Last September, my wife and I flew AF SFO to CDG with a cat in the hold. We mentioned the cat to the FA upon boarding and she had the ground crew text up a photo of the cage strapped below so we could see it was on board. That was very nice, we had her text the picture to our daughter waiting in Paris. Downside, nobody filled the water dish so the cat was a little dehydrated on arrival. I suggest you ask about that before departure. Overall pleased with the experience, and I get the extra points!