I need to move our 4 pets from the SEA area to the CLT area. Having done the trip cross-country last month while moving one of our cars, I'm thinking air travel would be much easier on everybody than a 5 - 6 day car trip. But I am confused by all the different regulations of the different airlines.

We have 3 cats, one of which is elderly at 11 years of age; I'd definitely want him in the cabin with me. One of the cats is younger (7 years) but obese at 22 pounds, and probably needs to be checked as baggage. The third cat is 8 years old, weighs about 8 pounds, and is part Persian so he has a slightly "flat" face. The first and third cat together weigh less than 20 pounds, so on some airlines I could place them both in the same carrier to go under my seat. The 4th pet is a "miniature" Australian Shepherd dog weighing about 35 pounds, so clearly he goes as either checked baggage or cargo.

This feels like one of those logic puzzles on the SAT exam or something. Although my destination is "near" Charlotte, I could fly to either ATL or IAD/DCA and then rent a car to drive the remaining 5 - 6 hours. That way I could fly non-stop, and on a red eye, to avoid the heat of June weather. US Air and United both list non-stops SEA-CLT, but they're really on US metal, and US Air does not accept pets as checked baggage due to heat at its hubs in LAS and PHX (even though the red eye is non-stop). Alaska Airlines allows me to bring two crates with two pets in the cabin, so long as I buy two seats. The others say only 1 pet in cabin per passenger, except Delta, whose website says I can take 2 cats in 1 crate if they are less than 20 pounds. Some airlines won't allow any pet travel in the summer or in the cabin with owner. Continental allows pets as cargo whatever the weather, but requires a connection in Houston. I'm thinking non-stop is preferable to connecting.

I could do 2 round trips, taking 1, 2 or 3 pets each time. Maybe I could persuade a friend to fly with me to carry one of the pets. I'm wondering if I should buy only a refundable ticket just in case there are no pet spaces left on the plane after I buy the non-refundable ticket.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to do this? Safety of my pets is more important that ticket cost, though I don't want to spend unnecessarily. I need help - it's so complicated! Thanks.