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Transporting cat in an RV-7 ???

BruceW

Well Known Member
UPDATE.
Mission accomplished. Cat delivered to KSAA, Saratoga WY. Alive.
Delayed from Wednesday to Friday due to extreme winds along route. Great call, smooth ride on Friday.
Right seat removed, hard case strapped down, couple towels on top. Item was sedated with Gabapentin.

Made a slow climb out of KSAC (as recommended) and smelled something nasty.
Feared I would have to smell that all the way to refuel in KEKO. Turned out to be cat farts from the elevation change.
Still nasty, but short term.
A bit rough during the last hour. Upon arrival, cat was alive but had barfed a couple times. Probably from the turbulence.
Cat was very mild and quiet all along the way.

Thanks Forum for all the tips.


Anticipate the need to transport my daughters cat from KSAC to KLAR, about a 3.5 hour flight in my RV-7. Small sized cat with semi-hot temperament.

Considerations and possible solutions include
- packaging; large carboard pet carrier.
- noise exposure; no ideas.
- anxiety, family considering drugging the cat.
- potty needs, towels and plastic liner.

Anyone done something like this?
Tips appreciated.
 
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what could go wrong?

one of the acro peformers used to fly around with a cat, can't remember which one.

no kitty in the RV experience, but I had one of my wife's cats in the back of the Pacer once, wasn't any problem at all.

call the vet and they'll give a you mild sedative/anxiety med and it'll likely sleep most of the trip away. I used a plastic pan with a towel liner, cat carrier with towel and bed in that, with another towel draped over the top.

cat did fine.
 
Friend of mine Flys with his cat on the glare shield. He sent a picture of it around awhile back showing him doing a CAT 1 approach into the Ryan field Tucson.
 
Anticipate the need to transport my daughters cat from KSAC to KLAR, about a 3.5 hour flight in my RV-7. Small sized cat with semi-hot temperament.

Considerations and possible solutions include
- packaging; large carboard pet carrier.
- noise exposure; no ideas.
- anxiety, family considering drugging the cat.
- potty needs, towels and plastic liner.

Anyone done something like this?
Tips appreciated.

Have done this.

Definitely put the kitty in a carrier of some kind. Safer for you both.

I don't think you need to sedate him - the most the cat will do is yowl a bit in the carrier and once you're airborne you won't be able to hear him. The last cat I transported was pretty quiet, which was weird. My own cats will sing an opera in the carrier. They hate it.

Noise is probably not going to be a big deal, long term. You could try a cat version of mutt muffs, but I can imagine trying to put something like that on my cats and it would be like juggling chainsaws.

3.5 hours there won't be any potty needs. I wouldn't worry about that at all.
 
It will work

My neighbor doesn't frequent VAF but has flown his cat a few times. He used a hard shelled carrier. Said the cat doesn't like it but it works.

Suggest checking with a vet to get some drugs for it.
 
I've flown rescue cats in a hard shell carrier and covered it with a blanket to deaden the sound (of the airplane, not the cat). No problems. They might be vocal at first but quickly settle down.
 
I have a friend that delivers dogs and cats. he lost several cats in-flight (dead). he told me dogs can manage higher altitudes better than cats.
 
Thanks for the all the responses. Good tips.
Except Steve M'.
That would be the worst if the cat croaks during the flight.
Daughter would blame me of course.
 
timing

KLAR can get pretty dang windy and turbulent so be ready for that. Not sure if you have flown there before but arriving mid day is almost guaranteed to be windy bumpy ride. Cat may not like this. Welcome to Southern Wyoming! :D
 
I have a friend that delivers dogs and cats. he lost several cats in-flight (dead). he told me dogs can manage higher altitudes better than cats.

So how high can you take a cat?

Is it a matter of the altitude or how quickly the altitude changes?
 
I’ve transported cats at altitudes up to 10000 ft. But think of it this way, they live at most any place on earth that humans do. I suspect cats lost during transport were either from stress or other preexisting conditions. I have a friend who routinely flies his cat with him, no issues.

I do avoid really fast climbs or descents, for passenger comfort.
 
Tale of 2 cats

Definitely use a hard shell carrier like a pet taxi.

Perhaps try a car ride or a few. I have known 2 flying cats. The first one would get in the carrier on his own. Just set it down and tell him to get it and he would. A frequent flyer. He got old and died very happy with more hours rotor wing time than any cat I know. His replacement was a farm kitten. Awesome mouser but not a happy flyer. She used to **** and **** in flight just for revenge but after 2 years tolerates a flight every week with no protests.

You wont know until you try. A car ride will be a good indicator.
 
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I would suggest a hard shell, locked carrier for the cat.

My friend tells this story every now and then, and while it's tragic, there are some lessons to learn from it. There was a time when his best friend was engaged to a girl and after doing the long distance thing for a while, decided the would move in together. She drove most of her things from Florida up to the Virginia area except for her two cats, which she didn't want to drive with for that long. The boyfriend had a Cessna 170 and flew down to pick up her cats from her mom/dad's place who was watching them for a few days until he could get down there. They put the 2 cats in a soft sided, zipper closed carrier and he picked them up for a solo flight up the coast. At about 8000 ft cat 1 started to freak out and with enough thrashing about, managed to get out of the carrier. He did laps around the airplane at full speed until he eventually bounced off the window latch, which opened the window. The last the pilot saw of that cat was watching him fade into the cloud deck below him. Cat #2 took this freak out opportunity to run and hide. He chose to hide behind the passenger side rudder pedals. Over the course of the flight the pilot attempted to lure the cat out of its hiding spot unsuccessfully. After circling as long as possible and running short on fuel he had to land with the cat behind the rudder pedals. Upon landing the soon to be ex-fiance was missing one cat, and the other was dead with a broken neck due to crosswind correction on landing.

While most animals are ok in a plane, if you're unfamiliar with how they act, take all precautions possible for the first few trips.
 
Cats did ok for 3 hour flight

Hi all

I took some cats (momma and kittens) from Oklahoma City to KFLY outside Colorado Springs for Pilots and Paws. We used a soft sided cat carrying case. The trip home was right at three hours. We flew back about 9500 ft MSL. Took about three hours. No ear protection. They all made it fine.

The kittens wanted out about halfway home, so my wife decided to let them poke their heads out of the carrier. You can imagine how that ended, kittens everywhere. I would not do that unless you had someone else besides the pilot to wrangle them.

Other than that is was uneventful.

Blue skies

Geoff
 
Good info. Will use hard case. Will NOT open. (will be going solo)
And slow pressure changes.

Jeremy- understand the wind and turbulence. Planning on a dawn start.

F1R- Like the car practice idea.

Agent- wild story. Only good/bad thing is no windows in the tip up -7.
 
I’ve read all of the posts on this thread, and I can’t believe nobody has mentioned the “cat and duck method of instrument flying”. I think it may have been published by Bill Kershner. It was a long time ago, so I don’t remember. Maybe the guy that had his cat on the glareshield was using this technique. Everyone knows that cats have a natural sense of equilibrium. This can be used to our advantage:

http://www.anvari.org/shortjoke/Avi...ghted-with-increasing-emphasis-on-safety.html

I don’t know that I would trust the duck, but I think the cat can be trusted. At any rate, I would have no trouble flying a cat rescue mission. We’ve taken our cat in the car, and never had a problem, so I imagine a gyro-stabilized cat wouldn’t have trouble with a flight in an RV.
 
I recommend the kitty quaaludes. Had a GF who transported a cat from Maryland to Texas - the cat shouted the entire trip (by car), which destroyed her vocal cords. She had the most bizarre meow forever after.
 
We transport 2 cats between homes several times a year by car and it isn't fun for any of us. No thanks in the RV.

They travel in separate plastic carriers w/a towel in the bottom. One of the cats pukes and uses the bathroom within 15 minutes on the road, the other screams bloody murder the whole time. Fortunately we have a pickup with a shell.

Our cats are far from kittens (12 yrs old) so it's unhealthy to withhold food and water.
 
Anticipate the need to transport my daughters cat from KSAC to KLAR, about a 3.5 hour flight in my RV-7. Small sized cat with semi-hot temperament.


Tips appreciated.

I don't know about the cat, but I doubt I could endure 3.5 hours without a leak any more.

Semi hot temperament- not a chance.
 
Cat is about 3 years old. No known conditions.

Anticipate some leakage in transit.
Will pad inside of box as needed.
Maybe line outside as a backup.
 
Hauling the cat out to WY tomorrow.
Hard case going in the passenger slot (no seat).
Mild sedative, lots of padding.
Will report on my return to CA.
 
I recommend the kitty quaaludes. …

When we moved cross country the vet prescribed melatonin for our two cats for the 3-1/2 day drive. My wife and I were in different cars (she got the cats, I got the houseplants:D) and she said they settled down after about 15 minutes of yowling on each leg.
 
Flight delayed to Friday due to high winds in the NV - WY area.
Will report on return to Sacramento.

Cat is getting Gabapentin from the vet. Anti-anxiety Im told.
Dont know any more details.
We will see . . . .
 
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