go in the cabin but in reality, only service animals are generally allowed in the cabins.

we moved to NS with our cats and dogs last November. Had major problems with Air Canada. We were not allowed to fly them to NS. They had to land in Montreal, where they were collected by the company handling our move, and travelled the rest of the way by road. If you could delay the move until Spring would probably be better for you all. Our poor animals had never seen snow before - and everyone kept telling us last winter was so mild! They took months to settle in. It would have been much better if we could have planned the move for March/April. Also, check with Air Canada regarding travel accommodation for the cats. Ours have moved around with us quite a bit over the years, so we had boxes for them. No problems with other airlines, or the company that picked them up from our home. However, when they arrived in Halifax, none of them were in their original boxes, as Air Canada deemed them unsuitable (they were plastic, well secure, used on BA, Lufthansa, SAA to name a few). They then asked for a ridiculous sum of money from us, which we refused to pay. Eventually they backed down, but we were really upset as we lost blankets, leads etc. not to mention the boxes that the animals were used to.

Sorry your cats had to travel all over to eventually get to NS. I am going to phone Air Canada but so far only remember when their offices are shut (could be something to to with my house just about to go on the market ).

I have spoken to my cat's breeder who says that when she transports her show cats across Scotland by car, she puts down 'puppy pads' on the bottom of the pet carrier. You can buy them at the pet shops or online. So if pussycat has a wee(!) accident it is absorbed