Jerseygirl

I used to wonder why there were never any cats roaming around here...or dead by the side of the road. Although a few years ago there was a huge ginger cat on our garden...I thought it was a mountain lion or something similar...I was the size of medium sized dog. I noticed it had a red collar on...so I figured it was a cat.

chartreuse

Yup. It was a giant kitten.

I had lunch yesterday at a really nice pub in a nearby village. There were two cats in the room, and I assumed they lived there. But no. It turns out that they actually live in two nearby houses and just go to the pub every day, to see their friends. Awwww.

PepsiChic

thanks for the info and stuff everyone, its nice to hear from some pet owners that have done this

Poppy girl

My Pussy plays outside all day he is quite happy no different to the UK

lisa67

There's no answer to that

AmerLisa

That's all well and good, but what does your cat do?

Poppy girl

Well I never you naughty girls smut on the brain.

AmerLisa

chartreuse

As promised, I'm reporting in from the Waldorf Astoria, where the kitten is curled up on the bed, having a rest.

The journey was fine; she was good as gold, didn't make any fuss and went potty when daddy took her to the loo and set up her collapsible travelling litter tray. Customs was a breeze, too, as the CBP lady was a cat lover.

When we got to the hotel last night (Hilton, LHR) she walked around the room, inspecting it, then looked at me as if to say "This is a very small house, Daddy, have you lost your job?"

That said, several things were not as advertised and it's probably a good idea to list them here for the benefit of others.

1. Paperwork - everything that everybody tells you is a lie. We were OK, because it's my nature to assume the worst and prepare for it in advance, but if I'd done what the airline and the Feds suggested, we'd have been screwed. Specifically:

- Delta repeatedly said that they did not need any paperwork at all (and I called several times, spoke to different agents, just to be sure). When we checked in, it turned out that they needed a health cert and a rabies vaccination cert (which I had, despite their advice). When I queried this, I was told "oh, you weren't misled, we don't need to take them, we just need to see that you have them."

- Likewise, both CBP and USDA claim not to need any paperwork, but they asked to see the same stuff. I chose discretion as the better part of valour and didn't argue the point with the armed federal agent.

2. Logistics - again, Delta gave wrong info. I don't want to bash them too hard, because they're the only US carrier that will let you take a kitten in business class across the pond - which has to count in their favour, but anybody doing that clearly loves their kitten so much that surprises will be less than welcome.

Anyway, they told us we'd check in then take the kitten through security with us. What happened was, we checked in, waited half an hour for a baggage thrower to turn up, accompanied him to the staff security checkpoint, watched as he took the cat through, then were sent to the regular checkpoint. We were told she'd be brought to us at the gate, PDQ. In fact, an hour or so later, the kitten was brought to us on board the plane. Not a biggy, as it turned out, but she has meds at specific times and it could have got trick if one of those times had been during the unexpected separation.

Back to the good news, the flight was fine, cabin crew didn't bat an eyelid when I put food and water inside her carrier and CBP were more than happy to let us bring her canned cat food through. She's on a prescription diet, so I was a bit worried and had made arrangements with a store in Manhattan to get some more, just in case - preparing for the worst again.

Next leg is tomorrow, NY to TX with a connection. I've been working out a schedule for adjusting her med times (5 a day) to the new time zone, but just found out it's daylight savings tomorrow, so will have to recalculate. A report on the domestic leg will follow, but for now she's a happy American kitten!

PepsiChic

thats good news, glad everythings going ok for you and the kitten.

i'll remember what you said about paperwork thats for sure,

because the kitten was in the cabin with you, how much do they charge for that? is it only kittens or cats too?

Bluegrass Lass

We have plenty of coyote's in our area, and would not let any of my cats outside. Also, tbh, it is not common to let cats outside, unless you are in a more rural setting. Cats have a tendency to not come home. Whether that's because they are taken in by animal control, by someone else, hit by a car, or just wander off, I couldn't tell you..which is why everyone I know do not let their cats outside. If you decide to let your cat outside, you definitely need to go to a vet and see if they can recommend any vaccines specific to the area. Flea and tick prevention is a must (for cats & dogs), and you probably would want you cat to be in around dusk, or before, because mosquitoes here carry West Nile disease, among others. (but i really dont' know if mozzies will bite kitties so maybe there isn't a prob there)

chartreuse

It was $150 on DL and will be another $100 on AA. It varies by carrier (though remember only DL and UA will let you do the trans-atlantic bit).

Our kitten will be 16 next week, so it's definitely cats too!

PepsiChic

thankyou, you've been a HUGE HUGE help! do keep us posted

my cat is nearly 5 (tho he acts like a kitten) i didnt realise you could keep the cat in thw cabin i thought it had to go in the cargo hold. how did you manage with the cat carrier on the plane? did it go on a seat next to you or under your seat on the floor? lol i can guess it didnt go in the over head storage!

sorry for all the questions, just asking them as i think them so i cover all bases!

chartreuse

No worries. The carrier goes under the seat in front. We stumped up for business class because (a) there's more space and (b) we figured we'd get cut a bit more slack by the cabin crew.

PepsiChic

the problem with business class is the price :s

its saying £2000 for the flight and it stops in NYC with delta (i only want to go as far as Chicago - most flights dont require a stop normallly)

i really cant afford £2000 but i can see that there would be a problem with the space in economy there really isnt much leg room let alone cat room...

UA business is more expensive but without the stop so straight from LHR to ORD

both economy is about £700...i'll have to call them closer to the time and see what they say