I thought I'd follow up with my recent experience on US Airways with my 17 year old female cat. She flew with my partner and I in cabin on an A320 from SFO-PHL and an A319 from PHL-RDU.

I had first bought a small sherpa cage which had lots of space for her to sit but was too low for her to stand up. I returned that an got a small Bergan Comfort Carrier bag. That was narrow but let her stand up. She could sit down in it, but she spent most of her time trying to get out to look around.

We paid the pet fee at check in. I had to mention we were traveling with a pet, even though it was supposed to be in our reservation. They didn't seem to notice the pet notation at check in. The agents in SFO didn't even ask about the size of the carrier and never checked to see if it was the right size for the pet or the seat.

We found a quiet corner of the gate area and let her out of her cage while we waited to board the plane later, before it got crowded. She sat on my jacket and I kept her from walking around. I think letting her out for a few minutes helped her calm down. Once on the plane, she cried a bit, mostly because she wanted to look out the window. She does that. She does the same thing when we travel by car, cry until we let her out to look out the window. I was worried that her crying would bother people, but I forgot how loud the planes really are once you are in the air. I think most folks couldn't hear her over the noise from the jet engines. She wasn't even as loud as most babies I've heard on some flights.

The only problem happened when we landed in PHL when she had an "accident" and urinated in her carrier. Fortunately I had one of those absorbent puppy training pads inside which contained most of the liquid. Boy, was I glad that I did that. I don't know if she got scared by the "bump" of landing or just couldn't hold it anymore, being an older cat. We discovered that a handicapped restroom is a perfect place to let a pet out and clean up at the same time. It's private, big and there is no way for your pet to run away.

We put her on the second, short flight from PHL to RDU which she handled pretty well. She is now in a corporate apartment, apparently very happy that our two male cats aren't there. I think she is convinced that they have "disappeared" and she will never have to see them again.

We now plan to try this with our other two cats. They are only 4 years old, and could probably handle being in cargo, but my partner thinks they would fit under the seats in the airplane.

I was worried about causing people allergies and even brought along some Claritin. No one around us seemed to be affected, probably because we didn't let her out of her cage.