Moving soon and need some advice on a few things :-)
Submitted by Kymberlee and D... on June 7, 2012 - 12:15amWell, it is finally that time. My DH is in the Army, and we have our orders to move from Hawaii to Virginia and need to get both Dreadnought and my 18 year old cat over the ocean and across the country. Obviously, we have to put them on a plane and Dread will have to ride in the cargo. (please don't give me grief...we are in the Army and have no choice where/when we PCS) We are going to fly in the evening when it is cooler and fly into San Francisco, pick up our car and drive cross country to our new duty station. Huge pain in the ass, but there really is no other option. Here are a couple of issues...
1. My cat is 18.5 years old, takes 4 different meds, is on sub Q fluids and wait for it...incontinent. Nice, yeah? I am going to line the carrier with puppy pads just in case there is an accident on the plane and bring plenty of towels and baby wipes. Is there any other suggestions as to how to keep accidents to a minimum or clean them up just in case?
2. For the hotel room stays, I am going to bring a rubbermaid container for the litter box so I can just pop the top off and on when we go in and out of the hotel rooms. I thought it would be easier than tossing the litter everynight and refilling. Ideas on that?
3. My husband is afraid that Dreanought is going to get dehydrated on the plane ride and wants to do a day or two of sub Q fluids just to make sure he doesn't dehydrate. I will be talking to the vet about this, but I thought I would throw it out the y'all and see what you think. So thoughts on sub q before the trip???
4. We are going to line his crate with his cool mat. Any other ways to keep him as cool as possible? I thought frozen water bottles might work well, but he loves to chew on those so that might not be a good idea.
5. Dreadnought is not a calm, laid back traveler. He tends to get stressed and turns into Cujo. I am so worried he is going to get himself worked up when we leave him. :-(
So, those are some of the issues/problems that I think we are going to encounter. We obviously want the animals to be as calm and comfortable as possible, but I will be straight up and tell ya'll that I am scared to death. Again, no grief for putting the pooch on the plane. We really have no other option.
**********"Life is far too short not to have a little umbrella in your drink"**********
From Hawaii to VA, not much of a choice..but. . .
Now, its been a while, (over 20 years) since I was active duty, but. . they had their 'MAC' flights sometimes you sat on seats in the cargo hold (C-5's and C-141's) what if you would check into one of you flying this means? if you could get a hope out of Hawaii (its a major hub) to San Fran (another major hub) you MIGHT beable to travel with the pets -
I'm thinking outside of the box here - or maybe have a doctor list him as a 'therapy' dog and he has to ride with you in the cabin?
Good luck, safe trip
Last steps taken May 26, 2014 -- Been rolling along ever since . . . .
THought about that
We might fly a MAC flight IF we can. The best part ablut that is that the pets stay with you until you board, but it is still a commercial airline so he would still have to go into cargo. Otherwise we will fly Hawaiian which has a great record for pets and we have friends and family that work for Hawaiian (pilots and slight attendents) so we could totally schmooze the crew.
I looked into therapy stuff but no go on that. I actually teach the blind and can get a hold of a harness and white cane. My DH said Dread probably couldn't pass as a seeing eye dog, though. :-)
**********"Life is far too short not to have a little umbrella in your drink"**********
ohhh man,
You can get Therepy dogs for stress too.....of course the Dr would have to sign off on that saying it is stress to YOU without the dog, which very well is the case.
What about frozen blocks of water wtih electrolites wired to the door of the kennel? That is how my puppy flew in August.
Also they have the collars with faremones in them, we are actually getting that for my male Boston who is freaking out over cords, vacuum cleaners, portable tables.....ANYthing out of the norm lateley, he is so stressed out. We got him a tight fitting shirt and that calmed him a little, and now the collar or the plug in (like the scent plug ins) we have not decided which one we will use.
I might worry about putting a collar on Kippah though, I would be afraid she would get it off some how and chew on it while in there unattended. But I am a Helicopter mom...I hoover over her making sure she is safe.
I really feel for ya! Praying that your travels go well for ALL involved.
Loves and Smooches, Kippa and Mama (Annette)
I understand
What a hard position to be in. I think the cooling mat is a good idea. Maybe you could add a cooling collar, too. Have you talked to your Vet. about some stress medication for Dread? I know there is a natural stress relief for pets, too. I have seen it in pet stores, just can't remember the name.
Alison and my little girl Matilda
Few things...
We are USCG so I know the pain of transfer season...we are moving this summer too...next week. So take a deep breath it will work out!!
Make sure the airlines are going to fly your pets first....some put a moritorium on flying pets during the summer and a few won't take bullies or dogs like them at all! Ask if they are going to be flown in climate controlled cargo that will take some of the stress off because they won't be hot.
Also before you fly while your getting your health certificate ask about some sedatives for both kitty and dog. You don't want them to be so sedate they are lumps because the airlines won't fly them just enought to calm them down.
The subq's are too much for two days for their bodies to absorb and they may make them more uncomfortable with the "camel backs" and the fluids shifiting. Plus your flight is only going to be about 6 hours so they won't dehydrate in that time. The cool mats are a great idea and look into a cool collar as well as the last poster suggested. Maybe check into a Thunder Shirt for your dog to help calm him down.
If you want to go the nautural route, D.A.P. is great for dogs, it's a appeasing phermone and Feliaway for kitties, same principle.
I have looked into the natural sedatives
Can anyone give me more information about them? We are flying Hawaiian which is one of the only airlines that will fly animals in the summer. THe weather SHOULD be okay. I have looked into Hawaiian and they load the pets at the very last and they hang out in a climate controlled area before boarding. SF weather should also be nice and cool.
I hate PCS time...such a pain.
**********"Life is far too short not to have a little umbrella in your drink"**********
D.A.P. & Feliway are not really "Sedatives"
They are just relaxing phermones that are released. The Feliway comes in a spray or a diffuser and the D.A.P. comes in a collar or a difuser. There is something called "rescue remedy" that you can put in their mouths that is something of a natural sedative, I use it for my cat when we travel. It's Bach Flower essence and it works really well.
Bach flower
works well. Also used to calm quesy tummies in dogs. My friend is a naturopah and she highly recommended it.
Aww.....I'm gonna just say prayers for ALL of you!! Sounds
like you have a great plan, and I'm sooo glad you're flying at night---that will obviously make a HUGE difference! . I've never heard of sub-q hydration, and thought maybe you meant IV, but I saw from another response that it can be done sub-q---very interesting! ... I also have no advice/ no experience, but the cooling mat for Dreadnought and all the stuff you're going to do for the kitty sound fantastic!
...
I can't imagine ANYONE giving you grief about this---it's not as though you have a CHOICE! And by the way, THANK YOU to your hubby for serving our country!!!
(P.S....when my sister's hubby PCS'd from Hawaii back to the states, I think their doggie had to be quarantined for a while, but I don't remember all the deets)....Anyhoo, I know how stressful it can be to PCS (from my sister and brother!!! My sis , hubby, and kids moved NINETEEN times in his career----they were sooooo happy when he retired!!! ).....Take some deeeeep breaths and Meaty, Sophie and I will pray that your kitty and Dreadnought will be okay!!! (( HUGS ))
Our sweet Archimedes "MEATY" Bones (or as we say...boneSHHH!) ---born 11/28/08---- our first bullllyyyy!!!
And SOPHIE Bubbles *Rapscallion* (LOL!) ---born 4/3/11----our second bulllllyyyy!!!!