She's pretty chill and doesn't fuss much, but will still meow the entire time she's in her carrier. I have to fly with her, and to make matters worse, she's getting dropped off at our destination for a few weeks until I can finish my move and fly back out and join her. At that point, we're moving into our new condo, so it's gonna be one traumatic event after the other. The flight is 5 hours with a stop in between. I don't want to use sedatives or any of that, but I did see this product called "Whisker City Calm Down" at the pet store (they are sold out of Felliway spray). It's drops you put in their water to calm them down. They also had Whiskey City brand cat pheromone spray, do you think it would be worth buying to spritz in her carrier for the trip? I think it's supposed to be like felliway spray. I was thinking the Calm Down drops might be good because the people watching her could use them too the first few days to get her calm and acclimatized to her temporary surroundings. I've never flown with a cat before so I have no idea how this is going to go. (She's coming with me in the cabin by the way). Also, I'm getting conflicting info from vets on whether to offer food and water during the trip. One is saying not to, the other is saying I should. It feels wrong to just not feed her for 5 hours so I was thinking I would bring a little dish for water and offer it during the flight, and then something tempting like wet food in a little container that I could offer at some point? I don't want her to get dehydrated, especially since planes are drying as it is...
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Any advice on how to keep a cat calm while flying?
- Thread starter sparklexo
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I have never flown with a cat but may have to if I get a job abroad in a few years. I am interested to see the responses.
I have never used calm down but rescue remedy is used by a lot of people and it is available at health food stores. My cat vet recommend I use it for my cat. She said the human version was fine, but it didn't really work for frank. I think I will have to do heavy duty sedation on my cat to get him through a flight( of course with me keeping an eye on him). Actually I like to take an adivan myself when flying so we could pop pills together.
I know they say not to sedate cats if they are flying in cargo in case they asperate but if he is flying up with you is it safer? I know for my cat he could not take a 5 hour flight without some serious dolls, but he is a nervous nelly when it comes to traveling. I really need to win the lottery because he would probably prefer to fly on a private jet lol
I have never used calm down but rescue remedy is used by a lot of people and it is available at health food stores. My cat vet recommend I use it for my cat. She said the human version was fine, but it didn't really work for frank. I think I will have to do heavy duty sedation on my cat to get him through a flight( of course with me keeping an eye on him). Actually I like to take an adivan myself when flying so we could pop pills together.
I know they say not to sedate cats if they are flying in cargo in case they asperate but if he is flying up with you is it safer? I know for my cat he could not take a 5 hour flight without some serious dolls, but he is a nervous nelly when it comes to traveling. I really need to win the lottery because he would probably prefer to fly on a private jet lol
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Hi Franksmom, the rules are different over here in two respects: no sedation permitted, and cats must travel in the special heated pet compartment which is part of cargo (only 2 airlines over here have this, and only 2 berths in them - which is a good thing as I don't like having yapping dogs freaking my cat out, which did happen once. Now that we will get cat no. 2, this won't happen!).
The rules on sedation are because altitude and cats especially don't tend to do well with sedation - they can't regulate their body temp sufficiently for one thing. So it won't make any difference if they are in cargo or under your observation. i think this is particularly important for cats with low body fat (like ours - a Korat). Ask a few vets for better advice.
SO, short story is we do flights with no 'advantages', and it's a big country! A typical flight to go visit my parents will need Kato to be crated for 7.5hrs - flight time itself is 5 hours. We have prepared our cat for travel since kittenhood, as much as you can anyway. A couple times a week he gets a short car ride in his crate. We increase the time of these journeys to around 1 hr. Naturally, this also makes vet visits fairly smooth. Kato has two travel crates - one for small trips, and a bigger one for flights that also has a water funnel and bowl. His crates are always left out and he will frequently play in them/just go in there because he wants to.
For flight prep, we withhold his morning meal. Somewhere we read that this can reduce travel sickness; mainly we do it so he isn't desperate for a poo (he tends to poo at night so that's helpful too). We don't withhold water. I do put him in his litterbox a couple times as a hint to 'go now' - he never has though, and looks at me like I'm crazy. We spray a few sprays of Feliway in the crate 20mins ahead of him going in. We also have a special wee pad in there - can't use the puppy pads as he chews them, so have found one made from material they use for incontinence in hospitals for humans. It's supposed to absorb, and not feel wet (don't think it really works this way tho). And we pop a few icecubes into the water bowl - it prevents splashing in the early stages. And I can tell you, sometimes they ain't gentle in loading pets - the spilled water always tells me how he's been treated. We have also chatted to groundcrew and know the companies (sigh, airlines outsource) who aren't very caring - leaving us with one airline!
We also give him a super duper play session early in the day, plus a walk. This helps him sleep - or that's our theory! During his walk, I pack my bags, otherwise he sees us with suitcases and freaks that he won't be coming. Sometimes on the return trip tho, he'll see us packing and go pack himself into his crate! My husband is a quick packer, and by the time he comes back from the walk, Kato knows what's up. I think he is more upset if he knows he is not coming. And while he doesn't like a flight (who could say their pet does??!), he is always ok within 30mins of being with us. I think this is territorial scent - he'll be fine immediately if we get into our own car (relaxed and drowsing in the crate), and he'll be fine after 30mins in a new house if we put a feliway diffuser on. It's magic stuff!
Also, I sewed some privacy curtains on the door of his crate and I think that helps a bit too. Other than that, we really try hard not to be anxious for him, as that also transmits.
So, you will have some different conditions, but I'd recommend the same principles - try to accustom your cat to their crate, to being in it for a while, for being in it in a car, and for being in it in noisy/people surrounding (as I think you will have him on board?).
The rules on sedation are because altitude and cats especially don't tend to do well with sedation - they can't regulate their body temp sufficiently for one thing. So it won't make any difference if they are in cargo or under your observation. i think this is particularly important for cats with low body fat (like ours - a Korat). Ask a few vets for better advice.
SO, short story is we do flights with no 'advantages', and it's a big country! A typical flight to go visit my parents will need Kato to be crated for 7.5hrs - flight time itself is 5 hours. We have prepared our cat for travel since kittenhood, as much as you can anyway. A couple times a week he gets a short car ride in his crate. We increase the time of these journeys to around 1 hr. Naturally, this also makes vet visits fairly smooth. Kato has two travel crates - one for small trips, and a bigger one for flights that also has a water funnel and bowl. His crates are always left out and he will frequently play in them/just go in there because he wants to.
For flight prep, we withhold his morning meal. Somewhere we read that this can reduce travel sickness; mainly we do it so he isn't desperate for a poo (he tends to poo at night so that's helpful too). We don't withhold water. I do put him in his litterbox a couple times as a hint to 'go now' - he never has though, and looks at me like I'm crazy. We spray a few sprays of Feliway in the crate 20mins ahead of him going in. We also have a special wee pad in there - can't use the puppy pads as he chews them, so have found one made from material they use for incontinence in hospitals for humans. It's supposed to absorb, and not feel wet (don't think it really works this way tho). And we pop a few icecubes into the water bowl - it prevents splashing in the early stages. And I can tell you, sometimes they ain't gentle in loading pets - the spilled water always tells me how he's been treated. We have also chatted to groundcrew and know the companies (sigh, airlines outsource) who aren't very caring - leaving us with one airline!
We also give him a super duper play session early in the day, plus a walk. This helps him sleep - or that's our theory! During his walk, I pack my bags, otherwise he sees us with suitcases and freaks that he won't be coming. Sometimes on the return trip tho, he'll see us packing and go pack himself into his crate! My husband is a quick packer, and by the time he comes back from the walk, Kato knows what's up. I think he is more upset if he knows he is not coming. And while he doesn't like a flight (who could say their pet does??!), he is always ok within 30mins of being with us. I think this is territorial scent - he'll be fine immediately if we get into our own car (relaxed and drowsing in the crate), and he'll be fine after 30mins in a new house if we put a feliway diffuser on. It's magic stuff!
Also, I sewed some privacy curtains on the door of his crate and I think that helps a bit too. Other than that, we really try hard not to be anxious for him, as that also transmits.
So, you will have some different conditions, but I'd recommend the same principles - try to accustom your cat to their crate, to being in it for a while, for being in it in a car, and for being in it in noisy/people surrounding (as I think you will have him on board?).
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Very interesting post! Frank has actually traveled a lot in the car but he is a naturally anxious cat, being a gamma type personality. He is fine with a crate it is more noises and movement that would upset him (not to mention all the strangers, hence why he would need a private jet). I am very glad there are airlines that allow you to bring pets under 20 pounds on board because I would for sure have to be heavily sedated if Frank wasn't with me (I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree haha). As for the sedation I will for sure look into it more if I have to take him on a flight (I am really hoping I will not have to in the near future) but I do know a lot of cats take anti-anxiety meds like ativan which is like a stronger version of rescue remedy.
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Thanks! Yea I'm definitely not sedating just because it's dangerous and I won't know if something is wrong. Plus the fact that I'm dropping her off with basically strangers, who don't know her normal behavior and wouldn't be able to tell if she was ok or not. I set up little fleecy pee pads in her carrier, and am carrying an extra on me just in case. I might run out tomorrow and grab the calming spray too, just so I have it for her carrier and also for when I drop her off hopefully they can use it to get her settled in. I've heard the sprays don't always work on every cat though :| really hope I'm not wasting $9 haha.. although if I am, at least it's only $9 
Hi Sparklexo - sorry I didn't greet you before, slight computing glitch!
Feliway seems to have a very high success rate with cats, and I'd recommend this for her arrival in a new home as it comes in a plug-in diffuser which will get more 'area' than a spray. It really is amazing how well it works on our one - just today something happened while we were out that freaked Kato. I've never seen him so jumpy and scared, he was even hiding under the bed when we came home (and he never fails to come greet us). We played with him, stayed with him all arvo, kept calm, in routine etc, but it wasn't until in the evening we put a feliway on, and he's really good again!
Feliway seems to have a very high success rate with cats, and I'd recommend this for her arrival in a new home as it comes in a plug-in diffuser which will get more 'area' than a spray. It really is amazing how well it works on our one - just today something happened while we were out that freaked Kato. I've never seen him so jumpy and scared, he was even hiding under the bed when we came home (and he never fails to come greet us). We played with him, stayed with him all arvo, kept calm, in routine etc, but it wasn't until in the evening we put a feliway on, and he's really good again!
