Moving a multi-cat household to the UK

I'm not sure if this is in the right forum...

I'm moving a multicat household to the UK from Canada. Exactly how many of them are coming (and which ones) is currently up in the air. I have two adults who are bonded and great travellers, so they are going for sure. However, I also have a mom & 2 kittens. (Before anyone jumps down my throat sterilization is happening next week, so no more kittens in future.) I have two major questions:

Firstly, the mother absolutely hates travelling, and it's clearly horrendously stressful for her. I flew with her once and she panted, cried, screamed, yowled, and rolled in her carrier much of the way both there and back (over 5 hours each way), much to my chagrin and I am sure that of the passengers around me. I don't know that I want to put her through the stress of international travel, especially since my job will involve a lot of travel in the future. Would it be better to re-home her than put her through this torture repeatedly? She has a wonderful temperament otherwise and I'm sure is very adoptable.

Secondly, I might bring one of the kittens. How old should she be to fly? Is 10 weeks old enough? Would a water dropper attached to the cage keep her from getting dehydrated? She'd be going into quarantine for a month at a good facility where she'd get lots of love and attention. Alternatively, I could board her here and have her shipped after she's had her rabies shot at 12 weeks old and waited the mandatory 3 weeks post-jab.

Finally, does anyone know the total costs of taking a cat to the UK? I keep finding info in dribs and drabs all over the place, and it's hard to get a clear picture of what I'm in for.

So far I haven't identified any family or friends who are willing to take any of the cats, either temporarily (e.g. instead of boarding in the kitten's case) or permanently. I could ask more people but I hate to impose.

For the rough traveling cat: I believe some vets will prescribe sedatives for travel. Maybe that would make it easier on her?

They can't be sedated if they're going in the cargo hold. They can't thermo-regulate when sedated and the temps in a cargo hold aren't consistent.

Only you can know if she'll be too stressed for travel. Some cats will act like they're being tortured but get over it quickly, some will be traumatized for life. You know her best.

Kittens can fly if they're over 8 weeks. Kittens under a certain age (4 months? 6 months?) can fly 2 to a carrier so that will be nice if you're going to take both kittens. You can freeze a small amount of water in a travel cup and it will thaw slowly. Put a lot of puppy pads in there, and a blanket.

I don't know the prices, sorry. My family did bring our 2 cats from Japan but military is different from civilian plus it was a long time ago. Of course the airline can tell you their prices but I don't know what the boarding will cost.

I already looked into this. Sedation is not recommended and is associated with many of the pet deaths that happen in flight. It interferes with breathing and ability to regulate temperature, apparently. Also, because the pressure is lower at altitude what appears to be an appropriate dose on the ground can prove to be an overdose once in the air. I believe the airline I'm flying explicitly states that they will not accept sedated pets or pets that appear to be in distress. (My cat will definitely be in distress, so there's a chance she won't even get on the plane.) Today I put her in her carrier in the living room (not going anywhere) and she immediately began to cry, and the crying got louder and louder. On trips she is like this the whole way, but she positively screams on airplanes - I don't know why, maybe the pressure drop? The kitten I am thinking of bringing is much closer to her Dad in temperament - I put her in the carrier and she sniffs around and then just sits there looking out, not making a peep.

In any case I found a small rescue with a strict no-kill policy and very stringent adoption procedures that has space for the mom and kitten. I am visiting this week to check them out. Two other rescues have contacted me to say they have space, but I like the policies of the first one better. My decision will depend in part on their placement rate for adult cats.

Wow! So glad I have been schooled on sedation. I never knew it was dangerous in flight for pets. Sorry for the bad advice. Thanks guys.

Willowy, yes that's what I read about sedation too.

My cat acts like she's being tortured the whole way through, completely with saucer pupils and panting, but she recovers quickly once out of her carrier.

Thanks for that info on kittens. I'm trying to get a hold of the cargo carrier to find out if they have a minimum age limit for kittens. I know Air Canada's is 12 weeks, but elsewhere I have seen 8-10 weeks.

I cannot take all of the cats for budgetary and other reasons. Choosing which ones to leave behind is a horrible decision to have to make. If I give my Boo up I suspect I will miss her terribly.

I want to report the best possible ending to this story -- I left my terrible traveller and her kittens at a very nice no-kill rescue. They were adopted yesterday, all 3 to the SAME family, after spending less than 2 weeks in the rescue. I couldn't have hoped for a better outcome (other than keeping them myself).

When are you moving? Many airline company have strict travel embargoes during the summer months...have you checked with the airline?

The move is complete! The cats survived the cargo hold fine. They were definitely spooked when we picked them up, but fell asleep once on the train, and are now settled in their new home.

Awesome news!

That's great!  I'm sure you are very relieved!!