what's up everyone hello from sunny
California this week I relocated from
Washington DC all the way to San Diego
and that means that not only did I have
to travel 3,000 miles but so did all
three of my cat cocoa Eloise and haroon
flew all the way from the east coast to
the west coast so in this video I'm
going to give you some helpful tips for
flying with a cat oh my God look at my
hair
yeah I'm already stressed we haven't
even gotten on the plane yet
a lot of people are afraid to travel
with a cat and that's totally
understandable
what I want to show you is that if you
prepare well ahead of time it doesn't
have to be a stressful experience my
first piece of advice is boldly fly if
you have to don't subject your cat to a
flight just for the fun of it going to a
vacation spot might be nice for you but
for your cat it can be a pretty
terrifying experience so if you're just
going for a short trip I highly
recommend getting a cat sitter and
leaving them where they're comfortable
but if you're moving permanently of
course your cats are a member of the
family and they're going to come with
you so if you have to make the decision
to travel with your cat try to determine
what's the best for them some cats will
do better in a car and others might do
better in a plane if it's just a day
trip I'd recommend trying to travel with
your cats by car but if it's a
cross-country road trip that's when you
might consider flying after considering
everything that would go into taking
three cats on a five-day trip we
determined that what's best for our
three cats was to give them just one day
of travel but ultimately if fairies cat
to cat and you know your cat better than
anyone once you've decided to fly you're
going to need to do some research make
sure you know all the applicable rules
and regulations which will vary
depending on both where you're flying
and what airline you're taking for
instance depending on where you're going
and where you're coming from
you might be required to show additional
paperwork like proof of vaccinations or
a health certificate from a veterinarian
not all travel requires this paperwork
in my experience flying internationally
required a lot more paperwork than
flying domestically but both were
totally doable
I found that flying from DC to
California was actually really easy they
didn't require any paperwork at all but
I did bring it just in case you also
need to find out how your airline
handles ticketing for cats most airlines
will charge you an additional ticketing
fee of maybe 100 to 150 dollars you will
need to call the airline and reserve a
ticket for your cat there's generally a
limited number of animals allowed in the
cabin so call before purchasing your
flight and make sure there's room
cat's in the cabin and let them know
you're gonna need a ticket for them on
the airline we were traveling they allow
for cats in the main cabin so we were
able to grab three of those spots make
sure you booked with plenty of notice so
you can get your cat on board when you
call to reserve your ticket make sure
that the airline allows cats in the
cabin some airlines may require pets to
go in cargo below but other airlines
will allow cat in the cabin with you at
your seat it's always safest for the cat
to be in the cabin with you at all times
so I highly advise taking an airline
that allows them to be at your seat with
you it's important to note that most
airlines will only allow one cat per
person so if you have more than one cat
you'll need to ask a friend to go with
you we have three cats so we traveled
with me Andrew and Andrews mom finally
make sure you know your Airlines rules
for a travel carrier you can't just put
the cat in any old carrier it needs to
be one that's airline approved and can
fit under the seat you'll need to know
the dimensions of the carrier and
whether it's a soft sided or a hard
sided carrier when you call to reserve
your seat when I travel with the cat I
use a carrier called the Sleepypod air
I love the Sleepypod air because you
know it airline approved and it fits
under the seat of any airline cabin but
it also offers the maximum amount of
space for a cat to be able to stretch
out the Sleepypod air is 22 inches in
length but the sides can fold up to 16
point five inches so you can slide it
under the seat for takeoff
once you're in the air you can slide it
out and give them more room to relax
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the Sleepypod air is also comfortable
for me when I travel because it's got a
comfy padded shoulder strap and a strap
that can slide over a suitcase handle to
allow you to carry it on top of your
luggage with ease I also love that the
Sleepypod air has a really comfy bed
inside of it with a water resistant
cover so if there's any accidents you
can just unzip it and throw it in the
wash it's important to pick a
comfortable carrier for your cat not
just for the plane but even ahead of
time I recommend helping them acclimate
in advance of your trip I recommend
opening up the carrier and letting them
use it as a comfortable bed if they get
used to it in the home ahead of time
they'll see it as a much safer space so
nice and cozy in there you can spray it
with a calming spray put a favorite
blanket inside or add a favorite toy -
it helps them see that this is a safe
space for them and let them acclimate to
it for several days with the chaos of us
moving it was really helpful to have
those carriers open because our cats
actually started using them as a safe
space to go Coco got so comfortable with
her carrier that she was actually in it
when it was time to go to the airport
and all I had to do was zip it up one of
the best ways to prepare your cat for
travel by plane is to actually do short
trips in the car ahead of time but
Sleepypod is actually great for this
tooth because it's a crash tested bag
that's highly rated for safety and all
kinds of travel including in a vehicle
you can strap the seat belt into the bag
and lock it into place
buckling up is important not just for
you but also for your cats travel
training is a really important part of
taking a cat on an airplane especially
if they are not used to traveling in a
carrier these guys are gonna have to be
able to tolerate a 6 minute drive if I
want them to be able to tolerate a 6
hour flight and when we get back if you
guys are gonna get some treats
in a car with Arun is like being on a
family road trip with a child who won't
stop singing 99 packets of nip on the
wall 99 packets at net take one down
roll all around now if you had a good
time oh good they did great good job
miss travel girl as your cat gets used
to the idea of travelling you want to
make sure they're fully prepared for
their flight make sure that their
microchip and that the microchip is
current and registered if your contact
information has changed since you
registered the microchip please make
sure that you're updating it and that
its current cap can be really scared
when they're moving and if the worst
happens and they escape the microchip
will greatly increase the odds of
reunification if your cat is highly
anxious about travel you can talk to
your veterinarian about putting them on
a medication that can help my
veterinarian recommended a low dose of
gabapentin which gives them a light
sedative effect and helps take the edge
off of travel if you do get a medication
for your cat it's important that you
test it out ahead of time so that you
know that there's no negative effects on
your cats we tried out the gabapentin on
everybody a week before travel and they
did crates I had success getting them to
take it by opening up a little capsule
mixing the powder with a highly
palatable food and giving it to them
about 2 to 3 hours before we traveled I
noticed it kept them a little bit calmer
during the flight although once it
started to wear off
they definitely became much more vocal
okay now that you're ready to fly it's
time to pack a bag for your cat
I recommend bringing a travel bag that
has everything you might possibly need
while you're in transit including in
worst case scenarios like if you have a
flight cancellation
and packing some extra bags some of
their favorite tweets couple of dishes
medical records baby wipes in case we
have an accident some calming spray a
bag litter on the day of travel you do
want to keep their bellies as empty as
possible to avoid any vomiting or
bathroom accidents a meal the evening
before is a great idea but the morning
of the flight you either want to skip
breakfast all together or give them just
a very very small bite of food just to
keep their blood sugar up of course
bring food with you so you can feed them
the moment they make it to their
destination ultimately if the cat's
going to use the carrier as a bathroom
there's not much you can do to stop that
so I do recommend lining it with a pee
pad and bringing baby wipes just in case
once you arrive at the airport you're
gonna go to the ticket counter pay your
pets ticket fee at the counter and
you'll get a special tag for your
carrier the next step is security where
you have to go through a standard
security screening you're going to be
asked to take the cat out of the carrier
so that they can put the carrier through
the x-ray scan I highly recommend
against doing this in a public space the
good thing is TSA always offers private
security screening rooms and all you
have to do is ask find any TSA agent and
tell them that you'd like to request a
private screening room for you and your
cat so that your cat doesn't have the
risk of running away once you make it
into the private screening room you'll
take your cat out of the carrier hold
your cat and they'll take the bag to the
scanner after that they'll just wipe
your hands to run a quick test and then
you're good to go who is not
I thought it was going to be if you
request a private screening room they
will give you what they actually did
great private room is really good
because if your cats are anything like
mine if I take them out in a public
space they're likely to bolt and I don't
know about you but I don't really feel
like chasing my cats down an airport
terminal so definitely recommend the
private room costs nothing it takes very
little time and you'll be glad you did
it after security your cats going to
stay in the carrier once you make it on
the flight you'll place the carrier
under the seat in front of you during
takeoff and landing I like to hold on to
the bag so that it gives them a little
bit of extra stabilization during that
turbulence for the rest of the flight
they just stay right where they are and
they take a little nap don't take them
out of the carrier unless they are a
registered emotional support animal and
you have explicit permission to do so
okay so the last thing let's talk about
the noise that cats make on planes if
your cat is anything like Coco Eloise
and haroon they're likely to make a
little bit of noise during the travel we
made the decision to board last so that
there'd be as little fuss as possible
while we were getting them situated but
even then all three of our cats meow to
a single person that we passed while
getting to our seat fortunately most
people thought it was adorable and we're
very happy to see that there were cats
on the plane so that leads me to my very
final point don't be afraid that people
are going to be upset about your cats
being on a plane I've flown hundreds of
times and almost every single flight I
take has a screaming baby on it the
truth is even if the sounds are a little
annoying most people are very
compassionate and understanding even
empathetic to people who are in that
position I find that the same thing is
true for people who are bringing a cat
on board hey if I can sit through a
screaming toddler kicking the back of my
seat people can put up with haroon's
singing voice
right ultimately all three of our cats
actually did quiet down once they were
in the air and things were stable once
you land get your cat to the destination
as quickly as possible you want to offer
them fresh water food and a place to go
to the bathroom don't be surprised if
your cat is a little shaken up after the
flight just to give them comfort in
whatever way they like whether it's
gentle pets or a soft voice or some
favorite treats at your destination you
can set up a familiar blanket or bed so
that they feel at ease I hope all of
this information helps you feel a little
bit at these about flying with your cat
it's always going to be a little
stressful but if you prepare ahead of
time I promise it doesn't have to be the
end of the world so best of luck with
your feline fliers and safe travels
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