Conference misery::feline_v1

"Harrowing Airplane Story"

I had left Chiun and Abigail behind in Wyoming while I came east to look
for a job. When I found an apartment (in Arlington, Mass) I sent for them.
I drove to the airport, found they weren't there, and panicked. Envisioning
them trapped on the China Clipper, or frozen or starved in an unpressurized
plane, I called the guy who was supposed to send them - but it turned out
he hadn't got to the airport and had neglected to tell me. 
 
We finally got our signals straight, and I made another drive to the 
airport. Imagine a person completely new to Boston, driving to the airport 
on a snowy night in November, winding up in the tunnel with no idea how I 
got there. I died a hundred deaths that night, and a few more when nobody 
at the airport seemed to be able to find the cats. (This time I'd confirmed 
that he had sent them, so if they weren't here, they *had* to be lost.)  
 
An hour and a half passed, and the cargo building was going to close - for 
the weekend. They told me I could come get the cats the next Monday if I 
wanted; I tried not to get hysterical, with only limited success. At last, 
some kindly soul ambled in from the nice warm office area with two cat 
carriers; they'd been put there "so the cats would be comfortable", but 
of course everyone had only been searching the storage area. 
 
The drive back home was no fun either, with the cats, voices nearly gone, 
crying in their cages and me helpless to do anything but talk to them. I 
don't know how relieved they were to get out of the cages, but I felt an 
incredible weight lift... and if I ever have to send my cats somewhere when 
I can't be with them, I think I'll take tranquilizers until they've 
arrived!  
 
"Not-so-harrowing Airplane Story"

And then there was Gunslinger. He was a gray tabby kitten, a pet during my 
college days, and absolutely fearless. The house we lived in contained a 
minimum of four students and three dogs plus attendant boyfriends, so 
Gunslinger got used to a lot of ruckus. Anyway, I didn't want to leave him 
at the house alone over the Christmas break, so - without notifying my 
folks - I packed him up in a little wooden box and took him on the plane 
with me.

The trip was fine; he poked his paw out the corners of the box, and I
let him out for a while until he crawled under the chairs in front of me 
and had to be rescued from a passenger three rows ahead! The limosine from 
the airport was trickier - didn't want to take pets at all, but the driver 
kind of winked at me and said nothing, even when Gunslinger, restless after 
nearly twelve consecutive hours in the box, started shredding the walls 
with his claws.

When we got to my folks' house, I told them I'd brought a guest, and put 
the box down in the middle of the floor and opened the lid.

And out popped Gunslinger, fresh as a daisy! He greeted the family cats 
with a cheerful chirp - they were horrified, and ran and hid from him for 
the duration of the trip. He spent the whole vacation ruling the house,
loved every minute of the return trip, and acted as if he'd think nothing 
of doing that every day.

-b 

The airplane trip for our cats was more traumatic for me than it was for
them.  We gave our cats tranquilizers about 45 min. before we got to the
airport and I was worried that the drugs wouldn't take effect in time.
We were leaving out of LAX (Los Angeles Int'l Airport) and the place was
a total madhouse.  Both of my cats were in one carrier, and the ticket
people wouldn't let me check their carrier at the desk.  They made me go
back outside by all the screamin' traffic and check them with a baggage
guy.  He looked totally uninterested in doing anything with them...and
I was worried he wouldn't get them to the plane on time.  He was busy 
looking for someone who needed help with their luggage so he could make
another buck.  It was so hard to leave them sitting there on the sidewalk,
their little eyes puffy and half closed from the drugs.  I figured they
must be scared...I sure was!

We had picked a flight that would not change planes because we didn't want 
any chance of our babies getting lost in the shuffle.  Would you believe,
15 minutes before we landed in New York, the stewardess notified us that
we would be changing planes?!  Somehow we made it to Boston and I promptly
discovered that no one at Logan Airport was really sure WHERE they bring 
out the animals.  They had me running between two different points in the 
airport because they couldn't decide where to bring them in.  Finally I 
heard the familiar crys of pets looking for their owners -- and I ran to 
find my kids.  Once I got my hands on that carrier, I didn't want to let 
go...ever!  I even wanted to rescue the other animals that no one seemed to 
be claiming.

I vowed to never take my cats on an airplane again....I think it's more
for my peace of mind, than theirs.  But I'm sure they'd thank me too, if 
they knew.

I took Pepper on planes at half a dozen times, always in a small carrier that
fit under the airline seat.  The flights were from Boston to Omaha, with a
plane change in Chicago for a total of about 6 hours, so I would pick up her
water about 8 hours before leaving so that she would not be burdened with a full
bladder.  The small case might seem unkind, but Pepper was never interested in
doing anything besides curling up in to the tightest  possible ball.  When
we changed planes I would try to get her to streach, but she just wanted to
stay in a little ball in her carrier.  The first time we flew I sedated her,
but she obviously disliked being drugged - she kept trying to keep her eyes
open and focused, and reminded me of a drunk trying to look sober for a 
state trooper!  In the later trips, I didn't bother and she was fine. She
never even cried.

Just as a side note - don't doubt that cats have long memories. Each visit
to my parents house was for about a week.  I showed Pepper her box upon
arriving on the first visit (it was in the basement laundry room) and
each later visit (even though one was three years after previous one)
Pepper would go directly to the box after being let out of the carrier
at the front door.

A few points on traveling cats:

	1)  Although most airlines will say they have pressurized pet
	    compartments, not all do.  CHECK WITH THE SPCA.

	2)  Cats have small lungs and in an unpressurized environment
	    can receive more damage from anoxia than humans.

	3)  Many airlines allow one cat per passenger in the passenger
	    area.  You can check on this.

	4)  Use tranquilizers when necessary.

	5)  Cats go half-crazy in lightplanes.  If you M U S T,  have
	    the pilot go on an absolutely turbulence-free day.  That
	    generally means no wind and before 9:00 AM on a sunny day.

On some airlines, the rule is one pet per cabin area.  On a jumbo jet
this might allow several pets on the same plane.  Be sure that the
reservationist knows what is the real rule is.

I flew with my cat on a number of occasions, always in a case under the seat
(the cat, not me).  The first time I gave her a tranquilizer, but she look so
pathetic coming out of it (kind of like a drunk trying to look sober) that the
next time I tried doing without.  While she was rather nervous and did nothing
tremble at the airport, once on the plane, she just curled into a ball lay
their the entire flight without making a sound.

I doubt that all cats would behave like that, but realize that it can be that
easy.

I got a fairly good booklet with more information of flying with pets from TWA.

Steve

    Before getting my car, I flew home with my one cat (now I have two)
    about 5 times.  None were pleasant.  I drugged Mielikki but as you
    all have stated, it probably was worse than not drugging her.  The
    main problem I had was the first time I flew with her.  I have a
    nice comforatble kennel with lots of room for her.  They wouldn't
    let me use it, whether I was carrying her on or putting her in the
    cargo area.  Instead, they made me buy one of their special carriers
    which had few air holes, fell apart when I lifted it by the handle,
    and so small she was forced to lay down on her side to fit in it.
    But I had no choice as it was the only airline out of Worcester.
    
    Now I have two cats that ride home in my car (an 8 hour trip). 
    They travel in a box that once packaged a pc (so it's rather large)
    with a chicken wire cover to give them lots of air.  I don't drug
    them, they are much calmer without it.  I also started putting the
    box on its side so they can see me while I'm driving.  Once I did
    that, they never made a sound again.
                   

    Just for information sake...CATS magazine is doing a survey on
    experiences with pets on planes.  Its in the July issue (I think
    its July, I forgot to look but it has a big flag on the front so
    I can't be far off).  They are hoping to use the information they 
    gather to persuade the airlines to modify their methods of handling 
    pets, especially carry-on.
    
    Jan

    I just found this notesfile, so I'll add some recent(fairly)
    experiences.In 1984, I was relocating from Albuquerque to Puerto
    Rico for a 2 year "international" assignment.  We were moving with
    4 cats and old 14 year old irish terrier, Misty. It turns out that
    on 727's, most airlines will only allow 2 animal carriers per
    plane,whereas on jumbo jets (747'3, DC10'2, etc) they allow up to
    7. 
    
    We decided that I would fly on one day to Atlanta with Doobie, a
    13 lb Japanese Kimona Cat in a large carrier with her brother, Herc
    a 16 lb tiger cat.  Peaches, a white and orange shorthair, who is
    not related, would travel in a carrier by himself, and I would carry
    Ada May Muffin, the mother of Herc and Doobie, a 6 lb lady. (If
    carried one the other two carriers could go in the hold. Jane, my
    wife would travel the next day with Misty and then we could all
    travel together to Puerto Rico.
    
    Well, I put Ada under the seat and for the first hour or so she
    was very, very quiet but then began to offer her opinion about the
    cramped quarters and other such things.  This managed to attract
    quite a bit of attention from fellow travellers as well as the flight
    attendants.  Fortunately, the flight wasn't too crowded and all
    insisted that I take Ada out of the carrier and she passed from
    lap to lap for the rest of the flight, with tidbits from all. I
    finally had to put her back in the carrier for landing.
    
    I managed to check in to a nearby Sheraton or Hilton, don't
    remember.Doobie and Herc immediately ran under the king-size bed
    and stayed there til the next morning.  Ada, on the other hand,
    lay right in the middle of the bed and acted as though I should
    order room service.
    
    Jane arrive the next day and all the cats and the dog seemed to
    be swapping stories of their travels.  We then got checked in for
    the flight to San Juan(with none of the animals in the passenger
    cabin).  I had been told that we could claim our animals from the
    air freight office, so when we arrived, I told Jane to pull the
    luggage off the belt while I went to arrange for the rental station
    wagon.  Imagine Jane's surprise when the first thing to come out
    on the belt was the big kennel with Misty in it.  She was able to
    have a kind person help her get the kennel off.  A few more bags
    came by, followed with the carrier with Herc and Doobie, followed
    shortly by Peaches  then  by Ada.  When I got back from getting
    the station wagon, I found Jane surrounded by 4 kennels and a whole
    pile of luggage. We then made the long two-hour drive to Mayaguez
    and everyone was quite exhausted from the ordeal.  The cats got
    to go out a lot in Puerto Rico and loved the lizards and birds,
    but I'll save those tales for another note
    
    
    Chuck

    Hi everyone.  I need some feedback.  I am sending my little
    kitty Avalon to a friend in Boston (I am in LA) because I
    am no longer able to keep her... it's a long story, anyway,
    I have found four airlines that have direct flights from here
    to there and I was wondering if anyone could let me know if
    they had found better treatment of pets on one airlines vs. another.
    I am very nervous about this and dreadfully afraid something
    horrible is going to happen, like she'll get dropped, or lost
    or sufficate or something... the four airlines are United,
    TWA, American and Northwest.  I would go with her but the
    cheapest fare I found was $489.00 for both of us and I just don't
    have that kind of money!  
    
    Any feedback at all would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you
    for you help.
    
    love,
    cheyenne
                            

    Be careful that it is a direct flight, not one with stops where
    she might be misplaced or left outside in bad weather while being reloaded
    on the connecting flight.
    

    I have done alot of shipping of cats and kittens, and I feel most
    confident with American and Delta.  Delta has a service called Dash,
    that is counter to counter.  This saves your cat about 3 hours in
    the carrier since she won't have to be shipped from the cargo dept
    of the airlines.  When you ship cargo, the cat must be at the cargo
    dept at least two hours before the flight leaves, and she will not
    be unloaded from the plane for about two hours after the plane arrives
    at it's destination.  With Delta Dash, you take the cat to the
    terminal, to the ticket counter (sometimes they have a special office
    for Dash deliveries, check with the airlines), at least 1/2 hour
    (some airports say 1 hour) before the flight.  She will be unloaded 
    immediately upon arrival, and her new owners can pick her up in the 
    baggage claim area of the terminal.
    
    Delta Dash costs a straight fee of $104, regardless of destination.
    
    Jo

    Thank you very much for the information.  I think I will go
    with Delta Dash.
    
    Thanks again,
    cheyenne

    I also recommend using a "special" service like Delta Dash or
    Piedmont PDQ. 
    
    The other option is to post a note in a travel notesfile asking
    if anyone is traveling LA to Boston soon, and would be willing
    to escort a cat-IN-THE-CABIN for, say, $25 or $50 (this would be
    *in addition* to the airline charge of $30 or so).  I *just*
    returned from a vacation in LA (yup, LA-Boston non-stop!) and
    would have been happy to help out at no charge.  Ask around!
    
    Good luck,
    	Pennie