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The litter tray

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Original poster

Has anyone been on a plane with their cat in the cabin before?

69 replies

MrsSchadenfreude · 19/10/2018 19:29

I am flying with the cat (relocating) in a couple of weeks. He is booked into the cabin and I am getting a soft carrier to put him in. I am very stressed about it, but he is likely to be stoic and sleep for the journey. But I am worried about going through security with him - presumably I have to take him out of his carrier so that it can go through the x ray? He has had his jabs and will go to the vet for his health certificate the day before he flies, so that is all good. I am hoping that there will be a spare seat next to me so that I can talk to him.

OP posts:
eloliphant · 19/10/2018 19:40

I didn't even realise you could do that!

Sparklingbrook · 19/10/2018 19:41

You can have them in the cabin? How does that work with them needing a wee/poo? Plus other passenger's allergies?

NorthLondonmum83 · 19/10/2018 19:45

We did it when we moved to Southern Europe...not many airlines let you keep the cat in the cabin! Gosh about allergies they never asked! You put something absorbent in the box (they give you a special box) and hope for the best. Cats don't love it but I think they might prefer it to the hold. Also your cat has to be under 18k but it almost certainly will be :)

NorthLondonmum83 · 19/10/2018 19:46

And don't worry about the admin at the airport - the airline know what to do and will deal with it, if you can find one that allows it :)

Struckbylightning · 19/10/2018 19:46

I haven’t done exactly this, but I’ve travelled with our dog abroad. I wish I could take her in the cabin but she has to go in the hold. But we do have to go with her through security and at Heathrow they took us into a separate little room where I took her out and they used a wand to sweep the crate and the dog. No xrays.
I’m pretty sure cats have to go under the seat in front of you. She defo won’t have her own seat.

Sparklingbrook · 19/10/2018 19:47

That's both brilliant and scary. Grin

If Sparklingcat were to have a poo the whole plane would know about it. Sad

Wolfiefan · 19/10/2018 19:47

Aren’t there rules about the sort of carrier the cat must be in? I can imagine a soft one would be very secure.

NorthLondonmum83 · 19/10/2018 19:48

Yes we had to put the cat under the seat. Ah she didn't love it but we managed...also as we were travelling with our children we took the whole row and no one noticed!

RiddleMeThis2018 · 19/10/2018 19:52

I’ve done this a couple of times. At security, they will take you into a little room (the caught-with-explosives room?), you take the cat out of the carrier and stay in there with it, while they run the carrier through the x-ray machine.

Note: if the cat miaows, you probably won’t be able to hear it above the noise of the engine! My 14yo has survived the experience totally unphased both times.

RiddleMeThis2018 · 19/10/2018 19:52

Unfazed!!!

RiddleMeThis2018 · 19/10/2018 19:54

And yes, the staff at the airport know exactly what to do, so don’t worry about that.

Disfordarkchocolate · 19/10/2018 19:55

This gave me sleepless nights before my last holiday, I'm very allergic to cats. I really don't think cats should be in the cabin.

Original poster
MrsSchadenfreude · 19/10/2018 20:27

The poo does worry me, but he went from Paris to London in the car and his bedding was clean. Unlike the Shitten, who came out stinking (ditto when I took her on the train - she did the world's biggest poo and then sat in it - unfortunately the loo in the train was a tiny one and I couldn't take her in to clean her up).

Re allergies, well, people are allergic to a lot of things. If I sat next to someone in a mohair or angora jumper I would be wheezing and coming out in hives.

Apparently they can have up to three cats or dogs on a flight!

OP posts:
Chelonia · 19/10/2018 20:30

Please double check the requirements for the carrier, I'm pretty sure they are required to be rigid not soft!

Vulgarlady · 19/10/2018 20:39

Which airlines allow cats in the cabin? Very intrigued about this!

Sparklingbrook · 19/10/2018 20:41

If I could I would have Sparklingcat on my knee so she could look out of the window.
But back in the real world she hardly leaves the garden so I don't think she would be up for a plane flight.😂

FlamingJuno · 19/10/2018 20:50

At the queue for security in Frankfurt the woman in front of me took her cat out of the carrier and stepped into the xray booth thingy with it. She had to hold it out to be xrayed (or whatever it is that machine does). She then handed the cat to the security chap, who put it into the carrier that had gone through the hand luggage xray machine. Woman then had to go back through the booth herself before retrieving cat and proceeding on her way.

All I could think about was what would happen if kitty got loose and scarpered off through the airport Shock.

I've travelled with my own cat on the plane, but she was in the hold.

Original poster
MrsSchadenfreude · 19/10/2018 21:38

Chelonia - the requirements state either a rigid carrier or soft. A friend of mine flies this route frequently with her cat and uses a soft carrier.

OP posts:
Peridot1 · 19/10/2018 21:42

I really wouldn’t be happy with a cat in the cabin. I’m allergic. Not to all cats but to some. I have had asthma attacks triggered by cats. Never get asthma any other time.

I would definitely be objecting.

Original poster
MrsSchadenfreude · 20/10/2018 11:00

Peridot1 - it is quite usual travelling in Europe to have pets in the cabin. A friend of mine travels regularly from Brussels to Nice with her dog. It is only unusual travelling from UK. I am not sure how far you would get with complaining. I once flew in Eastern Europe and had a crate of chickens (live!) on the two seats next to me!

OP posts:
OnlyJoking1 · 20/10/2018 11:08

I didn’t know you could take animals in the cabin, i thought they had to be in the hold. I’ve travel on planes at least 50 times, never had furry animals, so far.
I’m anaphylactic to fur, so it could be deadly for me.

Original poster
MrsSchadenfreude · 20/10/2018 11:11

Gosh that must be awful, OJ. Most European airlines allow you to take a pet (or assistance dog) into the cabin, but most people don't take their pet on holiday from UK like they do in Europe. BA don't allow animals in the cabin, and I think there are only a couple of airports where you can do this in UK. Heathrow is one of them, and Birmingham, but I don't think Gatwick and Luton are.

OP posts:
Kescilly · 20/10/2018 11:13

I did this in the States twice. I had to take him out at security and didn’t have a separate room, but it sounds like it’s different here. He was in a soft-sided carrier under the seat in front of me and did fine.

When bringing him to the UK he had to be in a rigid carrier in the hold.

PiperPublickOccurrences · 20/10/2018 11:21

I'm very allergic to cats and would not be happy about this at all! Why can't it go in the hold?

Bombardier25966 · 20/10/2018 11:29

I’ve travel on planes at least 50 times, never had furry animals, so far.

That you're aware of. It is pretty common in Europe and in the US I doubt there would be a flight without at least one animal.

If your allergy is so severe presumably you inform the airline anyway?

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