Mr Weeze

I've seen someone walking their dog around in the cabin on a KLM flight - upper deck of a 747. It was a bit surreal. Before that I had no idea dogs were even allowed in the cabin.

Pulaski

I hadn't until you described it! ......

Bluegrass Lass

Ditto for us. We have 2 Siamese, and they know how to howl when they are afraid (which they always do on car rides). Not to mention, when our female cat does a #2, OMFG is it rank! I Wouldn't subject ourselves to that torture, much less other passengers!

We are buying dryfur pads (from http://www.dryfur.com) that exactly fit the bottom of their kennels, to absorb any messes. We've used them on 3 flights and during a cross-country move, and they have worked pretty well every time.

Tegwyn

Quite a visual! Aw come on, I am merely pulling your chain. I do appreciate that in many cases it would not be a good idea. I do think that cat was medicated as he was very gooey, and when I put him down in his carrier he curled up and settled back to sleep. Probably the only way to do it if they are on board.

dunroving

Blimey, it gets worse!

Any pet owners reading this, never, ever tranquillize a cat or dog before a flight, you could kill it. It suppresses the natural ability to respond to altered pressure and other physiological demands by changing blood pressure, heart rate, breathing rate, etc.

I realise you were having a little joke, but I really, really think pet owners need to think about whether they are making decisions for their pet's benefit or to make themselves feel better.

IlAlfie

I used PetAir for our 2 cats from London to NYC. I used the 'Gold' service which means they were picked up the day before, dewormed, vet checked etc and put in the hold in a custom-made wooden crate (massively sturdy BTW and was reluctant to chuck it out but NYC has small flats...). This is a US requirement I think. Each state has different requirements for importing pets so you'll have to make sure you have done what you need to do. If your dog isn't vaccinated against rabies you'll need a month or so (possibly even 2 if the appropriate antibody titre isn't reached after the first vaccine). It was all a bit complicated and I was glad that the company gave us money to pay for it as it wasn't cheap! It was very stress free for me and the cats looked completely fine in JFK when we picked them up. There's also customs to be dealt with on arrival and a small fee. The customs building is quite far from the passenger terminal so was tricky. PetAir only use BA Cargo which somehow made me feel better. No pee or poop when we opened the crate - a miracle!

We got our dog in NYC and when we moved to San Francisco I did all the planning etc myself. He's 8.5kg and is too big for the cabin sadly. They have to be small enough to fit under the seat in front AND be able to stand upright. It was really only for very small dogs. I put him in the hold with United and they were great but it was very nerve-wracking for me! He was fine at the other end. Glad to see us, but fine. We know people who have had their pet designated as a service animal (fraudulently of course) and they fly with the dog in the cabin on domestic flights. I imagine it might be a lot more difficult to have the dog designated as a service animal in the UK. There's always the QM2 but they book up quickly. Let us know how you get on as I'd be interested if there really was a way to take him in the cabin transatlantic.

IlAlfie

And we were repeatedly warned by the pet moving companies never to medicate the cats or dog as apparently, if they're medicated/tranquilised their blood pressure drops and the BP drops in-flight so the combined effects can kill them. They told me (to reassure me!) that a lot of these horror stories that you read - DO NOT GOOGLE THEM IN THE DAYS BEFORE TRAVEL LIKE I DID! - were caused by owners medicating the animals.

Tegwyn

Interesting, although that cat did appear to be calm. Hope she made to wherever in France they were going. What is recommended if a pet is highly strung, highly stressed out type? Stress alone can cause all kinds of bad results.

IlAlfie

Apparently they settle down quite quickly. If they're in a dark environment etc. I think dogs have a much worse time of it. The cats seemed completely unperturbed the whole experience. The dog seemed more stressed. A friend put his huge dog in the hold when he was relocating from SF to NYC. The dog tried to chew his way out of the crate. He didn't get out but he cut up his mouth really badly and he said it was like a bloodbath! When he came back from NYC he drove with the dog cross country...

dunroving

As I mentioned in my earlier email, Suzy was "neurotic" (vet's description), very shy and nervous with any sort of travel. Ironically, she travelled via just about every form of transport there is.

She "survived" three lengthy transatlantic flights with no adverse effects whatsoever. I think we forget that they are animals, and animals have a strong survival instinct.

Many pet behaviour books point out that anxious pets are often just responding to the way their owners behave. Just like kids, if you make a big fuss every time they look a bit anxious, you just create an anxious kid/pet. It's simple behavioural reinforcement. When we aren't making a big fuss, they just settle down.

IlAlfie

I think you're right. As I had the cats shipped off the day before travel (as was recommended) they seemed unfazed. The dog senses your stress, the change of environment, the boxes, packing. He was definitely more upset. And then there was my brave attempt at a stiff upper lip in the United cargo building as we left him in his crate...didn't help that there was a family giving up a dog for adoption to SF (?) and all the kids were hysterically crying. And that the United staff put the wrong destination on the crate which made my blood pressure shoot up! All went well in the end....

MoshiMoshi

It's crazy how much pet import rules vary state by state!

Getting our cats into California (albeit 4 years ago): no 'custom-made crates', no rabies titer test with a long waiting period (are these on the way out? the UK no longer requires them either), no deworming. No customs fee. Picked the cats up at the 'oversize baggage' area. Exited through customs with everyone else.

Customs: is that a cat?
Me: yes.
Customs: okay.

And that was it.

Definitely check how your destination state does it. NYC sounds even harder work than the UK!

IlAlfie

We moved to NYC 3 years ago so the rabies titre rule was there then, but maybe just for NY state. They had to be dewormed no more than 48 hours prior to travel. Also had to be vet-checked for fitness to fly. It was a bit of a to-do. Went to Cargo, saw the cats in the crate (didn't need to have hand-made, was just what Pet Air UK did) then told to go to another building about a mile away it seemed, deal with customs who were not charm-school graduates, pay the import fee, then go back to cargo with stamped form to release the cats. It was pretty stressful going back and forth. Had to tip the taxi driver big time! I think Pet Air also offered a home drop off service and I think, had I known the palaver at JFK, I would have opted for that one!

Marc_ely

It's not like that in CA anymore, at least not into LAX anyway.

Our cats came over in January to LAX via Petair (who were excellent BTW).

Petair had custom crates and wanted Rabies vaccine and healthcheck.

Customs at LAX is daft. You go to the cargo terminal and pick up paperwork. Then you drive a mile or so to the customs building and wait until they read the paperwork and stamp it. Then you drive back to the cargo place with the form, pay the money and get the animals.

Our 12 year old cats were fine with the flight and one of them still likes to sleep in her crate now. It must have created strong emotional attachment in times of peril...

seawaternow

We did Africa to Chicago with our two cats in cabin - have their Sherpa bags and cover their bags with light shawls and no one even knew they were there. I did hear one of them right before the takeoff but afterwards she piped down. This is normal as they're adjusting to cabin pressure.

We don't feed them 4-5 hrs prior to flight and water is taken away 2 hrs prior to the flight - thus no accidents during flight. Even if something were to happen we're prepared with clorox wipes in a ziplock bag and some kitchen towels for cleanup. No sedation for flights ever.

At O'Hare we had to ring for the USDA vet to come out and see them, just looked at them, signed the papers and sent us off. We did have all the paperwork signed and stamped - no one even asked to see it.

Same with our trip to DC a month later and our trip to middle-East two months later. So in 4 months we flew 5 flights with cats in cabin and no issues with other passengers, airlines or flight attendants. I will say that the Austrian check in lady assured us we'll be well taken care of and she let us board at the same time as other passengers needing extra time to settle in - we didn't expect it, but a nice gesture from her side. On board after the take off, I was offered to move to an empty row to stretch my legs and husband stayed behind in our row with cats - he had plenty of space to stretch his legs too.

At no time are the cats let out of their carriers during flights.