Traveling with newly adopted cat

[Poppysfirstfoster]

Hello!

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I am needing to go to stay with my parents for the next month or two. I recently adopted a 1 year old cat, Poppy, and I will need to bring her with me. I would have asked friends to watch her, but as I am currently in an epicenter for the virus, all of my friends have relocated to other cities. I've had Poppy for one month and we are already dealing with some behavioral challenges. She does not allow handling at this time. I am worried about flying on an airplane because I read that I will need to take her out of her carrier to get through TSA. I am very nervous that she will be able to wriggle away if I attempt this, as she barely allows me to lift her here at home.

My other fear is that she will be able to scratch the mesh out of her carrier and make a break for it - her nails are crazy sharp and she hasn't allowed me to clip them. I've had the carrier sitting in my bedroom since I got her and she loves to go in there and hang out, but she also loves to use it as a horizontal scratching board..

Does anyone have any advice to make this process easier? Should I try to get the vet to prescribe her sedatives for the travel day?

Thank you from an anxious new cat mom

 

[GoldyCat]

How soon are you flying? You could ask your vet about sedation, but I would want to try it out on my cat ahead of time to see how she reacts to it. You can also get Feliway to spray in the carrier (and let it dry) before you put her in.

You'll need to have a harness or jacket on her in the carrier when you go to the airport. I've found that a jacket is more secure. Have a lead that you can clip onto the jacket when you take her out of the carrier. That gives you more control if she's really wiggly. You can take the jacket off when you put her back in. Do not leave the lead clipped to the jacket while she's in the carrier because she could get herself really tangled up.

You can ask to be taken to a closed room at the airport for the security inspection instead of trying to get her out of the carrier in the regular line. That way if she gets away from you she's at least confined to the one room.

What carrier do you have? If it's a soft-sided one with zippers, make sure you have the zipper pulls clipped together, with the clips that come with the carrier or twist ties or something similar. Cats are very good at unzipping zippers. Believe me, I know.

Good luck with your move.

 

[IndyJones]

I would invest in a sky kennel that is airline approved. These ones are solid plastic with a steel door and have bolts that screw in the sides to keep the crate from breaking open. Much safer than fabric carriers.

Just line it with a piece of dirty laundry so it is soft and comfortable since it has your smell on it. Leave the crate in her room for her to get used to.

 

[GoldyCat]

The problem with rigid carriers, even those approved by the airline, is that most of them are intended to be used for shipping pets in cargo. With very few exceptions they're too tall to fit under the seat. Depending on the plane, the space under the seat is only 8"-11". A soft carrier can be squashed down a couple of inches to make it fit.

 

[fionasmom]

My dog was flown out here as a rescue a few years ago so I agree that you need a jacket type harness that is inescapable. Don't do any harness as I have never found one that I felt entirely comfortable with, especially with a hysterical animal. If you use meds, which might be a good idea, do try them first to make sure that they work effectively.

Orlando was a GSD puppy, very young, and flew in a soft sided carrier but I don't know specifications as to space under plane seats as I had someone bring him out to me. Can you sedate her and have the nails trimmed before you make the trip?

 

[Poppysfirstfoster]

GoldyCat That's all wonderful advice - thank you! I have a soft sided carrier right now but it's too big to fit under the seat. I've ordered a Sturdi Paws carrier that had decent reviews on Amazon and seemed to fit the airline requirements and also has a tether inside the carrier so I can attach it to her harness (if I can manage to get it on her!)

IndyJones - I looked into hard sided carriers but it seemed like those were only allowed to go in cargo and I would prefer to keep her in the cabin with me to hopefully alleviate some stress. I will definitely put a piece of laundry in there with her though, good advice!

fionasmom - clipping her nails while sedated is a great idea, I hadn't thought of that! I'll never manage to get them clipped otherwise.

 

[IndyJones]

I had a cat break out of a soft sided carrier which is why I don't like them. Also super hard to clean piss out of if they have an accident. Fortunately it was in the car parked but still makes me question their overall safety not sure how much protection they give in a car accident.

Most of my travelling is by car not plane. My cats travel with me buckled in the back seat with the seatbelt wrapped around the front of the crate and a towel over top. It stops them from howling.

 

[GoldyCat]

I've flown with my cats 4 or 5 times a year fir the last few years, always using a soft sided carrier. The only time one of them got out was in the car on the way to the airport when I forgot to secure the zipper pulls. As I said before, cats are very good at unzipping zippers.

I do use hard carriers when I'm driving because I can use bigger ones.

 

[IndyJones]

In my case the soft sided carrier actually ripped apart not at the zipper but the seam where the side joins the base just ripped apart when I went to take it out of the back seat. That was enough to turn me off them.

I'm not sure how it happened since the cat inside had no front claws (came that way when I adopted her) and was laid-back. I just grabbed the handle to pick it up and the side ripped.

Not saying they are all bad but just my experience. YMMV

I only buy hard carriers now since they are sturdier and can be cleaned out with a hose outside if the cat has an accident.

 

[kittenmittens84]

Highly recommend one of the Sherpa soft carriers - they’re very sturdy with metal framing but still have some flex to allow for fitting under all kinds of seats (sometimes you’ll get seat that has a life vest or electrical port box underneath and a hard carrier might not fit) and have a removable insert that’s machine washable.

My cat gets very worked up and stressed in the car so the vet said we might want to try some calming meds before flying and prescribed trazadone. We did a small dose about 2 hours before leaving and it worked really well, he was much calmer and didn’t fuss about the carrier but wasn’t completely zonked out. We did do a test run beforehand to make sure it worked ok.