Hey Chelsea I bought two small carriers in the sherpa brand for my 10 pound cats. Im flying southwest in a few days. I see their height requirement is 8 inches on a carrier. My cat seems so crammed in there. Can you give me an idea if this is what your cat looks like in his carrier. Mine is in a ball . The medium carrier seemed to have room for him to stand and turn. The small just lets him rotate in a circle...not really standing. I almost want to take a chance on the medium. It's height is 11.5 inches though and the bottom of seat to floor measurement is just over 8 inches. what are your thoughts. I'm totally stressed and I've exchanger carriers 3 times. thanks for the video it's been soo helpful.

@@michellefabro7457 Yeah, it's a bit confusing because they say the carrier should be tall enough for your cat to be able to stand up but the dimensions from the bottom of the seat to the floor don't give you much extra space. I think I remember there being a little extra space above her carrier once I put it under the seat but it wasn't much so I can't say for certain whether the larger size would fit. I agree though that my cat unfortunately only had enough space in the carrier to rotate without standing up fully so that does sound right.

great idea with the family restroom to let them stretch their legs and use the bathroom! never thought of that

Thanks I'm really struggling me and my family to bring my kitten to Sweden with the paper and vaccination for her and that as its hard to find a way to make the cat do her business on board we were considering bringing her a diaper for cats and we are going to a clinic and see what we could do thanks for the help much love

To Chelsea: as a cat parent, socializer and vet tech, I recommend to people to leave their cat carriers available and comfortable for kitty, for example a fluffy towel on the bottom, with the end side door open, you can have it on your closet floor that way all the time, so kitty will hopefully use it at home to sleep in sometimes and therefore it won't be such a yucky place to be when they have vet visits, or in your case, on traveling days :)

Thanks for the info but do they allow you to do that often or is it only if they want to?

@@LeonardoReyes-ob7hv If they don't want to then just ask them if they prefer to have a frightened cat with sharp teeth and/or claws running around all over their terminal because it managed to escape and I guarantee that they will come up with a solution very quickly.

Oh god imagine that

When do you ask them? At the time of booking your flight? Or at the tsa line?

@@kayt2857 I think it would be the same amount of wait time either way (because the agents likely won't receive any updates about your request until they scan your ticket when you arrive anyways) so I would just let them know when you arrive at the airport. You can try calling ahead to notify them but it's not guaranteed that you'll be able to actually reach anyone or have your message passed on in a timely manner (if at all) to the appropriate person if you do. Make sure to arrive early either way to allow for the extra time.

Anna I feel you! My boy is a bit wild and I’m soo scared of doing this with him 😩

Same, my cat is scared of everything, and the flight is LOONG

@@paulinedido1680 how did it go?

oof, yeah, that traumatises me too she HATES the car, not sure how she will deal with a train, but the airport... gah, but it has to be done x_x the ferry part is gonna be the easiest one (i hope) my vet gave me 3 sedatives ( worth for 6 days if utterly necessary, will only use 2 as our trip is two days long)

Same cuz she's a kitten

Does that cost money? How do you arrange it

yes how do you do this? is tsa flexible?

What's that? 😅😅😅

@@StraightZzzStudent No extra cost. When you arrive at the TSA checkpoint, tell the officer that you want a private screening. Depending on how busy they are, you might have to wait a little longer, but otherwise they are obligated to grant your request. Go to the TSA web site for more information.

How was it?

@@lawc6572 It was highly stressful but we survived. She managed to escape her carrier on the first plane(!) so I got some duct tape to secure it after that. She was fine in the airports during layovers but did not like the sound of the plane engine or being under the seat. I took her out once in a pet relief area with her leash on and offered her food and water but she was too keyed-up to eat or drink. So in the end she went probably 30 hours with food or water but it didn't seem to do any lasting damage, cats are pretty resilient.

@@maggiebookworm hey ! I’m about to go through the same with 35+ of flights, 5 planes and 1 hotel night, can you please tell me more, how much did it cost ? Did you get any hassles with security? Did you have to pay extras ? What about the litter ? Water ? Food ?

@@mateochacon4574 Hi! First of all, obviously make sure the hotel is allows pets. The places I stayed didn't have specific pet charges but they were more expensive than they would have been. I packed a large ziplock full of litter and then requested a cardboard box and newspaper at the hotel and that worked fine. I also packed her regular dry food and made it available along with water in the hotel room (but took it away 6ish hours before the flight- the water I took away a couple hours before). Like I said above, I offered her food and water during the journey but she didn't want it. I also packed wipes and extra blankets to line her carrier in case of accidents, but there were none. I had planned to keep a harness on her in order to keep a better hold on her when I had to take her out at security but it was too restricting and she was very distressed on the first flight with it on. If you can, try to go through security when it's relatively empty, my kitty was ok until there was a ton of action and then she want to escape my arms! Try to remain calm, your cat will pick up on your stress. I kept the carrier on my lap in the plane until right before take-off and that helped a little. As for cost, United Airlines charges a flat $150(?)USD fee per way, whereas Air Canada charged me $50CAD per flight. Bottom line, it's probably not gonna be fun for either of you but you'll get through it. Also check with your vet about getting medication/calming agents. It wasn't available to me since I was traveling from Ecuador but I know it's often available in other places. Good luck!

If you're nervous about the security part you can ask for a private screening room

How did it go??

Thank you! Though, she does have her moments. Don’t they all? ;)

I’m happy to hear that! Thanks for watching :)

That really means a lot! Thank you so much for watching :)

I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks for the lovely feedback ❤️

Check with the airlines first, a lot of airlines don't allow pets in business!

You can request a private screening room! Much less chaos and a much safer and calmer experience for both you and your baby.

I’m so glad that it helped! Safe travels :)

Definitely not overreacting! I am traveling within the US and it’s only a 4 hour flight and I’m panicking about bringing my cat 😅

@@CinnapopisGay same! Specially because mine is so dramatic for NO reason. I transferred him from one house to the other (15 min. car drive) in his carrier and he was screaming like if he was being killed 🙄

I’m so glad that it was helpful!

Oh that’s wonderful! Have a great trip! :)

I’m flying out there too!! Can you let me know how it goes so I can be ready for when I go?

Wishing you a safe journey :)

I’m happy you found it helpful! I think she ends up feeling safe inside her carrier over time and the more we travel, the more she understands what is going on.

Thank you! Wishing you a safe journey. I know how daunting it can be ❤️

I’m glad it helped :) Safe travels!

I hope it helped! Stella says hi :)

Haha, yay! That’s wonderful :)

Hi, I’m going to fly with my cat on Southwest in a few weeks. Did you run into any issues?

Stella and I both appreciate that :) She is such a good travel companion! ❤️

Aw thank you for watching! ❤️

I just brought mine from the U.S. to Germany and she was just fine (she was in-cabin with me). Best of luck to you and your cat! :)

Chelsea Dinen thank you ❤️ luckily she'll be with me in the cabin and it's just a one way trip and I hope everything will be good. She's not quite at all ahaha hope to find cat people on plane too 😂

Maple Polygot I’m planning on traveling with a cat from Egypt to Canada early next year and I’m already worrying. Did you travel yet? How did it go? I’m worried about the length of the flight.

Nanees D. I'm travelling tomorrow :) I'll let you know :)

Maple Polygot thanks!

❤️❤️❤️

I’m happy to hear it! Have a safe journey!

Wishing you both safe travels :)

How did it go? Was your cat okay on the long flight? (Asking because I might have to move to China in the future with my cat)

@@chantel3446 How did it go?

Jon Pham I’m no longer planning on moving to China 😔

I’m sure she will appreciate that ☺️💕

Yes, many airlines do require pets to travel in cargo so be sure to check with each airline you could potentially fly with to see what their specific policies are for transport to Japan.

@@iamchelseadinen Aaaa how do the pets get treated with cargo though? I feel as if its a little unsafe for that

I’ve never gone that route as it’s a bigger risk in terms of their safety and well-being so I made sure to only fly with airlines that allowed pets in the cabin.

@@iamchelseadinen yeah, I always wanna out my pet first cause I know she wouldn’t like the flight at all

Thanks! I forgot to mention that in the video as I’ve never opted for that. I can see why that would be super helpful for any cats that get really scared and might try to run off!

When I called Tsa about a year ago they told me I can have the private screening room for them to pat down my cats (!) but I would have to go through the metal detector with them outside of their carriers in the wide open public airport where tons of people are. Does that sound right?

yea my cat is also very anxious so while were in the air i like to put my hand in his carrier so he feels more comfortable, good luck!

How did it go

Aww, wonderful! I’m happy to hear that :)

Dizzy Derwish they’re a body scanner, not a metal detector. it can detect anything on you not just metal things

No, you are not screened with the body scanner when you are holding an animal. They have always had me walk through the metal detector when I've traveled with a pet and the pet's carrier goes through the X-ray machine once they are taken out of it. www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/whatcanibring/items/small-pets

Chelsea Dinen oh i forgot you meant by yourself because i’ve seen people request separate rooms for a search so it doesn’t stress the anima

I hope it goes well!

I’m so happy to hear that! It sounds like she will be a pro ;)