Pet Travel Essentials - Traveling with Pets

Pet Travel Carriers

When selecting a pet carrier for cats and dogs you need to consider whether its primary use is for transporting your pet to the veterinary and other short distances in cars or if it will be used for airline travel.

There is a wide selection of pet carriers that are well-suited for normal short distance use; the right choice may be determined by which carrer your pet fits most comfortably in and whether the carrier fits conveniently in your car. There are molded plastic travel carriers which are easily washable and soft-sided carriers which often come with versatile features such as pockets and privacy window shade flaps.

Multi-cat families often find that fitting two friendly cats into one larger cat carrier works best for cats that get anxious when traveling in the car - and requires less space than two cat carriers.

Choosing a pet carrier for carry-on air travel

Carry-on pets should be in suitable hard or soft-sided carrier kennels small enough to stow beneath the seat directly in front of you. Your pet must stay in its carrier at all times while onboard, and be stowed under the seat during takeoff and landing.

A pet carrier must be small enough to fit under the seat and provide enough space for the animal to turn around and lie comfortably.

Choosing a pet carrier for cargo air travel

If you can not accompany your pet on the flight or your cat or dog is too large to fly as carry-on luggage in the passenger cabin, your pet will have to travel as cargo. Choose a pet travel carrier designed specifically for air travel. The crate should be just big enough for your pet to stand up and turn around in. Check and double-check that all the bolts securing the structure of the carrier are in place and tightened.

The air travel cargo carrier needs to be structurally sound, escape-proof, properly ventilated, without offensive odors, and leak-proof with safe, non-toxic absorbent bedding. Most importantly, the carrier must be large enough for your dog or cat to freely stand, sit, turn around and lie down in a normal posture. Collapsible pet carriers are not allowed by most airlines for obvious safety reasons. To avoid accidental injury, no part of the animal's body should be able to protrude through any openings in the kennel. Pet travel kennels made exclusively from wire are not advisable.

Your name, address, and phone number must be on the carrier, along with your signature certifying your dog or cat has been offered food and water within four hours of scheduled flight departure. Feeding instructions must also be included. Two empty dishes, for food and water, must be secured inside the kennel and be accessible from the outside.

All cargo pet carriers should have "LIVE ANIMAL" labels with letters at least 1 inch high displayed on the top and side as well as arrows indicating "THIS END UP."

Airlines typically only allow one adult dog or cat per cargo travel carrier. Two puppies or kittens are allowed together if they are eight weeks to six months old, weigh no more than 20 pounds each, and are fully weaned.

Most pet supply stores carry both soft-sided pet carriers (for in cabin travel) and hard-sided kennels approved for air travel.