Traveling with your fur-iends

Noelle Matthews
May 7, 2017
2 min read

In 2007 when I was working for Hillstone Restaurant Group (then Houston's) the company asked if I would be willing to relocate from Newport Beach, CA to Kansas City, MO– they would pay for 100% of the move AND it was a promotion, so obviously I said "Yes!".

Before committing I also double-checked with them that traveling solo with my two cats would not be a problem– they assured me it was a non-issue.

This is honestly the only photo I could find of these two. Do you know how difficult it is to take

a photo of a cat, let alone two cats, together!? Well anyway, these guys didn't move with me to

Mexico, but they are happy in California with my parents.

Well... it was an issue. At that time I didn't know that you can't just buy a ticket for a pet and I didn't know you can't take more than one animal per person (they were small and would both easily fit under my seat). What about in the baggage carriage of the plane? First off– that idea frightens me– but secondly it was actually impossible that time of year due to the temperatures outside (it was winter). Long story short, Houston's purchased a 24-hour round-trip ticket for my twin sister to essentially chaperone one of my cats mid-way across the country for me. Lesson learned: do your homework when it comes to traveling with a pet.

Things I learned:

1. Only 1 animal per person in-cabin.

2. No, you cannot buy a seat for your additional pet.

3. The animal in-cabin has to be under 20lbs (see #2 if you are wondering about over 20lb in-cabin options)

4. If you plan on putting your pet into cargo, make for sure you can. Temperature both high and low will affect the acceptance of your pet into cargo. This has to do with temperature on the ground, not in-air, as pet cargo is temperature controlled similarly to the passenger cabin.

That was all for domestic US travel, so if you're planning on traveling internationally with your pet- there is a bit more to consider. Namely, a health certificate completed and signed by a Veterinarian. Honestly, I meet so many people here bummed out their pets aren't with them– it does seem like a bit of a hassle– but especially if you'll be here for a few weeks I'd highly recommend taking the time to figure it out. It would probably cost less than a pet sitter!

My parent's have been traveling back and forth with their Pomeranian Tater Tot (Papas Frietas here in Mexico) for almost a decade and aside from one really horrible flight experience with my dad (poor Tater got sick mid flight) they haven't had an issue.

He's always the most popular passenger– and has found himself in the pilot's seat more than once!!