Moving to another country often involves moving pets, most often cats. However, you can’t just show up at the airport and load the animal in the luggage compartment - first you need to collect a package of documents, get vaccinated, properly prepare your pet and find out the rules of transportation for a particular airline.
Basic requirements of carriers
Air carriers allow you to transport a cat on an airplane both in Russia and abroad. Of course, this can only be done at an additional cost. According to the law, specific requirements of carriers are determined depending on the reasons for transporting a cat, but in fact, to transfer an animal from one city of Russia to another, one veterinary passport with a valid rabies vaccine is sufficient. All requirements are easily clarified in the relevant order of the Ministry of Agriculture, as well as on the website of the selected airline.
The cat will definitely have to be vaccinated against rabies, which is carried out without problems in any specialized clinic.
Usually, a week or 10 days before vaccination, the animal will have to give anthelmintic drugs. A qualified veterinarian will easily advise the medicine and the required dosage. In pet stores, you can take not only the whole package, but also one tablet equipped with a sticker, which is then pasted into the veterinary passport. Vaccination itself is also accompanied by the appearance of a mark in the document.
In addition to placing a sticker on the drug, the veterinarian indicates the dosage and date, paints and certifies everything with a personalized stamp.
The rabies vaccine is required to be repeated every year. After vaccination, you will have to wait three weeks, and then the animal is allowed to transport in any way. It is important to mention that transporting a cat in the cabin is possible subject to several conditions. The total weight of the animal and its carrying should not exceed 8-10 kilograms, and the exact restriction is determined by the carrier.
The dimensions of the container can also be seen on the company's website. A cat should not be dangerous either for personnel or for passengers, otherwise it simply will not be allowed into the cabin. In addition, the animal should not smell bad or be infected with parasites.
The pet must accompany a person whose age exceeds 18 years, and his legal capacity is beyond doubt. To send a cat unaccompanied, you will have to contact certain companies offering this service. In this case, the pet is usually transported in the luggage compartment, and at the place of arrival it must be met by a special person who has received the power of attorney of the owner. By the way, a sick animal cannot be carried by air either.
Moreover, some carriers set a limit on the number of animals on the plane - usually 5 pieces. The cost of a trip with a cat in Russia will cost 3.5 thousand rubles, and around the world - 5 thousand rubles.
Required documents
The main document required to transport a cat by air in Russia and the CIS countries is a veterinary passport. It contains all the information about the owner and about the animal, as well as notes on the vaccinations given.
If the cat needs to be taken to the exhibition or transferred to the new owner, then additionally require veterinary certificate No1. It is issued after contacting a specialized veterinary institution where the examination is carried out, the data of the veterinary passport are examined, and a certificate is issued.
Some companies additionally require a special certificate stating that the chip is inserted in the pet.
In the case when the cat goes abroad, the package of documents is slightly expanded. In this case, you will have to make a passport international, and you can’t do without a veterinary certificate and a certificate of chipping. In addition, it should be prepared two references: that the cat has no breeding value, and that antibodies to the rabies virus have already been identified. The second certificate is issued within three weeks, so you should not put it off until the last moment. Finally, the cat owner receives an international certificate at the airport.
Transportation rules
A cat is allowed to be transported on an airplane only if carried. Requirements for a container are more or less similar at different airlines: its weight with an animal should not exceed 8 kilograms, and the sum of three measurements is 125 centimeters. Some carriers also set certain requirements regarding the height of the cage - for example, it should not exceed 20 centimeters to fit comfortably under the seat.
Therefore, before traveling, you must independently go to the airline’s website and find out if it has any specific requirements.
Carrying is not permitted in aisles, near an emergency exit, in the vicinity of children or other animals. The flight attendant can tell about other prohibitions. In the selected container, the cat should be able to lie down, sit, stand and stretch its legs. However, it is considered a significant violation when the pet gets the opportunity to protrude through the lattice of the legs, muzzle or tail.
You can transport a cat in either a rigid or soft design. A soft one costs less, it does not take up much space, but it is only allowed to take it to the cabin. It is very important that the carrier is carefully closed and the cat does not have the opportunity to escape, but the animal constantly had access to fresh air.
The lower part must be waterproof and additionally covered with special material that can make the process of going to the toilet of a pet free of any difficulties. Absorbent diapers sold in a regular pharmacy will do the job perfectly.
It is reasonable to additionally fix them inside the carrier.
Rigid constructions are created from high-quality plastic. As a rule, latches are located on the door and on the sides. The bottom of the cell also requires additional coverage, the main function of which is to absorb liquids. Whether it is allowed to carry such a container into the cabin is determined depending on the rules of the air carrier.
Some of them transport animals only in the luggage compartment.
Experts recommend that owners of pets transported in the cabin additionally take with you a clean diaper, already trimmed to the required size, as well as double-sided tape with which it can be fixed. Wet wipes will come in handy for quick cleaning at the pet.
If after a cat’s trip to the toilet a replacement cover is required, the owners will be able to carry out the task without any complications.
During the flight, the owners do not have the right to get cats or pick them up. By agreement of airline representatives, a drinker can be installed inside the carrier, especially if the flight is long.
Before paying for the tickets for the trip, it is necessary to find out whether they will take the cat on board. To do this, the first thing they just have to book, given the class of purchase. Preference should be given to those firms that allow changes to be made at no extra charge. The cat itself, as a rule, is arranged as oversized baggage. Next, it is important to call the carrier itself and issue a request for the transport of a cat.
Again, how long it takes to contact the airline, it turns out on the site.
The operator specifies the parameters of the animal and where it needs to be transported - in the luggage compartment or in the cabin. Having agreed all the information, the airline representatives will call the owner of the animal back, after which you can pay for the tickets.
It is recommended that you arrive at the airport in advance, approximately a couple of hours before the flight. During the inspection, the scanner checks the carrying, and the pet passes through the frame in the hands of the owner. Next, you will immediately have to go to the veterinary control, which puts the necessary marks in the passports and issues a certificate. At the front desk, the cat checks in with the luggage, but unlike the latter, it remains with the owners. Payment for transporting a cat is carried out at this stage, right at the airport.
Finally, pets are either sent to the salon or to the oversized baggage department.
Animal preparation
Flight - the situation is quite stressful for any animal, especially if it is a small kitten, so some preparation for the trip should still take place. In principle, it is recommended to transport the pet on a half-empty stomach so that it does not cause vomiting or diarrhea.
Ideally, 4 hours should elapse from the last meal to your direct departure. If the flight is a transfer, then during the break it would be good to give him a drink, even if by force. During a short trip, it is not necessary to offer liquid.
By the way, wet food in bags is easily transported in hand luggage, but you can’t feed a cat during the flight.
A sedative before flight is strictly prohibited. It is better not to additionally load the animal’s cardiovascular system, which already has to experience significant changes in atmospheric pressure. If the animal is weak, it is important to provide him with a flight in the cabin, and not in the luggage compartment. In the second case, the temperature around is much lower, despite the included heating.
But if the flight still takes place in the cargo compartment, it would be nice to additionally insulate the cage or container.
In principle, a sedative course can be drunk a few days before the planned flight, especially if the animal is nervous. Additionally, it is worth forming a veterinary first-aid kit, the transport of which is not prohibited in hand luggage. For a couple of weeks before the planned trip, the cat should begin to get used to the container, bag or cage.
It is important to achieve such a state when the pet in it remains absolutely calm, he is not nervous, does not scream and does not worry. Unfortunately, if the cat will behave uneasily, then the owners will have to refuse to transport the pet in the cabin and send it to the luggage compartment.
About the rules for transporting a cat on an airplane, see below.
