I do not want to put my cat in a cargo/baggage area for the flight to HI but seems I've no choice over it at all :nothappy:
I am taking a connecting flight since there is no direct flight from where I live(Tampa, FL) to Honolulu. First flight is probably 2 hours, a couple of hours lay-over, then the second flight would be 8 hours.

I have to buy a crate very soon to have her "crate-trained" prior to the actual travel date(end of August to early September) but I'm not too sure which one to buy. My agent's recommendation was either Vari-kennel or Iris USA. I've already checked some from petmate vari-kennel at a nearby petco store but I wasn't too impressed on the sturdiness or even the appearance of items I saw at the store. :sigh:

I know that my cat can probably open the locks/doors as I'm quite sure that she'd try to escape if being contained in a small crate for longer hours - 12 hours at least. I'd definitely need to get a crate with unbreakable/ uncorruptible door comes with a reliable lock(or double-locks, maybe?).

Which crate would you recommend for longer transportation in air cargo? :nervous:

Make sure you check the specific airlines regulations. I'm flying 2 kitties with me & a friend as carry-on luggage. They have size & weight restrictions. Which airline are you using?

Either CO or NW, most likely CO as they have "petsafe" program.
I'm wondering if I should purchase a crate from the airline.
I am researching how it is but haven't found the information anywhere yet.

Most kitties settle down pretty fast, but still get a sturdy carrier.

My kittens only had a short flight but with travel to the airport etc. they were in there for about 7 hours. I know my breeder has sent several kittens from Australia to Hawaii and they all arrived just fine :)

I don't know if you have PP20's over there, but they are what's usually used for transporting here. Secured with cable ties to make sure the door doesn't open during transport (required by the airlines) http://www.petstuff.com.au/list.asp?id=1

http://www.meijer.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=28338

I have the up to 20lb for my 7 month old kitty Slyvie

Most kitties settle down pretty fast, but still get a sturdy carrier.

My kittens only had a short flight but with travel to the airport etc. they were in there for about 7 hours. I know my breeder has sent several kittens from Australia to Hawaii and they all arrived just fine :)

I don't know if you have PP20's over there, but they are what's usually used for transporting here. Secured with cable ties to make sure the door doesn't open during transport (required by the airlines) http://www.petstuff.com.au/list.asp?id=1

What airline did they fly with?

Thank you for the link - it seems the same kind as vari-kennel but I like this one better, also the color is prettier than any of those available here in the states :nod:

http://www.meijer.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=28338

I have the up to 20lb for my 7 month old kitty Slyvie

How big is this one? Is this heavy?

It is not heavy I think 24 by 24 ??

Make sure you check the specific airlines regulations. I'm flying 2 kitties with me & a friend as carry-on luggage. They have size & weight restrictions. Which airline are you using?
I used AA to ship Shelby, an exotic short hair under the front seat of the plane in a special carrier for the purpose. She arrived well and happy. Alley was shippd via cargo from LA to here (Texas) and had to sit in a holding area both coming and going for a total time of near 12 hours. Not good. Of course if you have an adult Maine Coon or the like there is not much you can do about it that I know of.

I used AA to ship Shelby, an exotic short hair under the front seat of the plane in a special carrier for the purpose. She arrived well and happy. Alley was shippd via cargo from LA to here (Texas) and had to sit in a holding area both coming and going for a total time of near 12 hours. Not good. Of course if you have an adult Maine Coon or the like there is not much you can do about it that I know of.

Was Alley OK & calm to be in a crate for that long hour?
Did you use Rescue remedy or any other supplement to calm her prior to your departure?

I just had to bring my baby-cat back from my vet. Only for 15 min ride o/w but she was stressed out, growling & ready to attack me as soon as we got back home. :sigh:

I really have no idea if she'd survive of traveling :dk:

Was Alley OK & calm to be in a crate for that long hour?
Did you use Rescue remedy or any other supplement to calm her prior to your departure?
Alley was totally freaked out when she got here and we finally picked her up. Our kids sent her to us and had no idea on how to make her calm. At the time we got her home, we knew nothing about things like Feliway and such. When we got her home and opened the carrier she was afraid to come out but we left her in there until she finally came out after about a half hour whence she proceeded to head for under the nearby bed. However, this was a cat that the kids had just picked up from the rescue center so poor Alley did well to adjust at all.

My friend - the one who moved to Ireland from Canada (I posted about her situation on your other thread a while ago)- used Vari-Kennel. This is the one:

http://www.ukdogguards.co.uk/vari-kennels.html

She has the smallest one, obviously!

I borrowed two of them to transport our kittens to the vets to get fixed and they were great. The ones she had had a four way locking thing and our vet commented on how great and study these particular ones were. Our kittens are (were, rather!) feral, so we had to endure a lot of 'action' in the carrier and they were no match for the carrier!

The only issue my friend had, however, was even though the airline told her that is particular carrier was fine, when she went to drop the kittens off at cargo, they told her that these carriers couldn't be used because they only had three-way ventilation. Ugh. They took pity on her (she was MOVING overseas, for goodness sake!) and drilled some holes in the un-ventilated side. The cages held up and the cats were fine.

Not the prettiest things in the world, unfortunately, but they did their job!

My friend - the one who moved to Ireland from Canada (I posted about her situation on your other thread a while ago)- used Vari-Kennel. This is the one:

http://www.ukdogguards.co.uk/vari-kennels.html

She has the smallest one, obviously!

I borrowed two of them to transport our kittens to the vets to get fixed and they were great. The ones she had had a four way locking thing and our vet commented on how great and study these particular ones were. Our kittens are (were, rather!) feral, so we had to endure a lot of 'action' in the carrier and they were no match for the carrier!

The only issue my friend had, however, was even though the airline told her that is particular carrier was fine, when she went to drop the kittens off at cargo, they told her that these carriers couldn't be used because they only had three-way ventilation. Ugh. They took pity on her (she was MOVING overseas, for goodness sake!) and drilled some holes in the un-ventilated side. The cages held up and the cats were fine.

Not the prettiest things in the world, unfortunately, but they did their job!

Yes, Vari-Kennel. We can purchase exactly the same one here, too.
I've found one under a bargain item & just ordered it from here:
http://www.discount-pet-superstore.com/specials/varikennel_closeout.htm

I've actually read that under the new(?) USDA & IATA Airline Kennel Guidelines, the kennel must - Be adequately ventilated. The total ventilated areas must be a minimum of 16 percent of the total surface area, including the door and three remaining sides.

So, yes, although these kennels are IATA airline approved, majority of them only have 2 ventilated sides - including the one I ordered. I am going to drill some holes like you mentioned, also replace those plastic nuts to metal kinds for added security.

I'll start "crate-training" my baby very soon.
I've also purchased more feliway products. I have to purchase rescue remedy as well & try to see if it works :wavey:

Alley was totally freaked out when she got here and we finally picked her up. Our kids sent her to us and had no idea on how to make her calm. At the time we got her home, we knew nothing about things like Feliway and such. When we got her home and opened the carrier she was afraid to come out but we left her in there until she finally came out after about a half hour whence she proceeded to head for under the nearby bed. However, this was a cat that the kids had just picked up from the rescue center so poor Alley did well to adjust at all.

Awwww...poor kitty but I guess she didn't get violent, did she?
My baby was a feral, too. Although she's already been accustomed to live in a comfort as a household pet, in another words: spoilt rotten, she occasionally gets violent instead of freaking out. Last 2 times when I brought her to a vet, she had to be sedated to get all the check-ups because she was too violent for my vet & her assistants to handle. :sweat:
Hope she behaves and wouldn't get violent or break the crate when traveling... :para2:

Our kittens are ferals too! I worry about all this stuff because our situation in Ireland is only temporary (my husband is an academic on a short-term contract). We hadn't expected to take in any pets (planned on waiting until we had settled), but three feral kittens showed up and well....anyway, I worry that ours will get violent once we have to transport them to wherever we go in a years time (their first trip to the vet was an adventure, which resulted in both my husband and me on antibiotics after Paddington chomped down on both of our hands!).

One thing my friend recommended was that when you drill the holes in the cage, make sure you do it on the bottom level. If you do it on the top, it kind of throws off the stability of the whole thing. The guy at the airport did the first one on top and then realised that issue, so did the other two on the bottom. I was really impressed with the cages. We walked all of them to our vet in the cages (no car - vet is only 10 minutes away) and I was concerned about them getting out/breaking the cage but they were sturdy enough to handle all of Steve's thrashing around!

I would have done more cage training with our kittens if I had thought about it properly. As it was, I put it on the floor and let them hang out in it. They actually really like the cage (even after their speuters!) and spend quite a bit of time in them still. I hope the RR works for you! I used it with Paddington and it really helped him out. Steve wasn't so affected by it...

Does the airline have rules that you can't take your cat on the plane with you? Is it the length of the flight? Because I have friends who moved back to Germany from the states a while ago and they were not allowed to ship their cat as cargo because of the heat. They had to buy an airline approved soft carrier and take her on board. I was so happy I could have cried, because I was so stressed about Misty (who I love dearly) in the cargo hold having who knows what happening to her that I was verging on a nervous breakdown (seriously).

I don't have any advice on a crate, but I would suggest doing resarch on the best way to make it easier for your cat. I do remember reading that you should personalize the crate as much as possible with your cat's name and some personal info, try to make your pet seem like more than just another piece of freight to the baggage handlers who might or might not care that they're transporting a living creature.

Best of luck to you and I hope you both make to Hawaii safe and sound :nod:

Does the airline have rules that you can't take your cat on the plane with you? Is it the length of the flight? Because I have friends who moved back to Germany from the states a while ago and they were not allowed to ship their cat as cargo because of the heat. They had to buy an airline approved soft carrier and take her on board. I was so happy I could have cried, because I was so stressed about Misty (who I love dearly) in the cargo hold having who knows what happening to her that I was verging on a nervous breakdown (seriously).

I don't have any advice on a crate, but I would suggest doing resarch on the best way to make it easier for your cat. I do remember reading that you should personalize the crate as much as possible with your cat's name and some personal info, try to make your pet seem like more than just another piece of freight to the baggage handlers who might or might not care that they're transporting a living creature.

Best of luck to you and I hope you both make to Hawaii safe and sound :nod:

:thanks:

Yes, I've already checked with all the major airlines that serve flight to HI.
None of them allow in-cabin pet to HI at all due to the quarantine :bawling2:

Even if they allow it for the first segment(connecting flight to a hub - there's no direct flight to HI from where I live), I'd still have to check her in as either a baggage or cargo for the second segment(flight to HI) :nervous:

The airline I am flying with(very likely be Continental), suggested me to ship her via cargo all way rather than moving her around from In-cabin to Cargo.
Also found out that Continental(& some other airlines) do not allow pets as check-in baggage due to the temperature controlling issue. Some airlines are under seasonal embargo, they would not even accept any pet transportation during the summer months :para3:

I think the issue here is the quarantine. Hawaii (like the UK and Ireland) has this sort of thing in effect - the animals have to be handled as cargo because they have to go through special sort of handling on either side.

Also, just for the record, most airlines (I can't say all because I haven't checked all!) won't let you travel with your in the main airplane for trans-Atlantic flights anymore. This is fairly recent. My friend did all sorts of research on this when she moved from Canada to Ireland - she was hoping that she could fly to the continent (the cats with her in the main cabin) and then have them vetted there - and then somehow transport them from France/wherever to Ireland. Very complicated, obviously, and it wouldn't have worked anyway because all the airlines she contacted said the same thing - no matter where she was flying trans-Atlantically she would have to put them in cargo. Maybe if she flew first class they would bend the rules...:)

I am not sure how recent it is but seems flights originate from Asia to Hawaii tend to allow in-cabin pets, heard that traveling with smaller dogs(not many cats, unfortunately...) to Hawaii is getting popular or something :scratch:

I am not sure how recent it is but seems flights originate from Asia to Hawaii tend to allow in-cabin pets, heard that traveling with smaller dogs(not many cats, unfortunately...) to Hawaii is getting popular or something :scratch:

the reason for any animal COMING into Hawaii to be Quarentined is IT IS a RABIES free zone//

all leaving are KNOWN to be rabies free

the reason for any animal COMING into Hawaii to be Quarentined is IT IS a RABIES free zone//

all leaving are KNOWN to be rabies free

Yes, Hawaii is a rabie free state, so it makes perfect sense.
I am not sure how many countries in Asia are rabies free, though...:think:

Yeah - UK/Ireland is rabies free as well. We can take our cats easily to North America/European continent...it is just getting them back which would be a pain (as my friend knows - her moving over here was delayed by 7 months because of all the cat-related rabies issues!).

Yeah - UK/Ireland is rabies free as well. We can take our cats easily to North America/European continent...it is just getting them back which would be a pain (as my friend knows - her moving over here was delayed by 7 months because of all the cat-related rabies issues!).

Also, needs different kind of Microchip than the US, correct?

I just wanted to weigh in on the discussion, because it's so very nerve wracking to fly your cats via cargo! I flew from NYC-Dublin Ireland four years ago with 3 cats. I'm returning with 5! Forgive the length of my reply!

On the way over to Europe, I basically had to quarantine them to my home. 7 months, like someone mentioned. They get a microchip, then their rabies vaccine. After time passes, they test the cats blood to make sure that they're still rabies free. 24-48 hours before, they get de-worm/ticked. There was more paperwork for me, because I wasn't on an approved flight route & needed permission from Ireland's Dept. of Agriculture. When they landed in Dublin, they were met by an approved Vet who whisked them off to Lissenhall vet practice.

On the way out I also encountered the ventilation issue with the Petmate carriers. They had to drill holes in the back. One of my cats is a little nuts, so I couldn't remove her, but she came to the front of the carrier & was safe. All of their eyes were dilated to the size of coins & they were scared, but quiet & not clawing at their cages. There was a poor dog back there, too & he was petrified!

When I went to greet the vet in Dublin, I got to see the cats being lowered on a fork lift! Ack! I was so happy to see them all alive & well... They were fine. They came out of their carriers immediately & explored their new homes. I lined their carriers with an absorbent material, but now you can buy "Dry Fur." Also, I cut up my comforter with my smell on it to keep them comforted. Feliway wasn't used much then. It was a pain, I had to sew the open ends & feathers flew around the neighborhood, but they're worth it.

Flying BACK to the states I am LESS nervous. I CHOSE Continental. They did an AMAZING job coming over & I will fly continental going back. It's more expensive, but I trust them. They have Quick Pak for pets... It's cargo, but Continental has CLIMATE CONTROLLED areas. I have read lots of reports & the only animals that die in their care were on their way out to begin with.

I will use the 3 petmate carriers that I brought over (they were fine) and I'm purchasing 2 more Vari Kennels, also recommended to fly international. I will also spray their carriers with Feliway a half hour before loading them in.
One of the new guys is noise sensitive & I'm most worried about him. The 3 oldest know that I love them enough to be waiting on the other side! I hope... Flying from here is easier... I just need a health certificate & rabies shot administered within 14 FULL days. I also need to send the paperwork to the Head Vet in NY State.

I guess the most important thing to do is choose your airline carefully. They have released all of the airline pet deaths & you can see who is reputable & who is not. DO choose a climate controlled area, DO look into Continental. DO remember that this is one day out of the rest of their lives & their lives will be better with you.

Oh, I found a HANDY calculator to figure out what size carrier your cat will need...::
http://cyuat.baplc.com/biztools/pcst.shtml

My Cleo came on Continental and everything worked out fine.
She came from North Carolina to Houston to California.
Do you have the report of what airlines are good to fly on?
My sister has a kitten coming soon.

I can only personally recommend Continental.
And I would never use Delta. They have a pretty bad reputation, losing animals, having animals die... I read up on Continental a lot & they're among the best. If she can use them, tell her to do it!

A person I know had a almost dead cat come in on Delta.
Most the breeders I know use Continental.
My sisters kitten is suppose to come on Continental but the flight times are not looking good.
My sister is going to Ireland on vacation in a few weeks.

Is your sister flying her cat to Ireland to live soon?

Delta is frightening. I read a report from a woman who says that Delta lost 2 dogs for 72 hours! Lost them??? They were found unharmed, but still. I also personally encountered a woman crying in the JFK Delta terminal who said that Delta had lost her dog. I won't even fly Delta, let alone put a pet in their cargo!

I haven't read the reports on Virgin, but I hear that they give animals special Virgin logo tags & prizes, which is cute. Again, haven't read up on their statistics...

There used to be a whole site, Rambin' Cat, which was a forum for people traveling with pets. I wish it were still up. It's very needed. My friend is about to put her 3 cats on Continental as per my recommendation, too, so I'm happy to hear more stories about their true concern.
:rbheart:

My sister is just going on vacation for 10 days.
Her pets are staying home.
I might have to go take care of them.
It is her first trip out of the Usa.
A lot of breeders use american also.

I can only personally recommend Continental.
And I would never use Delta. They have a pretty bad reputation, losing animals, having animals die... I read up on Continental a lot & they're among the best. If she can use them, tell her to do it!

:yeah:

I flew with Continental and I really liked the way they treated Ku Ku.
Everybody at the cargo office was soooo nice to her.
She was literally treated like a princess :angel:

P.S. I meant to post my experience lot lot earlier but been swamped out, didn't get to do it at all. I'll try & post it shortly ;)

BTW, this is where I checked on the airlines' safety report:
http://www.petflight.com/

I do not want to put my cat in a cargo/baggage area for the flight to HI but seems I've no choice over it at all :nothappy:
I am taking a connecting flight since there is no direct flight from where I live(Tampa, FL) to Honolulu. First flight is probably 2 hours, a couple of hours lay-over, then the second flight would be 8 hours.

I have to buy a crate very soon to have her "crate-trained" prior to the actual travel date(end of August to early September) but I'm not too sure which one to buy. My agent's recommendation was either Vari-kennel or Iris USA. I've already checked some from petmate vari-kennel at a nearby petco store but I wasn't too impressed on the sturdiness or even the appearance of items I saw at the store. :sigh:

I know that my cat can probably open the locks/doors as I'm quite sure that she'd try to escape if being contained in a small crate for longer hours - 12 hours at least. I'd definitely need to get a crate with unbreakable/ uncorruptible door comes with a reliable lock(or double-locks, maybe?).

Which crate would you recommend for longer transportation in air cargo? :nervous:

In the Spring-Summer of 09, this great service is starting: Pet Airways (http://www.petairways.com/front_page)! This is going to be a PET ONLY airline - no cargo shipping... Plus, you can drop the pet off the day before at their hotel, they will transport the pet on a limo to the airport, load them into the plane, serve on them (yep - it's pet only, and the flight attendants will serve them! :)), and upon arrival take them to the hotel again.
I think it's going to be a wonderful service - since you are going to travel in August/September, you might want to consider it...

In the Spring-Summer of 09, this great service is starting: Pet Airways (http://www.petairways.com/front_page)! This is going to be a PET ONLY airline - no cargo shipping... Plus, you can drop the pet off the day before at their hotel, they will transport the pet on a limo to the airport, load them into the plane, serve on them (yep - it's pet only, and the flight attendants will serve them! :)), and upon arrival take them to the hotel again.
I think it's going to be a wonderful service - since you are going to travel in August/September, you might want to consider it...

:)

I've already moved but wish there was something like this when I moved.
I checked the site but seems they don't show a route to/from Hawaii...hope they will add it so my friend can use the service when she relocates from the mainland.;)

You cannot travel on board with pets to Hawaii. They have to go in cargo and be checked out and go to quarentine for awhile.

We just had Jack flown by himself to us in cargo. They put plastic locking straps on the carrier doors to secure them even more. A good sturdy carrier will be fine for the trip.

Jack was flown on Delta - no problem other then they sent him to the wrong part of the airport in MN and we had to wait for them to get the truck over to the other terminal. But we can't fault Delta - they were in the transition of combining NW and Delta and they were still crossing over.

Another vote for Continental here. My friend just had her cats fly with Continental from NJ to KS with a transfer & she wasn't even on the flight. All went well! Yay!

My cats are flying Continental in 5 days!
eep!

I'm most worried for my 2 youngest guys who haven't done this before.
One was a stray rescue & he's still noise sensitive. I'm SO very worried for him. I keep having to tell myself, it's one day out of their lives, just one day.
Keep my 5 kitties in your thoughts!!!! I was a nervous wreck when I flew them here 4 years ago & feel more confident now, but still....

My sisters kitten is coming on Continental this friday from Florida to california with a stop on texas.

I think the issue here is the quarantine. Hawaii (like the UK and Ireland) has this sort of thing in effect - the animals have to be handled as cargo because they have to go through special sort of handling on either side.

Also, just for the record, most airlines (I can't say all because I haven't checked all!) won't let you travel with your in the main airplane for trans-Atlantic flights anymore. This is fairly recent. My friend did all sorts of research on this when she moved from Canada to Ireland - she was hoping that she could fly to the continent (the cats with her in the main cabin) and then have them vetted there - and then somehow transport them from France/wherever to Ireland. Very complicated, obviously, and it wouldn't have worked anyway because all the airlines she contacted said the same thing - no matter where she was flying trans-Atlantically she would have to put them in cargo. Maybe if she flew first class they would bend the rules...:)

It's rabies. We don't have it here.

You can sometimes get around these things though by flying into another EU country first, and then travelling to Ireland.

I know someone who brought his dog from Canada via Germany and then the UK because the UK had an agreement with Germany and we had one with the UK. It was to avoid a lengthy quarentine - the dog still had to spend 6 months in Germany under the care of a vet, but it was in a house, nothing more stressful. The UK would accept this in place of formal quarentine, and apparently you if you can get your pet into the UK, it only has to spend two days there and we'll accept it. Admittly, this was about seven years ago, so that may have changed.

In any case it's possible (though not necessarily probable) that if you flew to a continental EU member state you could keep the pet in the cabin, and then arrange to bring your pet to Ireland/UK. Even if you still couldn't bring the pet into the cabin the time in cargo would still be significantly shorter. (Obviously, this is all assuming your pet's all vaccined up in time to avoid quarentines etc.)

mews2much, please update with your experience. i actually found this site while looking up info for flying cats, so i think we could aid people in an ultimately really stressful time! i'll update when the kitties fly again!

Everything went fine with Continental yesterday.
The kitten went from Florida to Houston to San Jose.

My wife and I are moving to Seattle in a month or two, and the majority of Continental flights from Orlando to Seattle have a one hour or more stopover in Houston, TX. We have three cats, but one of them is small enough to fit inside a cabin carrier -- the other two will have to fly in cargo.

Where do the cargo cats stay when there is a layover? Are we able to visit them, or do they sit in a staging area until the next plane arrives?

Also, does anyone know how much extra the cost would be for flying with three cats?

My sphynx had a stop over in Houston also.
They have a place to put them in between flights.
Also my sisters kitten came from Florada with a stop over in Houston in March.
Everything was fine with both cats except for water being spill all over Cleo my cat.
I think it happened at our airport here.
Continental in Houston is good.
They have a place for the pets there.
Here is a link.

http://www.click2houston.com/travelgetaways/8831366/detail.html

I've been so busy that I haven't had time to reply.
The 5 cats traveled from Ireland to NYC & are all in good health. My little tuxedo guy was so frightened that he pooped in his carrier. I felt awful for him, he was really scared. As soon as I got home I had to bathe him & he was pretty traumatized. I ran out & got a Feliway diffuser the next day & he came out of hiding. but once again, safe flights with Continental.

The cats are adjusting to less space in NYC, but they're very happy.
:clap: