Traveling with a cat who has heart problems

[bootsm]

Hi all,

I'd really like some advice on traveling with a sick cat. My cat Wamba is 15 years old and last year had a very rough year in that he was diagnosed with hypothyroidism, HCM, had several blood clots and saddle thrombus and nearly went into cardiac arrest. This was last October and he recovered from the clots and cardiac arrest close call on his own. So he's a strong cat and we have him on Plavix, Forketor, Felimazole and medicine for hypertension. So far we have been really lucky as he seems to be doing really well. 

The thing is, my husband's company wants him to move to their NYC office. Currently we are in London. I'm from the US and would also really like to move back. We talked to the vet and they said they thought it would be fine. What we are going to do is have him in the cabin with us on the plane. The vets said rehoming him and leaving him here would be more stressful than the trip back home. 

Even though the vets dont seem worried...I am! Has anyone done this? I'm thinking maybe i should have Lasix on hand or painkillers just in case something happens? Also I was going to spray Feliway in his carrier, has anyone tried it and had success with it?

 

[di and bob]

I would ask your vet to recommend a good calming treatment, I know many of them give Benadryl for trips and stressful situations, but with your cat being on meds and having a heart condition I would definitely clear anything with them first.  I'm glad to hear he would be in the cabin, the cargo would be way too hard on his heart with all the temperature and pressure changes. Leaving him behind would be way more stressful. You will have to have him sedated or the constant meowing might bother the other passengers if he becomes distressed. There are some calming 'treats' found on Amazon which I give to my cat who has a heart condition, they definitely help, he wasn't nearly as vocal and the vet said his heart sounded better on the last trip, it wan't beating nearly as fast. I'll pray for a safe trip for him, PLEASE keep us posted as to how he does, all the luck!

 

[bootsm]

@Di and Bob  thank you so much for your response. i will definitely update after the trip, though we arent leaving until Jan. About the calming treatments, are there any particular ones you'd recommend?

 

[erika awakening]

I'm curious about this too, as I have barely gone anywhere since Harvey had his situation last year. We have made two successful round trips to Tahoe. That's not on an airplane, and I did give him some of the sedative beforehand. I always make sure his respiratory rate is very stable before we do anything like that. And I always make sure I have Lasix on hand just in case though he hasn't needed it for a long time.

Let us know if you learn any secrets.