everywhere_ex_lax

Had the pleasure of sitting much closer than I would have liked last night flying IAD-SFO to a traveler carrying two cats in carry-on fabric carriers under his seat. Being allergic to cats, my eyes were puffy and throat itching and dripping within the first hour of flight.

The fun didn't really start, however, until the cats had soiled their containers around hour 2, of the flight. At that point, cat man took one cat at a time to two separate lavatories, spending approximately 15 minutes in each apparently playing with the cats and cleaning out their litter into the trash . . . and leaving smears of cat poop on the push-down lid to the waste basket, and the smell of a litter box in the lavs for the rest of the flight. This was repeated approximately an hour before landing.

The best part, however, came midway through the flight when one of the cats escaped its container not once but twice and ran throughout the cabin. The first time other passengers, though annoyed, generally remained civil, with several complaining to the flight attendants. The flight attendants admonished the passenger to keep the containers closed and leave the cats in the containers once the cat was recaptured.

The second time the cat escaped, however (cat man didn't want to close the containers all the way because then he couldn't talk to and touch the cats) people were more fed up and other passengers came closer to taking the problem into their own hands, as cat man seemed to think the whole thing was cute. The flight attendants acted as if their hands were tied as to handling cat man, and at 35,000 feet with a full flight, there wasn't much they could do to accommodate other inconvenienced passengers.

The flight attendants seemed surprised that there were pets on the flight - is that something that would normally be listed on the manifest?

Given the large chance of inconvenience to a great number of passengers compared to the small convenience to the pet owner of having his precious kitten next to him for the flight, what's the rationale for letting pets on board at all?

Do most other airlines allow the practice? Do passengers for whom sitting close to a pet is a major inconvenience have any recourse? When cat man boards right before the door closes, it's not like passengers can contact a gate agent to be moved.

NB - I didn't find anything that looked on topic from my own quick search of past forum discussions, but please feel free to point me in the right direction if this has been beaten to death on here before.

edcho

I think he violated some rules!

http://www.united.com/web/en-US/cont.../in_cabin.aspx

I personally don't have any issues with pets in the cabin (although many would disagree here) but I have an issue with the owners that don't follow the rules above. I think there should be a fine or something for disregarding the rules!

Yoshi212

The GA isn't the only person that can change seats. Contacting the FA/Purser to express that you have allergies is something they're required to handle. There are reports out there where people have been put on later flights because too many people on board would have had bad reactions to the animal they were transported.

Mr. Cute Cat should be glad I wasn't on that flight. I would have led a mutiny.

raehl311

I once was on a plane in F where a younger girl had a dog she had "rescued" from Mexico.

I was impressed that someone figured out how to use a charity to get free trips to Mexico.

jyh

While not a big cat fan I would have loved to have had a pet or two to play with and pass the time.

Me thinks thou is protesting too much. Although, if true and not highly embellished (which I think the OP did) I think the bathroom incident would be inexcusable.

PHLyer82

I hope there is sarcasm or something in there that I am not picking up on. I am not a fan of cats or anything, but not real high on murdering them either.

Even if there was embellishment, I think the OP had every reason to complain even if the only thing that happened was the cat getting loose once let alone twice and disturbing others on the flight.

everywhere_ex_lax

While my frustration with the situation and general dislike of cats comes through quite obviously in my post, there was no embellishment as to facts. I only realized the cat had escaped a second time when it ran against and through my legs on a bee-line to the back of the cabin; the cat was not cute and clean but filthy and still wet from either urine or having been washed in the sink by its owner; and the lavatory in front of row 8 was exactly as I stated. Given the start and end points, I think there's a good chance another FTer was on the flight and can confirm some or all of the above.

everywhere_ex_lax

Indeed, we were on a 757-200, he was seated in 12B, cats were on the floor in front of 12B and 12C, and neither carrier fit under the seat. Passenger in 12C was a younger-teenage girl who kept her feet up on her seat for most of the flight to avoid the kennel, and whom I didn't see handling the cats or kennels. It is possible but from what I saw unlikely that she was traveling with cat man. The woman in 12A was stuck in her seat next to a bent over cat man for most of the flight, was not traveling with him, and complained to the flight crew about the cats while cat man was in the lavatory.

Agree 100% about needing some kind of penalty for not following the rules. Would also be nice if flight crew and/or ground staff could be held accountable for enforcing them.

johnathome

Argh, I am allergic to cats and it can cause an asthma attack for me. I would have asked to be moved because of it.

This passenger had no right to do what he was doing especially with the lavatory.

However, I recently flew to PDX where the passenger next to me kept her dog in the bag the entire trip. I thanked her when I got off the plane. There are good pet owners out there!

DianeDakota

Actually there are penalties. Pets in the cabin are regulated by FAA rules. Pets are to remain in their carriers under the seat in front of the passenger for the duration of the flight. The flight attendants should have let the CSR know prior to take off that the carriers didn't fit under the seat because it was a major safety issue.

CUTiger78

Which rules? 14 CFR part 121.???? Citation, please.

Critic

Pets in the cabin is an issue that's been on my mind too, especially after my PHL-SFO flight last Wednesday morning. (That's UA 445 on 7/25, in case you're playing at home.) I'm sitting in 20C (yes, I know it's the non-recline exit row, but it was a better choice than my original E+ seat.) About 90 minutes into the flight, my eyes started watering like crazy. Another 60 minutes in, and I was all congested and felt my throat start to get scratchy & tight. There was no indication of the cause - until we arrived at SFO and I got up to get my CPAP out of the overhead, and saw the pax in 12C (this was an A319, so 12 is the row right in front of 20) had a small, longhaired dog in a soft-side carrier. Of course, at that point, it was too late to do anything about it, and barely worth a mention to the cabin crew.

Does the airline have any kind of formal policy re: pets in the cabin and allergies? I know there's nothing in pax data about potential allergies, but shouldn't the flight crew at least survey the pax sitting in the immediate vicinity of the animal to determine if any are sensitive to the animal being transported?

LEONIDES

You don't like cats on a plane?

What are you going to do when one day, you walk on the plane, and you find this to greet you?

balima

Not even mildly amusing. Joking about killing an innocent animal - inexcusable.

PTravel

Mrs. PTravel has a mortal fear of cats. If the cat had come near her, I would have killed it. A word of warning to those who think it's a good idea to violate the rules of the airline and let cats run around loose.