Anybody transported cat as cargo/baggage?

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?

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/produc...roductId=28338

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

It is not heavy I think 24 by 24 ??

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.

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!

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

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...

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

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!).

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.

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.