Flying from Hawaii to DC with 2 cats

[archerbaby]

I'm a bit nervous about when we have to move.  We're currently stationed in Hawaii, so we'll have to fly to get out of here.  And we'll be going all the way from Hawaii back to the DC area, so it's not a short trip either  I'm sure it's going to be traumatic for both Hugo and Archer, though I suspect that Archer (Mr. Adaptable) will settle quickly.  I have a feeling that Hugo is going to regress somewhat in his behavior and become very timid again for awhile until he gets settled in our new place.  This is something that we really thought about and discussed with our foster/adoption coordinator before we finally decided that his place was with us.  It was decided that though the move will be traumatic that since he'd grown so attached to Archer and me that it might be even more traumatic for him to have to go to a new home.  We don't leave here till sometime at the end of this year, so he'll at least get more and more comfortable with us & it'll hopefully help him to adapt more quickly when we do get settled.  Luckily my hubby will be getting out of the Army at that time, so it should be our last move for a good long while!

I've been doing some research on making the move easier on both of them.  I've been reading about the flower essences for calming, and reading other tips on moving cross country with cats while flying.  Unfortunately, a lot of the threads about this seem to be a few years old.  I've only found a couple of recent ones, and I'm wondering how much the rules have changed when flying with cats now.  I'd read that a few years ago there was a limit on how many pets could be in the cabin of a plane, but I've also read elsewhere that more recently some airlines no longer have this restriction.  Anyone have any insight into this?  I don't know which airline we'll be flying on yet because the Army will be making the travel arrangements for my husband & I, and then we're responsible making the arrangements for our cats.

I'm also hoping that we can go just from Hawaii to California, and then stop in CA for a couple of days before moving on.  This way the cats won't have to be in their carriers for basically a full day.  Is this a good idea, or would it be better to just try to get it all done in a day?  I thought this way they'd be able to get out of their carriers and stretch, eat, play and use the litter box and that it might help them to be less stressed.  But I can see how it could also lead to more stress by stretching out the trip.  Personally, I can't physically do a non-stop flight.  It's just not an option for me.  I have to have multi-stop flights with layovers for long trips like this or my feet, legs and back start hurting really, really bad from really not being able to move much for that long.

We really need to start taking them for short car rides, but I've been putting it off because I don't want to upset them.  And I know that's the wrong move!  I also want to leash train them just as an added layer of security so that they can't escape, especially when we go through security at the airport.  So far Archer HATES the harness.  I haven't even tried to put it on Hugo yet.  I also want to get the carriers for them that we'll be able to take on the plane with us so that they can become used to them.  I'm really leaning towards one of those SturdiBags because they squish under the seat without squishing the kitty.  I really, really don't want to put them in cargo if at all possible. 

Archer has done okay on the car rides we have taken him on, but they've mostly been to the vet and once because of an evacuation order to head inland due to the threat of a tsunami after those awful earthquakes in Japan.  That time Archer was so upset that he vomited in the carrier and was shaking because he was so scared.  It was my fault though because I know he was picking up on my own stress

Any advice on how I can make this trip as smooth as possible?  Have any of you split up your long flight by stopping somewhere for a few days, and if so do you think it made it more or less stressful?  What should I do before the trip to prepare them and what should I do once we get back home to help them settle in?  I'll keep reading the different threads on flying with cats, but any advice will be welcome.

 

[sparklexo]

I just moved out of state with my kitty and had to fly her out.. She actually went ahead of me because of other circumstances, I had to fly out and drop her off at boarding then fly out a few weeks later when I actually moved and pick her up/take her to our new home. I flew with Southwest which allows 1 pet in the cabin, but I don't know about other airlines... Usually it's one pet in the cabin per passenger so if you are traveling with someone you could each take one. Really depends on the airline though. I know there is a special pet transport airline that many people (and service members!) use to transport their pets. I can't remember the name but hopefully someone else can chime in or maybe it will come up on google. The pets travel in a special plane lined with kennels. I'm not sure how long it takes to get to/from Hawaii so stopping really depends, I stayed 2 nights in a hotel during my trip with kitty and the hotel was the sketchiest part for her... too many new smells, big open room etc. The flight was surprisingly easy, she just hunkered down and chilled at the airports and on the planes but at the hotel she was sniffing everything and seemed a little stressed. My flight had a stop over so it was like 5 hours of travel. Get them used to the harnesses, because you have to carry them through the metal detector.. Luckily it didn't go off for me, or kittys claws might've come out! haha. I can't advise on travel with scared kitties since mine is ridiculously docile and calm, but I still used some Felliway in the carrier. She usually meows her head off and tries to escape the carrier when we car travel, but she was silent the entire flights. I still don't know if that was because she was ok with it all, or if she was just too traumatized! When I picked up the rental car to take her to boarding, she was back to meowing though. I had to use a special airline carrier from Southwest that I bought second hand, so make sure your airline doesn't have weird size requirements etc. I'm not sure exactly how she settled in since I had to leave her at boarding, but I kept calling to check in and they swore she was fine the entire time. I left comforting home items with her and the Felliway so I think that kept her calm. I also used these when I brought her to our new place, which she'd never been to before. None of my stuff had arrived yet (moving truck came a week later) but I set up her stuff (cat blanket, food/water, toys etc) in one room and once she got used to that she ventured out. She really picks up on me though, if I'm freaking out or stressed she is too, but if I'm calm and happy she's calm and happy. The move wasn't particularly stressful for me so settling in she just explored the new place and seemed pretty comfortable, since she knew she was safe there with me. I put her litter in the same spot it was at our old place, same with her food etc. There was no furniture or anything to hide in at first (just big open rooms) but she adapted well. I didn't even need to spray the felliway everywhere since she went back to her normal routine pretty fast (although she was ticked that there was no bed yet, for her to sleep on since that was her usual spot!). That was just my experience but hopefully some of that was helpful! Good luck with your kitties and your move!

 

[GoldyCat]

Each airline has their own rules. You'll need to find out first which airline you'll be using and then look up their pet policy or call to get information. Some allow animals only in cargo. Some have a restriction on the total number of pets allowed in the cabin, so you need make your reservation far enough in advance to be sure you get in before the limit is reached with other passengers. Most allow only one pet per passenger, but if two of you are traveling with two cats that won't be an issue. Some airlines require a vet certificate of health signed within 10 days of traveling, while others say the animals should be healthy but don't require the documentation.

My limited experience flying with cats is that you have to reserve the space for them at the time you make your own reservations, but you pay the fee at the airport when you check in. I don't know if you can add the pet reservation later. I would talk to whoever is doing your travel arrangement to make sure they know to include the pet reservations.

 

[archerbaby]

Sparklexo, thank you so much for your reply and telling me about your experience.  It definitely was helpful  After reading about your experience I'm really considering trying to just do it in one day instead of staying in the hotel.  I can see how having that whole room with all of the unfamiliar smells could be unsettling for them.  Well, for Hugo anyway...Archer would just want to explore and he'd meow the entire time he'd be doing it too!  He likes to tell us all about what he's seeing and smelling

  We'll see what we can work out. 

I've heard of the different pet transports that you're talking about, and I did look into them (there seem to be a few of them).  I just really don't want them to fly separately from us.  I know that it's irrational because it's not like I can make it any better for them if they are upset on the plane, but I feel like having them with me will make it all better  Like I said, it's silly, and I know it's more for me than for them which makes me feel pretty selfish!  So, I think I need to do a bit more research into them and see if it really would be an option for us.

About the metal detector, I wonder if they'll let/make my husband go through twice, once with each cat because I have an implant that makes it so I'm not allowed to go through them anymore.  I think I'll have to call the TSA here to find an answer to that question.  I think I'm going to see if they can just do a private screening of the cats in a separate enclosed area because Hugo is terrified of being picked up and held, so I don't know how well it would work to try to carry him through anyway.

I will definitely get some Feliway to use in the carriers and for when we get to our new place.  And I'll try the trick of putting their stuff in as near to the same place as possible when we get there.  Unfortunately moving and traveling are always very stressful for me, and I know that worrying about Hugo and Archer is going to make it even worse, but I will try my best to remain calm for their sakes.  At least we don't have any children to worry about yet!  I'll definitely start to work harder on getting them harness trained and on taking them for car rides in the carriers.

 

[archerbaby]

GoldyCat, thank you for replying and giving me that extra information

I knew that they would need to see a vet before we left and probably get a vet certificate, but I didn't realize it was only good for 10 days!  Very good to know! 

It will be my husband and myself traveling so we should each be able to take a kitty as carry-on, assuming that there isn't a limit of one cat per cabin like sparklexo's experience on Southwest.  I do know that it won't be Southwest, though, since they don't fly outside of the continental US.  I'm thinking it will be Delta, United or Continental (though I guess United and Continental have merged now, haven't they?)  The unfortunate part is that since the Army arranges all travel for moves like this we won't know what's going on until they arrange it.  We can't request a specific airline, though we can request that it not be non-stop and we can somewhat request our route and travel times (traveling starting in AM vs PM).  But it also means that we can't make our arrangements way in advance like I would like to do.  They won't even begin to make arrangements until my husband has his orders, and unfortunately the unit he is currently with isn't very good about getting paperwork done in a timely fashion

! They make them when they make them and that's that 

Also, my understanding is that the Army could care less if you have pets, so we can tell them that we're traveling with pets and that we need to make those arrangements, but they will just tell us that it's completely our responsibility to add them to the reservations and make sure that everything is set up.  This is because they will pay for our travel, but not our pets'.  That's fine, but I wish they would help us book their travel at the time of ours.  If we're lucky, though, we may get to work with someone who is nice and an animal lover.  Then they may be willing to help us set it up at the time of our own booking. 

We've never traveled with any pets since my husband joined the military, though, so maybe (hopefully) my information is out of date.  I know that people do it all of the time, so it's got to be easier now than it used to be.  I'm going to have my husband go to the travel office this week and ask them for some advice on this and also have him talk to some of the people who've recently moved with their pets.  Hopefully I'm wrong, and they've updated how they do things.

Also, could you tell me what kind of carrier you used when you traveled with your cats?  Sparklexo said that they ended up getting the Southwest brand one for their flight.  I'm seriously considering the SturdiBags.  I read some of the threads on here about them and looked at other reviews, and they seem to be really good.

 

[GoldyCat]

You can find information for pet travel on Delta and United Airlines. You usually have to do a search on each airline's website because the pet policies aren't found on the home page.

I prefer the hard carriers when I'm driving, but the soft-sided ones are better for flying. In cabin pets must go under the seat in front of you and stay there for the entire flight. If your carrier is even half an inch too tall or wide, you're out of luck with the hard carriers. The soft ones can squish a little bit to fit under the seat without hurting kitty.

The one I used for flying my niece's cat was similar to this. My brother got this type of carrier when he was moving his cats to Dominica. He liked it because the cats had room to stand up when he was carrying them between flights, and he could lay the carrier on its side to fit under the seat.

 

[archerbaby]

GoldyCat, thank you so much for those links.  I only briefly scanned through the information on those two airlines so far, but it sounds like Delta may have more flexible standards than United.  It says only one pet per flight on United  I think that's just ridiculous, personally!  It also says pets are not allowed to fly in the cabin on United to or from Hawaii.  Again, just ridiculous!

I did talk to my husband about my concerns, and he told me that some of the information I had read is, in fact, out of date and just plain incorrect.  For example, when they book our flight they will do so knowing that the pets have to be booked at the same time.  We just have to pay for it, which is fine by me as long as they can book it.  I guess that means that they should know that we won't be able to fly on a United flight since pets aren't allowed in the cabin from here.  He said that part of the reason that I found a lot of the misinformation that I found is because extra paperwork is involved when flying with pets, and unfortunately there are some people who are just too lazy to do the paperwork.  So they end up saying that it's not possible to travel with their pet and they dump them, all because they're too lazy to fill out some paperwork!

I'll take a look at those other carriers that you gave me links to as well.  I know that the airlines have the requirement that the pet can stand up in the carrier, so I can see how the one that your brother used would be a good one.  And we'll have layovers, so they'll need to be able to stand up and stretch during that time.  I'm really hoping that they'll both just curl up and sleep during the flights though.

 

[GoldyCat]

I'll take a look at those other carriers that you gave me links to as well.  I know that the airlines have the requirement that the pet can stand up in the carrier, so I can see how the one that your brother used would be a good one.  And we'll have layovers, so they'll need to be able to stand up and stretch during that time.  I'm really hoping that they'll both just curl up and sleep during the flights though.

Actually, the ones that are required to be large enough for the pet to stand up are for pets going cargo. I'm pretty sure most full-grown cats or dogs wouldn't be able to stand up in a carrier that's small enough to fit under a seat.

Hawaii gets tricky because of the quarantine requirements for animals coming in. United does not allow pets in the cabin either direction. For Delta they have to go cargo flying in, but are allowed in the cabin flying out. I know the military is going to do things however they want, but it can't hurt to request a Delta flight instead of United.

 

[archerbaby]

Thanks for clarifying about the standing up requirement.  I admit I was always wondering how an adult cat was supposed to be able to stand up in any of the regular carriers that could fit under a seat!

And I totally agree about us requesting a Delta flight instead of United.  That's our plan, anyway, so fingers crossed.  My husband also said that they use American Airlines from Hawaii too, but after reading their guidelines they won't work either because they don't allow carry on pets to or from Hawaii either.