Moving with Pets

[sandragonfly]

....Sorry I can't further assist you but I hate when I hear someone is gonna to put any pets in cargo...because about 5,000 pets died in cargo a year!!! I don't think you'd want to find him lying...you never know-- I wish airplanes have pet caretaker during the flight...and/or would let you hold the carrier...that you can comfort Boo all you want. (put finger inside the cage, index/middle finger 'petting' -I mean!)

[Soledad]

Thanks for the advice Miss Meow. That's exactly the kind of stuff I was looking for.

I think the fact that we're hiring an animal trainer to take care of Boo throughout the flights gives me peace of mind. It's a decision that we have to make for ourselves. I'm not one to just leave a pet to a stranger for the rest of its life without researching all possible options.

[Edwina's Secretary]

Freinds of ours have relocated THREE times with their two cats. France to California, California to France, France to Colorado. Last move also included a human baby of less than one year!

[Soledad]

Edwina'sSecretary -

What did they say about it? Any advice?

[Edwina's Secretary]

Although I'm not aware of any problems they had...I'll ask them for you....

[Soledad]

That would be great!!

[Edwina's Secretary]

Here's the response I received. Hope it helps.

Well, when our cats were younger, we sedated them for
the long trip. At least, that is what the French vet
recommended. On the return trip, the Colorado vet
said that the would adjust faster if not sedated as
they had all of their instincts in working order. So
we did not sedate them and they did seem to adjust a
lot better on the last two trips (but maybe it is
because they got used to moving?)

Other stuff we did:
- call the airline 3 different times to be sure they
have everything in order (lables on cat kennels,
feeding instructions, water bottles, paperwork, etc.)

- carry with us 48 hours worth of food plus water to
give them as soon as we saw them off the plane

- put their travel kennel (open, with a favorite toy
or blanket) in the house 1 or 2 weeks before travel so
the box is not new for them (you have to take the toy
or the blanket out for the flight)

- make sure to have a couple of their "personal
effects" with you to put in the new house (location)
so when they do get there something smells familiar to
them

- ask the flight attendant as soon as you board if
they can check to be sure the animals made it in the
cargo (if appropriate - we always put them in the
cargo, so i don't have any experience with bringing
them on board the flight)

- we tried to have either a disposable litter box
(travel size) in our carry on or a new litter box
waiting at the new location

- try to forget about them during the flight!!

Here is a link to a .pdf doc that really helped me get
ready for our trip:
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/oa/pubs/petravel.pdf

[Soledad]

This is absolutely brilliant! Thank you and your friends so much.

[babolaypo65]

thats all great advice! for all of us. thanks edwina's secretary.
i particularly liked the idea of calling three times.
i wonder too, if you showed up with the expectation of carry on, what would happen?
ie, if ONE of the three happened to not mention it?
while im generally a rule follower, avoiding cargo seems to override that! (especially when you can have them on "domestic" flights.

if you DO sedate, again, several of us have recommended practicing. you can adjust dosing, and it seems that it might help with adjustment as well.
please let us know how it all turns out?
ps
i thought it interesting timing that today's dog of the day had travelled internationally, successfully!

[sandragonfly]

Here's my Zephyra saying Good Luck and hope everything will go well!

[koxka]

Soledad, maybe I'm too late, but my stept daughter and her husband travelled ( from Utha to Barcelona and viceversa) with his pet, a little dog, in cabin with them
I guess it depends on the company, theirs was Delta Airlane, so maybe you could ask before buying a ticket which company allow small pet in cabin.
Good luck !

[Soledad]

Thanks guys, I will research the in-cabin thing more in-depth. You've been great.