nyclady

The person I've been talking to at Virgin Cargo said that a couple of times he's seen crates that have a special section in them for kitty litter but cannot illuminate me as to how its done. Is there anyone who may know on this forum?. I was thinking of putting weewee pads towards the back of the crate OR I could maybe get some aluminum cooking trays to hold some kitty litter. The crates are quite big but wouldn't they get the litter all over the place ?. My cats are travelling from NY to London next week and what with all the paperwork and stuff they will be in their crates for quite some time. One of them gets particularly stressed and I'm worried as you can imagine.
thanks for any input. :-/ :scared:

Merlot

Hi there nyclady

Good luck with your trip. When our cat flew Qantas Australia to UK in March last year we could only put in newspaper and a comfort blanket, which our cat inveriably used as a toilet.

I think the Animal Reception Centre at Heathrow cleaned her up with a disinfectant but her fur did have a cattie poo smell to it for a few days but she was none the worse for wear for it. She like all cats is very particular so it was probably a nighmare for her but she was OK.

My cat is an indoor cat and very clingy and VERY nervous. We had sleepless nights worrying about her but she was totally fine and coped really well with the journey.

Good luck.

Merlot

nyclady

Thanks for your reassuring reply Merlot....(I'm a nervous wreck.) So I'll go with newspaper, wee wee pads AND towels and that should do it.
It's heartbreaking when they get so upset but like you said they usually get over it and end up being none the worse. I, on the other hand, am another matter !

Professional Princess

Hi there.

I am an ex vet nurse and I know that we would recommend to our clients exporting pets to put 'vetbed' in the cage (you can buy it form petshops or even your vet). Its a thick sheepskin, which if/when your cat urinates, the urine soaks to the bottom of the fabric, leaving the top dry.

Some cats will hold their urine/faeces for the duration and some will soil the vetbed.

I wouldnt worry too much about litter, if there is the slightest risk of it spilling out into his container, then I wouldnt chance it.

Because your cat will feel more uncomfortable if its sitting on pieces of hard cat litter than if it pees on his bed.

With the right bedding, it shouldnt be a problem.

They advise you dont feed your pet on the morning of travel, so faeces may well not be a problem.

Just buy a good square of it from your petshop.

Good luck

Sam

nyclady

WOW....I've never heard of that kind of fabric...sounds perfect for the job.THANK YOU so much for the info ...I will go to and get some of it for them.

Lottie

Just to let you know we flew with Virgin from London to Newark in August last year with my cat. Virgin were excellent, they phoned me 1hr before the flight to let me know that she was fast asleep in the pet reception centre..meanwhile I was in floods of tears in the airport lounge worrying about her..too upset even for duty free shopping. I asked the air hostess to let me know when she had got on the plane, she did and she also told me they had sent water down for her. Then at the other end she told me when she had been taken off the flight.

On the wee and poo front, well she's not really a nervous cat, but she didn't wee or poo for the whole 12 hour journey (door to door). I have to say though when we did get her onto a litter tray it was the biggest wee and poo I'd seen from her in 8 years!

Good luck with the journey, our cat settled down in about a day, in fact I'd go as far as saying she's adjusted better to life out here than we have!

Hope he/she enjoys the UK!

Lottie

nyclady

Hi Lottie.....I bet you were glad when that trip was over! I must admit I would have liked to have travelled on the same plane but BA were offering a much less expensive flight for me and I'm functioning here on a rather tight budget...the BA cargo people were very UNhelpful in the extreme so I wasn't going to entrust my animals well being to them after that.
You mentioned that water had been given to your cat during the flight?...I was told by one person that there was no access to the cargo hold...but by another that there was. I wonder if it's worth my tracking down a Virgin person at the airport during my 4 hour wait to let them know about my concerns....Hopefully I'll meet someone at the cargo reception to whom I can explain Garibaldi's sensitive tummy problem (!?)...but I s'pose it's all quite normal for them....
This forum has been SO helpful to me these last few months of being an ex-pat ...thanks to everyone

anya4oz

Hi there,

Our 2 cats flew Quantas from LHR to Melbourne, Australia this year - about 24 hours or so traveling. There was no 'waste products' facility in their container, though there was a water bowl each. A vet friend of ours told me that most cats in transit whinge for a little while, then as the warmth gets turned up in their part of the plane, they snuggle down & go to sleep (let's face it, ours sleep for about 23 hours/day in any case!), and as they are not active, don't need to ablute very much. Actually, now ours are indoor cats, I am more aware of their performance in that area(!), and they don't actually seem to pee/poo that often! I would say it's quite possible that they could last for a NYC to LHR flight!

We got their container afterwards, and amazingly it didn't smell at all. Mind you I'm sure the quarantiune staff at AQIS gave it a very good clean. It's a solid, well built unit that is currently acting as a TV stand until we get round to buying one!!

Good luck with the move! I was really sorry to leave NYC myself, but I'm sure you & your feline friend(s) will be happy to be 'home'.

Anya.

anya4oz

Wow! Sounds like just the thing for some of the over-long business meetings I am compelled to attend these days! Where can I get some?



Anya.

Professional Princess

Send me your email address via pm and I have lots of useful info for you.

I have typed up a booklet which has all the websites for pet carriers and general info.

It is however aimed at people migrating to Australia, but the websites if nothing else may be useful.

Sam

nyclady

Thanks for the offer Sam.
I've PM'd you twice 'cos I forgot my address
nyclady

dunroving

Is Vetbed available in the US? I can't find it online at the usual pet places.

Lottie

Hi NYCLady

They gave my cat fresh water whilst they were loading the cargo area of the plane. During the flight there is no access, but I was reliably (ha ha) informed by Virgin UK that the pilot can control the temperature down there and also has a camera so he can see whats happening in the cargo area.

Definitely give Virgin UK a call, they were the ones I spoke with the most and they listened to all my concerns. They will be able to put you in touch with right person in the US. Phone contact number is UK 08450 701701.

Also, can I ask how much it is costing to ship your cats back with Virgin..not sure if we will stay out here for good and so it's nice to know how much it's going to cost to bring my beloved cat back with me.

Good luck with the repatriation!

Lottie

Professional Princess

I dont know if you can get it in the US, I should imagine you could, it might be under something else.

Leave it with me, and I shall try and find some websites for you.

Sam

DaveC

We brought our two cats over from Edinburgh to Dallas via London. I put a small old ice cream tub in the back of the oversize cage for the litter and duct taped it down. I lined the cage with newspaper on the bottom and comfy blankets above.

They were probably in the cage for 14 hours and when we got them out I didn't see any evidence of them having gone to the toilet anywhere.

We had put a water bottle on the cage for them but when we got to the other end it was in a bag on top of the cage - perhaps the airline animal care people had removed it?

Good luck!