Must pets be 'accompanied' with Virgin or BA?

We've found human tickets, via BMI, that are literally half the cost of tickets on VA or BA. Will there be a problem if we ship the cat unaccompanied? We'd be arriving on the same day, of course (even earlier than the cat), so it's mostly a question of bureaucratic requirements from the airline/government. We'll call and ask tomorrow, but hoping someone may know tonight so that we can secure the tickets.

Thanks so much!
Aaron

It depends on the city you'll be flying out of - check the official DEFRA list for more information.

http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/quarantine/pets/pdf/noneu-air.pdf