Flying with a cat in cabin

I'm going to be bringing my niece's cat home next week, flying from St. Louis to Phoenix.  Fortunately it's a non-stop flight.  My sister has gotten an airline approved carrier and put a small bed in it. She's leaving it out so hopefully the kitty will get used to sleeping in it.  My niece says he's a good traveler, but that's in a car.  No idea how he'll be on a plane.  Any suggestions for getting him safely - and quietly - home would be gratefully received.

Bumping this up

Just realized I put this in the wrong forum to start with.  Moved it to the Cat Lounge now so hopefully will get some responses. Thanks.

While I frequently send cats and kittens, cats are not allowed in the cabin over here. I imagine most cats  would just huddle into their carrier, or under their blanket during the flight. I don't really know how you would fit an adult cat into a carrier under the seat though? Would be quite squishy.

Make sure you have a very thick and absorbent blanket in the carrier. The floors of some planes can be very cold, and the absorbent part is just in case they have an accident. Aside from that I can't think of anything specific. I think most cats are pretty quiet on flights. I flew with a cat once and he never made a noise, and I've been on other flights where someone had a cat in the cabin and I never heard any noise.

My sister said she got a special bed to put in the carrier.  I'll have to see if there's room for an extra blanket as well.

A few things come to mind. First, his weight. A lot of airlines won't allow a cat weighing >5 kg /11 lbs. in the cabin, and some of them include the weight of the carrier itself. Many also restrict the number of pets in the cabin (to as little as one or two), so that has to be clarified beforehand. Another concern is security checks. He'll most probably have to be taken out of the carrier for them, so he should be wearing a cat harness, and you should have a leash ready (and gloves and a towel in case he panics while you have to hold him). If you can, insist that the security check be done in a room with a closed door.

Just got home with my newest kitty.  His name is Gavin.  He behaved very well most of the time.  He yowled (softly) when we  took off.  I think the high-pitched whine of the jet engines bothered him.  Once we got up in the air and the engine noise dropped, he was fine.  I think he slept most of the way. He was also very good in the car for the hour+ drive home.

I had a bit of panic this morning when I called to confirm my reservation.  I was told, "Your reservation is confirmed, but the cat is on stand-by.  Pets are on a first-come-first-served basis." That's the first I've heard of that!  Nothing on their website, nothing from the travel agent who booked the flight.  The whole point of making a reservation in advance was to be sure there was room on the flight for Gavin!?!  I got to the check-in desk about a minute after it opened and had no problems at all.  When I mentioned the stand-by thing to the agent he looked surprised.  He'd never heard of that policy either.

Thinking about it later, I'm pretty sure the woman I talked to on the phone misunderstood me.  I remember reading something about being able to take pets as checked luggage without a prior reservation.  In that case it really is first-come-first-served. 

I'll post some pictures of Gavin as soon as he comes out from under the bed long enough for me to take some.

Glad he arrived safely and was well behaved on the flight