Flying with a Cat on an Airplane
Hi, friends, and welcome to my blog. Today we’re talking about ”Traveling with a cat on a plane”. My cat’s name is Mishra. He flew all the way from Canada to Portugal. So, if you’re interested in learning more about documents, the process, vaccines, and all that kind of stuff, then keep on reading.
You’ve decided to travel with your cat on a plane. Alright, I’m going to tell you everything I know about traveling with your cat, but make sure to read this blog till the very end to learn more about the process, the documents, and all the helpful information you might need while traveling with your cat. Let’s go!
Documents
Let’s start with the documents. Documents vary from country to country, so make sure to check online before moving to another country and check those documents in advance. I mean like 2-3 months beforehand because there might be a requirement to get some vaccines done a month or three weeks before the flight. This way, you won’t be shocked when you open the link.
First of all, most countries ask you to have your cat microchipped. This way, if the cat gets lost or something, they can identify the cat and see who the owner is. But the thing is, check the country’s requirements for the microchip. Because if, let’s say, they support A and B and you have microchip C because your cat is old or there’s some kind of difference in the microchips, you will need to bring the microchip scanner. So, people at the VET control can scan your cat’s chip. I would also recommend you get a tag for your cat, so in case the cat goes missing or something happens, the cat will have this tag with your information on it.
Vaccination
The second thing you need for traveling with your cat is vaccination. Aside from the basic ones that you get when you get a cat, you will need a rabies vaccination. Here’s the tricky part because you need to get the vaccination at least 21 days before the flight. If you’re coming from a rabies-free or rabies-controlled country, it’s 21 days. If you’re coming from a red zone, aka high rabies country, you might need to get an additional test for your cat. For us, we had to wait 21 days after the rabies vaccination so we could travel with the cat. That’s the requirement from Portugal, and I think from the European Union in general. So, if you’re moving to Europe, it’s at least 21 days.
Health Certificate
Another thing you’ll need for traveling with a cat is a health certificate. That’s basically a piece of paper saying your cat is okay, you’re not selling your cat, and the cat is in good health—everything is perfect. So, you just go to your vet, say, “Hey, we’re traveling in a month, we need to get a health certificate,” and bring the cat. The vet examines the cat, checks that everything is perfect, signs the paper, and then you go with this paper. In my case, it was CFIA, so the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. They inspect all the plants and animals coming into and from Canada. But don’t forget to ask your vet if they have a health certificate. In my case, I had to bring the health certificate and the vet just signed the paper after checking the cat.
After you get your health certificate signed and your cat is okay, you’ll need to go to the authorities to endorse the certificate. As I mentioned before, for me, it was CFIA, so I messaged them and called them, saying, “Hey guys, I need to endorse my certificate, when can I come?” And that’s a very important step because you cannot just show up and be like, “Hey, I have this paper, can you please sign?” No, you’ll need to schedule an appointment and pay a fee. I think in my case it was around 30-40 bucks, and then you will need to come with your paperwork. Attention: You do not need to bring your cat with you. They say it everywhere, but I guess people still do that. You just literally bring a piece of paper, and that’s it. It literally took me five minutes, maybe even less.
Airport Coordination
Here, I would also add that you’ll need to call the local and the foreign airports to tell them, “Hey, I’ll be bringing the cat, can we schedule a vet control?” In Canada, they didn’t check the cat at all. We just had to pass through security. In Portugal, I emailed the airport, and they said, “Okay, we’ll be waiting for you.” You’ll also need to pay like 30-40 bucks—again, it’s all about 30 bucks. When we came to Portugal, I went to the vet control and they checked the papers, verified everything, and they were like, “All good.”
Choosing a Carrier
Now, let’s talk about a very important thing: the carrier. When traveling with a cat, it’s crucial to get a good carrier. First of all, the sizes vary from airline to airline. For me, when we were trying to buy tickets, I was checking the carrier requirements first because some airlines, for example, TAP Air, literally had space for a kitten or something. My cat would never fit into those requirements. We flew Air Canada, and their carrier requirements were, I think, almost twice as big as TAP Air. So that’s important. Also, measure your carrier to see what’s up. Maybe you’ll need to get a new one, maybe a collapsible one. We had a hard carrier. At first, I thought it wasn’t super convenient because you can’t fit it anywhere. But then my good friend Marco explained to me that if something happens, like if somebody drops something on the carrier, the hard carrier is firm enough to protect the cat. If the carrier is soft, the cat might get hurt.
Another thing is to check your airline’s requirements for the weight because most airlines will accept only eight kilograms for both your cat and the carrier. So if your cat is seven kilos, you have only one kilo left for the carrier. That’s another thing to consider.
Packing for Your Cat
Now, let’s talk about the cat’s carry-on. So, what did we actually pack with our cat? First of all, I put a pee pad in the carrier in case something happens, and I also put an extra one in the carry-on. We also brought some food—both dry and wet—just in a Ziploc bag, so I didn’t have to carry the whole pack. Don’t forget to get those collapsible bowls because, like, how else are you going to feed your cat? They literally cost like five bucks on Amazon, but I think you can also find them at dollar stores. Another thing that people forget is wipes. If something happens and your cat pees, you’ll be ready to clean that up with wet wipes.
Another thing is a leash, just in case. I put it on my cat’s collar, so when we were passing through security, at least I had some kind of control. But our cat was fine, so I didn’t even need it. We also took the litter box he had in Canada with us, with some crystals. We use silica litter, so this way the cat feels like, “Okay, I know where to go, this is my scent, it’s all good.” But you can always get a portable litter box. We had no space because we were moving with six suitcases, and getting a portable litter box didn’t make sense. We just brought the regular one. Then, when we moved to Portugal, we took it out of the suitcase and all was good.
Also, don’t forget about the paperwork and the cat’s passport (if you have one). In case someone asks you in Canada, Portugal, or any other country, you have your papers ready, saying, “This is my cat, I didn’t steal it, and I’m not planning to sell it,” so have the papers and passport ready. Our experience was super smooth. The cat was super calm because we gave him meds, but we’ll talk about that a bit later. We passed through security, he was already a bit drowsy, and then the flight was all that remained. The flight was okay. He was sleeping, he didn’t meow. I was petting him through the hole because you’re not allowed to open the carrier and let the cat escape. With dogs, you can do that because obviously, you can’t fit a dog carrier under your seat, but with the cat, they were like, “No, no, no, you cannot do that.” So I had to pet him through the hole.
Tips for Traveling with Your Cat
Here are some tips that you might want to follow if you’re traveling with a cat. First of all, as I’ve mentioned before, check your airline’s requirements for the carrier and everything else, because the worst thing is if you have a carrier that’s not accepted by the airline and you might need to get a new one. Check that in advance.
Secondly, size matters. Honestly, check the airline’s requirements to make sure your cat has enough space under the seat because, as I mentioned before, planes are different, companies are different, and under-seat spaces vary. If you have a big cat, you might want to choose a different airline, not a low-cost one, so your cat fits under the seat—unless you want to send them to the cargo hold with the dogs, but I don’t think so.
When you’re ready, call the airline and buy a ticket for your cat. I’d say do it as soon as possible because there’s a limited number of spaces available for pets on board. Once you’ve bought your ticket and decided on the carrier, call the airline and say, “Hey, I need to get a ticket for my cat.” For us, we paid, I think, 100 bucks with Air Canada one way. It’s pretty much the same across airlines because when I was doing my research, Air Transat and TAP Air were also about 100 bucks.
Get your cat familiar with the carrier beforehand because the last thing you want is for your cat to be stuck in the carrier for the very first time, freaking out, and being very loud in the middle of the flight. To avoid that, I would recommend you get your cat into the carrier at least a few weeks before the flight. This way, your cat can be like, “Okay, that’s my place, it’s not that bad.”
The next tip is to give your cat calming meds. Before we did our research, we asked vets, looked online, and decided on calming meds. There’s a lot of conflicting information on the internet, but I recommend you ask your vet what kind of meds you can give to your cat and how strong they should be. In our case, we gave him the meds, he got drowsy, and all was good. But I heard stories of people overdosing their cats with meds and it didn’t work, so make sure you ask the vet about the dose. At first, we gave Mishra the meds for the road to the airport. The effect lasted about two hours. Then, when we were boarding, we gave him another dose and he slept through the whole flight. When we landed, he was already awake and was a bit meowy but nothing crazy. You might also want to consider calming sprays or calming wipes, but that depends on the cat.
Last but not least, check the documents. Some countries will also require a titer test, so ask your vet. You might need that, but only if you’re coming from a red-zone country.
Conclusion
So, that’s it for today. I hope you liked the blog, and if you have any questions about traveling with your cat, feel free to comment below.
I hope you have a safe flight with your fluffy babies, and I will see you next time.
Bye!
