My mom discovered a mommy cat with 4 week old kittens in her backyard. Shelters were full so my mom is caring for the lot of them. Was thinking of taking one of the kittens back to my home once they were weaned and old enough for initial vet shots and air travel.
Any tips for preparing for this? Any other advice? It will be from Hawaii to Virginia. I’m very worried about long air travel and the ttoll it takes on pets in general.
Find an airline that allows small pets to be taken in the cabin. The cage has to fit under the seat but for a cat that shouldn't be an issue. It's much better than having them in the cargo. Once you are in the air you usually can take the cage in your lap which can help calming the cat down. But obviously taking the cat out isn't allowed.
Take the cat on drives as before the flight so it gets used to being in the cage and shaken around. It will also give you a rough idea how it responds to traveling.
A trip to the vet before the flight to get some sedative medication for the flight can also make the thing more comfortable for the cat.
Since the flight is long (according to a quick Google) considered intentionally taking a longer stopover midway. But since Hawaii is an island I don't know if there is anything in between to stopover. If the second flight is only 1-2 hours then a direct flight would obviously be better. Cats don't do well on an empty stomach but flying on a full stomach also isn't ideal. Having a prolonged stopover where you can feed them and then leave some time to digest would be more comfortable. If you got them used to walking on a leash you even can let them walk around the airport.
Other than that just bring wipes and plastic bags. Much easier to clean up any puke or other mess.
Doing those drives seems like super smart idea. I get to see the cat’s ability to handle it, and get them conditioned up. I thought about doing a 2 day layover, stopping in CA or WA, but I’m worried about vet docs originating from Hawaii and then boarding her again. Do you think there’ll be any issues with that?
Honestly you might want to do a direct flight. If you break it in two, and she does fine on the first flight, she might get pissed off for the next one. Mine would have, at any rate.
Took my 8 month old kitten from the east coast to the west coast a few years ago. He’s a high anxiety cat as well.
I leashed trained him so he had a harness, which is beneficial because you’ll have to take them out of the carrier through security. I didn’t use any sleepy/calming things, he didn’t do well with the tests before travel.
I used a soft carrier that could open in the top. He “had” to be under the seat during travel. But after takeoff I just put the carrier on my lap and had my hand in there so he had a familiar scent and touch.
My little guy did very well. His only accident was as soon as I got to the airport so I cleaned him up in the restroom. Use puppy pads. Bring pet friendly wipes just in case. Other than that, it was a lot easier than expected.
Great advice! One of my concerns are the unknown reactions she will have during such long travel. One of my cats for instance is a screamer during car rides and takes a while to settle down. Will def do the soft carrier and puppy pads and will see if I can get my mom onboard for some introductory leash training to help with the travel.
There are soft carriers that are also expandable, which would be super helpful in keeping kitty comfortable on a longer flight. Also easier to fit a small water dish in there as well if the walls expand.
My cats had to travel via airplane since I was going to be doing a lot of travel with work. They flew from the east coast to the west coast. My anxiety cat was just as he was before, kept quiet but no accidents this time!
My other one is like yours, definitely a screamer. But he got all his screaming out of the way on the car ride to the airport. He made a little bit of noise while my parents were checking in but they told me he was very well behaved on the flight.
Now all cats are different, so it’s impossible to tell. But honestly I tell myself that if we can survive screaming babies and kids on a flight, then a cat who lets out a cry every few minutes should be nothing
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