Thanks very much larrabee!
Did United also tell you that your cats had to have a liver & kidney screening? I was told that due to their age - they are 9 - that they had to have more extensive health check. I hadn't heard of that before, but I guess the airlines can dictate these things. It's a darn good thing my step-sister is a vet and can give me a bit of a discount off her normal prices!
You're welcome!
Although one of our cats was 17, (the other 6) at the time of travel, that is not something that we were asked for, nor have I read of anyone else being asked for it.
Were you told that by the petsafe desk at United? When I was first trying to get to grips with the requirements, I had to call them several times because, in all honesty, it seemed that the people there were doing little more than reading from a script and had no real understanding of the process.
Although this may be/must be a recently introduced requirement, I would call back to clarify.
You might also consider a trip to the United Cargo depot as they are the people who receive your cats and paperwork and ultimately give the go ahead for your cats to travel on the day. I did this and got a lot more sense out of them than I did from the petsafe desk.
Ultimately, though, if there is any doubt at all, I would go ahead and get these screenings done as you are correct, the airline can ask for whatever they want to.
In looking at the Aphis 7001 form, there is a section for "other vaccinations, treatment and/or tests and results." I presume that the results if they are required would be recorded here (another question to ask petsafe and the cargo people!). On our forms our vet had recorded FVRCP, FeLV in that section.