6 hour flight with 2 cats.. SUGGESTIONS PLEASE....

Hi all,

I am a new cat mom and well my boyfriend and I are moving from NY to Cali and we have two cats that will be traveling with us. (They are his children and well he gets you know protective of them and is very frightened by this whole ordeal) We have a non stop 6 hour flight to Cali and our vet suggested benadryl for them. We tried a test run with the liquid gel caps and treats however they instantly found the "treat" and literally retreated. We aren't sure if they even ate it but we know they love their treats and shortly after eating or smelling one they were put off. We waiting a minute and then gave them normal treats which they were slightly apprehensive about but after inspecting them they ate them (the non medicated treats) We are leaving in two weeks and were going to try the pink tabs later this week since I have read that some people have had success with that. When my partner suggested actually trying to feed one of them the tablet I was shocked because he is so not a forward thinker in that sense one of our cats still has an ear infection because he refuses to do what the doctor asked him to---he doesn't comply because well he is not wanting the cat to be mad at him or uncomfortable. (Clearly to me an ear infections is my uncomfortable then dropping a few drops in the ear here and there when needed vs just leaving it be.) But anyway. I am drifting from my question. Has anyone else had success with relaxing the pet that isn't used to car travel well enough to fly... 

Anyone ever use liquid melatonin? 

Welcome new mom cat.

I'm going to address the ear issue first because that, frankly, alarms me the most.  Maybe I'm thinking too much in human terms, but if I had an ear infection and had to fly, I'd be afraid my ear drum would bust or be in incredible pain due to the change of pressure in the air cabin.  I do not know where your cat will be during the flight (with baggage or under your seat), and I do not know if the pressure changes more in the baggage compartment or inside the cabin.  That is a question for the airline or your vet.  I'd ask your vet what the dangers are to a cat flying if said cat has an ear infection. 

Can you assume the responsibility of giving the cat the ear infection since your boyfriend won't/can't?

Now in so far as he question your asked:  here is a link to an article about this issue.  Drugs are generally not recommended. 

Note that some drugs have the opposite effect on some cats; a sedative may in fact make the cat more aggressive/awake.

Finally, you may be required to prove that your cats are healthy enough to fly (the airline doesn't want to be sued if your cat dies enroute) and will require proof of rabies vaccination.

Hiya thanks for posting.. I forgot to say his ear infection was a while a go and I keep up on his medicine and stuff so he is fine. The vet cleared them both for travel. They are healthy I just know they hate car rides and being in their little confined spaces. The meaow all the way to the vet. Which is why I want something to calm them on the flight. 

Ok, so ear infection is all cleared up!  That's good.  Now, did the Vet tell you exactly how much benedryl and what kind (tabs vs liquid) to give them?  You definitely want to test it first before this 6 hour non stop flight, just in case.  Are they going to be in "cargo", or under the seat in front of you? 

You may just have to "pill" them if you can't get them to eat it inside a treat now that they are wise to you   However, depending on what size pill you end up with in the end, what I found works quite well is using Whiska Lickins soft chews in either chicken or salmon (not the cheese flavor), and smooshing them kind of flat, then putting the small piece of pill on top, then covering it with another smooshed treat, then crimping the edges really well so that pill is so totally encased in the treat that it can't get out AND that they can't smell it.  (the trick is, though, that the treat can't be too big either so that they don't have to bite into it..I usually used about 1 1/2 treats total for each pill) I would give them one or two plain treats first, then the "loaded" one, so they never knew what him 'em .

Hopefully this will work

Good luck with the move

Glad to hear your cat's ear problems are clear.  (I'm a poet and I know it....) 

Here is a thread that discusses flying with cats (see in particular post #4).

If you go the drug route, do try it out before you fly to see your cats' reaction--or non reaction.  Benadryl should make them sleepy, though anyone's guess how sleepy for how long.  Duration may differ under different conditions (at home versus in the air).

Will the cats be in the cabin with you or in cargo?  If the former, you can get some calming spray and spray it periodically in the cat carrier.  And put some drops of Rescue Remedy on the cat's paws (so he will  then lick his paws).

In either the cabin or cargo case:  put some smelly clothes with your scent on it in the cat carrier. 

You might want to put puppy pads on top of the clothing in case your cat pees (because of stress), though cats can generally 'hold' peeing for hours if they want to/have to.

Good luck!