Flying Cat

[Rosie01]

Hi

I have my passport to bring my cat over but I'm concerned about the length of time the cat will be in the flying basket it may be up to 10 hrs by the time I get to Marbella.

Anyone who have taken their cat via a plane please let me know how your cat responded and also what did you do about food/water and mess????

rosie

[peteroldracer]

We flew our cat from Leeds to Málaga when we moved over: I came over first, then the OH took him to LBA in his special catbox that we had had delivered to the house a few days before. OH flew over the following day. I collected him from Cargo at AGP - being made to wait an extra couple of hours before I could get him out of the warehouse by some jobsworth official! - and drove him to our rented cottage. Total time probably ten-twelve hours, and despite him being a nervous sort of cat he soon settled, and put up with the two moves we have made here since having to swap rentals, then into our house. You can put some water in the catbox, and ours came with a disposable liner so the little bit of mess was soon removed. It must be a traumatic experience for an animal, being stuffed in a (admittedly large) container, left in a strange place, then put in something that roars for a while then drones, then screeches and roars, but maybe the relief of seeing the owner afterwards makes up for it!
Our Spanish neighbours, on hearing that it cost nearly 600 Euro to bring the cat just said we could have got a hell of a lot of Spanish cats for less instead!

[katy]

I brought my cat with Iberia, they let me take the cat box in the cabin and there happened to be a vacant seat next to me. It is a lot cheaper if you accompany them. BA make them go in the hold. Transavia also allow dogs and cats in cabin. When I took my dogs and cats to the USA I think I was more traumatised than them, having to sit on a 10 hour flight knowing they were n the hold.

[Rosie01]

Thanks unfortunately I can only fly my cat from Cardiff with me even though Bristol has an airport. Where did you get your special container from?

My cat is nervous and I too have been told to re-home her which of course I would never do.

[peteroldracer]

The container was from the shipping agent at LBA (Leeds Bradford Airport) that Thomson fly (the only airline that did/can/would take animals) advised us to use. They did all the paperwork, it was up to us to ensure that we had him chipped and rabies jabbed etc, which we did at our vets (which again, needed to be on a Defra approved list).
The container is about four times the size of the usual one we have for short runs to the vet/cattery etc. and much more secure - the thought of a moggy loose in the luggage hold is awful!
It was over £100, I know that much. If anyone is flying a cat or small dog back to the UK, we are open to reasonable offers for it - good condition, used once, and with the wheels already taken off as the airline insisted!
He had to be at the shipping agents about four hours before the flight - I suppose nowadays they would want to check that it really is water in his bowl (the agents kept an eye on animals pre-flight), that any favouritre toys are not containers for dynamite, or even that it really is a cat!

[Rosie01]

thanks greatly appreciated. x

[daftlamb]

hi

i have 3 dogs, one quite old cat and three horses, so i'm having a bit of a nightmare trying to decide how they all should travel to ensure they are all comfortable but at the same time without costing me an absolute fortune. - anyone with similar zoo!!!

[cani]

I have an old cat that hates the cat carrier. Even a trip to the vet is a nightmare. After about 3 minutes in the carrier she lies on her back and 'plays dead'. She is not a happy cat. The vet and cattery have both said they have never seen the likes of this before. Anyone else with this problem?