En suite litterbox? I think not!

I've got a thirty year old cat carrier I'd dearly like to use to ship my cat (she's used to it and it's about twice as rugged as the crap they sell at PetCo these days), but it looks like it's an inch or two too short. Eh. I'll fill it full of socks and underpants and let the movers bring it anyway.

Ploughing through the various guidelines for pet carriers has been most confusing: some say you have to have ventilation in the back, some say it's okay as long as the total ventilation is good. They all word the requirements a little differently.

I tried to get a human-readable answer out of Defra, but the reply just pointed me to the standard document, which (hilariously) contains this requirement: Containers for cats should have litter trays which are either heavy enough not to move around or fixed to stop them moving.

A cat carrier with a litterbox? Are you kidding me? A carrier big enough to hold my cat AND a litterbox she could use would have to be about three foot by six foot (lovely animal, but a little stupid. She tends to stand with all four feet in the box and pee on the floor).

I'll just nip out at lunch and get the 27x20x19 carrier that Virgin quoted me for. Honestly!

These people know nothing about cats!

I tried to get a human-readable answer out of Defra, but the reply just pointed me to the standard document, which (hilariously) contains this requirement: Containers for cats should have litter trays which are either heavy enough not to move around or fixed to stop them moving.

That's because Defra don't specifically have guidlines for the private transport of cats.  They have 'good practice guidlines' and all you can really tell people is that as long as they are protecting the welfare of their animal, then it's pretty much up to the airline.

Not trying to defend the rubbish answers they tend to give, but explaining that as someone who used to answer those types of enquiries, it's actually because there IS no answer!

Our shipper just used the disposable liners. I ordered a whole international pet crate kit that included them. The airline didn't want a box in his crate at all.

I just put one of those furry donut beds in my carrier, no littertray. I can't remember if I also lined the bottom with newspaper. I think there was a towel in there too, plus one of my wooly socks unwashed so that he'd have something that smelled of me -- he had been curling up with the sock while I was packing, so I chose that (or he did!) as his "smells of mom" item to hopefully calm him on the journey.

I think they told me at pickup that he had peed  en route and they'd cleaned it up, although I couldn't detect anything when we got him home; washed the donut bed and inside of carrier anyway, of course, but there really didn't seem to be a mess in there after his having spent 16 hours in that carrier. Surprising.

I think maybe the poor babies mostly just shut down most of their "functions" because what's happening to them is so weird. He jumped into his new litter box on arrival home and did his business; must have been holding it all that time!

I would check with your airline, but mine didn't make any stipulation about needing a litterbox.

My vet said she'd hold it as long as she could, which is really what's rattling me. Depending on how long it takes her to go through at the Heathrow end, she could be in that box for 20 hours, poor girl.

I did go out and get her a larger carrier, though. Hope that helps.

I bought some pee pads, a thing the vet recommended which I'm happy to say I've never encountered before. They're like huge Kotexes for bed accidents. I got a ten-pack of 30" x 36" for six bucks at Wal*Mart.

I told DF I had nine of them left, so that was nine Sunday mornings I could say to myself, "nah. I don't feel like getting up yet."

He just blinked at me.

My vet said she'd hold it as long as she could, which is really what's rattling me. Depending on how long it takes her to go through at the Heathrow end, she could be in that box for 20 hours, poor girl.

I did go out and get her a larger carrier, though. Hope that helps.

I bought some pee pads, a thing the vet recommended which I'm happy to say I've never encountered before. They're like huge Kotexes for bed accidents. I got a ten-pack of 30" x 36" for six bucks at Wal*Mart.

I told DF I had nine of them left, so that was nine Sunday mornings I could say to myself, "nah. I don't feel like getting up yet."

He just blinked at me.

LOL about the lazy Sunday mornings all Kotexed up!!!

From everything you've armed the carrier with, it sounds like your kitty is going to be all set, and just fine! I think they really do just try to hold it even though it can be for such a long time; I think she'll be fine though, you've got all the pads so if she goes it won't be so bad. Good luck with everything !

I'm really worried about one of my cats...Any time we've traveled more than five minutes in the car she's pooped. We had to evacuate to my MIL's two hours away last year from the So California fires with three cats, a dog, a turtle, a fish, and two kids. She pooed once on the way there and twice on the way home( everything was fine BTW)... I had to clean it out; toooo stinky. Very hard to do from the back of an overstuffed van!
What will the airline people do?  She's also a magical escape artist--you would *swear* there was no way she could have gotten through a door without you noticing, and there she is crying to be let out( or in, as the case may be).

My little one pooed on the way to the airport - I completely had not anticipated that.  Fortunately I laid down double bedding in one crate, so while I was waiting at the cargo center I was able to dispose of the soiled bedding and replace it. 

I don't think the airline will do anything, probably for the very reason of liability if the animal escapes.  I guess it depends on how long your journey is.  At most, I expect that they will replace food and water through the door. 

Once they get to the ARC, they will clean the crate before they release your animals.

Mine's an escape artist, too. AND a former feral, so she doesn't do strangers. When I got her back, they'd replaced her pee pad with newspaper, so clearly they'd taken her out at ARC without incident. She'd pee'd copiously, but she lived to pee another day.

I was told by Virgin that they clean up any mess. No more than I would expect given the ridiculous price they charge!

Did you like Virgin? Their website seems very clear and straightforward--hard to do with this topic. Haven't found out a price yet, though.

They did a good job with my cat. The freight office in Boston was a bit out of the way, and I had a long walk from there to the shuttle bus carrying all my crap, but I guess I can't blame that on them. Much.

I also used Virgin when I moved over in 2007.  I found them to be extremely well organized and really lovely with my two dogs.