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Kitty Sunbeam is no stranger to her carrying case. Here we are on her first excursion to the park. We weren’t sure she could handle it at first, since she is a true scaredy cat, but she did come out a few times to explore the world!
She’s also pretty needy, following us around constantly and whining to be played with. She even sleeps on my chest at night and is not yet good with strangers. We’ve gone out of town once for five days since she became part of the family. Friends stopped by to check on her now and then and told us she spent most of her time in hiding. It broke my heart! How can you leave this little face behind and not feel guilty?
“Don’t leave me!”
For our wedding we will be out of town for 10 days, return to the city for 1.5 days and then be away for 6 more days in Hawaii. Besides hating to impose on our friends to babysit our cat for 16 days, we worry about leaving her in an empty apartment for such a long time. So we’re considering taking her home for the wedding. I’ve never flown with a cat before, so I’m not sure what to expect. I read somewhere that you have to take your pet out of the carrier to get it through security, and I can’t imagine trying to hold her among a hoard of strangers. I can see her face now…
Ahhk!
Then there’s the plane ride itself. Can she survive 4.5 hours on a plane, plus additional travel and wait time, all spent in a carrier? Can she handle all of this, in addition to the stress of being somewhere new?
I’d love to know: have any bees flown with a pet before? Anyone flown with a cat, in particular? I’ve seen people do it, but I’m really curious to hear about experiences first hand.
Aww, your cat is so sweet. I’ve never traveled with my cats before. I think it would be too much stress on them. Maybe there is a place where you can board your kitty? It would still be stressful on her, but maybe not as bad? Or you could pay someone (a teenager maybe?) to come over and play with your cat every day while you’re gone.
It can be difficult…but have you heard of this new service? http://petairways.com/ so crazy!
Flying with a pet isn’t that bad! I flew with my 8 month old puppy (she is now a seasoned flier) and we did have to take her out of the crate at security while they checked it out. She was as good as can be and had a swarm of people trying to pet her.
If you can take her right on the plane with you that is easiest and the least traumatic for them but I had to put her in cargo and seeing her being wheeled away was torture for me!
I also went to the vet and got her some tranquilizers since I wasn’t sure how nervous she would be. We didn’t end up using them but she came out safely on the other side happy and looking relaxed so it couldn’t have been that bad for her.
Never taken our cat on a trip that long. We are in the same “boat” (cruise wedding and all) for November. We will be gone for about 12 days total. We found that the PetSmart down the street from our apartment has a “kitty kennel” of sorts where they will keep her in a little kitty condo for the time-and even take her out to play with her a little–we aren’t sure if she will take to the strangers but we don’t have much of a choice being on the boat….hope all works out for you guys.
Aw! I wish I was in there instead of Seattle! I’d totally take care of her!
My cat comes to work twice a week (I know, I’m that weird lady with the cat) and can stay fine in his carrier for up to 3 hours in the car while running errands on the way home and such. I’ve heard that you can feed them calming meds that a vet can get you. You may want to start there.
But I do agree that taking her with you would be awesome.
I have! It wasn’t that bad, although I (against the advice of one vet, on the advice of another) gave him a little sedative to get him through 
You do have to take them out of the carrier to go through the gate, and I was worried about it, but the poor thing was so freaked out he was clinging to me for dear life, and not trying to run away, like I had feared.
I will say, Mango would be more than happy to never go in another airplane again… the hardest part for him was the loud sounds!
You know what’s best, but I personally think pets are usually happier at home, without all the stress of travelling. Especially since you’ll be busy the week of the wedding and won’t be able to spend much time with her, and she’ll be overwhelmed and scared about being in a new place. The NYT recently ran a few articles about flying with pets: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/02/travel/02pracpets.html?ref=travel
Aww, I flew with my 20-year-old cat on a plane from Florida to New York and he was totally fine. No meowing at all. Of course, he’s pretty mellow and I gave him lots of catnip
I took my cat from Alaska to South Dakota for Christmas a few years back. You do have to take the cat out of the carrier when you go through securty. You also have to make a reservation for the cat. Most airlines only allow one cat in the cabin. It took our cat a few days to adjust, but she seemed fine. The flight home she wasn’t so happy, but she bit at my feet the whole time through her carrier and that seemed to make her happier.
I had to fly with my dog when I moved, and she absolutely hated it…she’s rather shy and wary of strangers, too, so I think she would prefer to never fly again. I agree with KathyQ, above. If possible, leave her at home. Pets, and cats especially, are usually much happier at home. You can hire a pet-sitting service to stop by once a day to clean the litter box, feed, etc. They don’t usually charge much for cats. Or ask a friend or neighbor - most are happy to do it - and give a small gift as a thank you.
I had my cat in her carrier when we were traveling for three hours by car. She hated it. I ended up having to take her hold and hold her the entire time. If I was your friends, I wouldn’t mind taking care of her.
There’s also the option of hiring someone to come in meet her, then take of her as well.
I was never on a plane with a cat, but i have taken one in the car for a long time. I didn’t even make her stay in her crate… she mostly laid in the back window. Every now and then she would curl up in my lap. Basically we just set up a litter box for her (yes in the car) and has a travel dish for food and water. She was a gread road trip buddy.
For the extra cost of bringing the cat on the flight, it may be worth it to hire someone to stop by 2-3 times a week to change the litter and add food to the bowl. If you do want to bring her, I would talk with her vet about options. Some will prescribe a sedative to help keep them calm.
I agree with KathyQ, I think she might be happiest at home with someone checking in on her. My FI and I started dating when he cat sat for me (hes had a key to my apartment ever since!). Although my cats were shy at first, he made it a point to make them feel comfortable. If you have a neighbor or someone who can stop by once a day it might be easier on all of you. What would you do if she was uncomfortable in her new surroundings and tried to run away!
For my kitties - the stress of traveling and going some place new would probably be worse than the stress of being home alone for awhile. Have you looked into pet sitting services? If you don’t want to put your friends out, it might be a good solution - our pet sitter came over, met the kitties, learned how to take care of them, and then came by twice a day to play with them and give them cat meals. If your kitty is a little shyer, she may just need once a day to check on her, make sure her food and water levels are there, and call or email you with updates.
Good luck - she’s ADORABLE!
I’ve never flown with my cat, but I was on a flight with two dogs. The one was a showdog who was in 1st class and the other one was a pug who was in economy with the rest of us. He was freaking out and whining non stop (we had to wait awhile to leave) so his mom took him out and put him on her lap. I would be afraid to do with my cat unless I had her on a leash. I am wondering what I am going to do with my kitty when we go on our honeymoon to London, but the new neighbors told me they’ll check in on her. I really don’t want to put her in a kennel. That would totally freak her out!
I’ve never flown with our kitties–they’re pretty high maintenance and I don’t think they’d be happy away from home. Do you have any friends/neighbors who know Kitty well enough to come and check in on her? Someone she knows well enough that she might feel comfortable enough to come out and say hi to?
I travelled once with a cat. Here’s how it went:
1) I couldn’t do a reservation for the cat, I needed to make sure to arrive at the airport extra early to see if there was still space available (this is if they fly in cabin). I was charged $75 and the carrier was counted as my carry-on.
2) My vet wouldn’t prescibe any medication due to a heart murmur.
3) The suggested travel method was to purchase a cheap baby blanket (or if you already have something like this use it). Keep the blanket draped over the carrier at all times possible so the cat can’t see all the strangeness around it.
4) The cat carrier (though soft sided and airline approved) did not fit well under the seat at all. Luckily there was an empty seat that I set it on during the flight, but the carrier needed to be on the floor for take off and landing.
My flight wasn’t as long as the one you are looking to take. But my vet also recommended taking water way about an hour before leaving the house for the airport. I did take kitty snacks along for the plane.
My cat stayed fairly quiet but the carrier was full of hair a clear indication he was stressed.
Also, yes, I had to take him out of the carrier for security. I held him like a baby through the xray and his carrier went on the belt like any other bag. He was so frightened that he didn’t think to jump. He pretty much clung to me.
I did this only out of necessity as I was moving and taking a one way flight. The flight seemed less painful than driving for two days with a cat in the car. I would recommend having someone check on the cat in your own home. My cat was typically okay being completely alone for about 3-4 days. So leave plenty of water (get one of the fountain style bowls from petsmart) and food. Even though your cat will probably sleep a lot because of being alone, it will likely be less stressed than travelling and staying in a strange place.
I want to take Curly (My lil poodle) with me to California so I’m actually looking at all the requirements, it’s so much easier to fly domestically tho - international travel with pets is CRAZY!
I’ve flown with a small dog before — I imagine a cat would do a little better since they like sleeping so much. Then again, every cat I’ve had has hated riding in the car, so I imagine a cat may not like flying.
What about just boarding your kitty? Any reputable boarder will keep the cats in separate kennels. I would be way too nervous leaving my cat alone in an apartment for that long, even with someone checking once a day.
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Mrs. Sunbeam, San Francisco/Grove City, PA Age and Occupation: 26, Grad Student & Office Manager Fiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Motion Designer Engagement Date: May 10, 2008 Wedding Date: September 2009 Venue: Harbison Chapel & The Maple Lane Farm About Me: Mr. Sunbeam and I are high school sweethearts. We both come from a small town in PA but are growing to love the California lifestyle. He loves wine and I love cheese... the perfect combination! When I'm not drooling over wedding blogs, I'm attending grad school, out being a foodie, or attempting to "walk" our cat at the park. Two things guaranteed to excite me are wedding cakes and breaking out my suitcase to travel. Mr. Sunbeam and I are personalizing our hometown wedding to celebrate our high school sweetheart status and PA roots with a few CA touches. After ten years of dating we couldn't be more excited to call each other husband and wife!
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