Update on traveling with a cat with HCM

[bootsm]

So my husband has been asked to move to the US from the UK for his job. I'm from the US and have been dying to move back so it seems perfect. We are moving in about a month. The only issue is my cat who is 15 (and I have posted about previously) he has hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and hyperthyroidism. He was in bad shape a year ago when we found out he had these conditions, he passed a clot and almost went into cardiac arrest. But he recovered and it's been a year without incident except for him fainting last week. He's on medication which has stabilized him and doing pretty well, still active, etc. 

We asked the vets about taking him on a plane. They said they think he will be fine but obviously it's a risk. But they thought it would be worse for him if we gave him up (which I could never do anyway!) Initially the plan was to take him in the cabin with us but we've since found out there are no airlines that fly directly from the UK to the states that allow pets on the cabin. So our options are fly out from the UK on an airline that allows pets in cabin (like Lufthansa or Air France) but we'd have to fly to a city in their respective countries, like Munich or Paris, likely have to get off and transfer and possibly go through security again and then fly out to the States. Or second option is take a direct flight from the UK to US but put him in the hold, which would be shorter (but not by much, maybe two hours) but more straighforward journey. 

My vet said it's such a tough decision and she'd lean more towards the hold since it's shorter but I'm just so nervous about doing that. At this point both options seems super stressful for him and I just don't know which would be better. 

Has anyone ever flown with an ill or elderly cat on a long flight? Mine would be about 8 hrs direct or maybe 12 if we had a connection. What would you do? Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

 

[mollyblue]

I have never flown with a cat, ill, elderly or otherwise.  How long is the flight?  Did you talk with the vet about giving the cat something to relax?  Is your kitty comfortable in her crate?  The hold will be scary and you won't be with her, but if she isn't really social, the cabin could be quite scary too with all the movement and strangers.  It is a tough decision.  Good luck on whichever route you go!

 

[cat-tech]

Don't do cargo, you can't depend on the airline to do right by your kitty, that's also more stressful because he doesn't know why he's stuck in a dark hole without his mom.

Take him in the cabin with you, keep everything as stress-free for him as possible - he needs to know you're right there with him.  Ask your vet about when to give his medications (how close to the flight or?)  12 hours is a long stretch, and his meds are are most likely given 12 hours apart, so be careful with not missing his doses.

When you're here, find a vet ASAP (who has emergency services too) and get established so you can make a smooth transition for your kitty and his checkups.  Monitor him closely after you land, let him rest, no stress, just lots of love and attention.

 

[bootsm]

Just wanted to give an update on how it went flying overseas with my cat who is 15 1/2 and has HCM and hyperthyroidism. I also want this info to be available to anyone who goes through the process. Flying out of the UK with a cat can be tricky business. So here are all the details:

We decided to fly in cabin with our cats. The only way to do this out of the UK is to fly to another country with an airline that allows it, like Lufthansa  or Air France. We chose lufthansa  because they had a reputation as the most pet friendly airline. So we booked a flight from London to Frankfurt to NYC. 

Before we flew, about two months before, we coordinated with our vet to get our cat stable. He had been until a cold made his thyroid go lower. So we spent a couple of weeks adjusting his medication and running blood test to get the right balance with his thyroid. 

As far as paperwork, for NYC, cats do need a rabies vaccination and a health certificate. Lots of people think the rabies vac needs to be 20 days before the flight but we called the Department of Agriculture and apparently they can have it right before. Which was lucky for us because we didn't realize that and got it two days before flying. However, the only people to check their paperwork was Heathrow. But it's best to have this paperwork just in case. 

For cat carriers, this was a bit tricky. Lufthansa says the height of the carrier can only be 9 in high but the cats still have to be able to stand up and turn around. It's really difficult to find a carrier that short and both my cats are taller than 9 in. So we bought a soft sided carrier that was 11 in high. No one measured it and we were let on but the crates didn't fit at all under the seat on our second flight.  But luckily we had enough space to the side and at our feet to fit both cats (we sat at the very back.) And the flight attendants were fine with this. Our crates had steel edges so i'd recommend finding a top that can push down easier. I also lined the carriers with puppy pads which was a good idea because my cat did pee and there was no odors or leaks. 

As far as the actual flight, it went smoother than I thought it would be. I used Feliway which we sprayed into their crates 30 min before. This helped a lot to calm down my senior cat but not the other one, who meowed a lot when we moved her between airport. So he was pretty calm most of the time and would only get nervous when there was a lot of noise during take offs and landings. And having him in the cabin was good because I could pet him when it was noisy. Also I gave him treats and water through the flight, which he ate. The hardest parts were carrying them through Heathrow and Frankfurt terminals, these were 30 min walks so we got to work on our upper body strength! Also, when we got to Frankfurt, we had to go through security again and I had to take them out of their carriers, which was a hectic and stressful process but quick. 

When we landed at NYC things went pretty quick which we were happy about. We only needed to go through regular immigration and it didn't take long and they weren't examined or anything. 

All in all, I'm so happy that it was smooth. I was so stressed and it was a very long process getting the paperwork and everything together to get the cats into the UK. But the main thing is, our vets knew six months before we were moving and tried to get him as stable as possible. His heart and blood pressure and thyroid were all normal. Otherwise, I don't think we could have done it. And I'm so glad we flew in cabin where I think they felt a lot more safe and I could pet them. 

So we've been here in NYC about a month and everyone is doing good so far! I just thank my lucky stars that I was able to bring my baby with me. 

 

[jcat]

That's a terrific update and very helpful. I'm glad things went so well and hope everybody is settling in.