Last week, when Autumn and I flew from Charlotte to Madrid via Newark, I came armed with some great advice from Dave, an acquaintance here in Sevilla who happens to be a vet and who himself traveled to Spain with his family and BOTH his cats (and he flew from Seattle, Washington, making it a MUCH longer travel day for him!). I wanted to share his tips and tricks, as they made for a very easy and smooth (although stressful for Autumn, I know!) trip.
First, and I am so grateful for this advice, he said to get some sedatives from our vet for the cat, but to do a trial run first, giving the medicine to her at home and observing her response. Some animals can have a bad, or even allergic, reaction to any new medication, so it was imperative for her safety that we try it first. And I am so glad we did! The friend she was staying with, Ilene, gave her the sedative the vet prescribed, and instead of making her sleepy, and relaxed, it made her agitated and very, very vocal. As Ilene described it, “It was like she could tell something was wrong with how she was feeling and she did not like it! She was following me around and wouldn’t stop meowing!” Not exactly what you want to be dealing with on an overnight, trans-Atlantic flight! So I decided to forgo the sedatives.
As for the day of travel, as per Dave’s advice, I did not feed her in the morning to help prevent poop and throw-up accidents. I placed an absorbent puppy pee pad over the fleece at the bottom of Autumn’s carrier and packed a travel litter box and a gallon-size Ziploc bag that was about half-filled with litter. At every opportunity, I found a family bathroom, set up the litter box and a bowl of water, and let Autumn out of the carrier. She was NOT interested, always choosing instead to hide behind my backpack, so I eventually just put her back in the carrier and put my shawl over it so it would be dark and quiet. I thought she would appreciate the time out of the carrier but came to realize that she felt safer and more comfortable in the carrier, so I only took her out for potential potty breaks.
I also made sure that the relevant paperwork was safely ensconced in my carryon bag and easily accessible. This was imperative, because if my checked bag had been delayed or lost, I would have had no way of getting Autumn into the country.
Once I boarded the plane, I tucked her safely under the seat in front of me and then only checked on her every hour or so. She was a great traveler, and it was an easy trip! Thanks to Dave for all the great advice and to Ilene for keeping our girl for six months longer than anticipated!
