Brilliant way displaced pets are rescued and air-freighted to other states for rehoming in America

The news today about which I'm very pleased and impressed is that 28 cats which were displaced by Hurricane Helene have arrived at a Cape Cod shelter. And also, simultaneously, it's reported that cats rescued from the same hurricane have arrived in Cincinnati. Dozens of feline friends from Tift County Georgia are now at Cincinnati Animal Care.

And regarding the 28 cats displaced, referred to above, the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals animal shelter on Route 28 received the animals on Tuesday, October 8 and they could be ready for adoption by the end of the week.

Cats are very resilient under these circumstances. But also, humans are very resilient and I'm referring here to Americans who do such a wonderful job of finding homes for cats displaced during natural disasters such as the one mentioned.

They do this over and over again and take in displaced and homeless cats out of one state and air freight them across the country to other states and other animal shelters where they can be rehomed. It's complex and it requires a lot of commitment, effort and time and money. And yet they do it obviously supported by many volunteers. These volunteers have hearts of gold as far as I'm concerned.

You don't see this kind of thing in Europe and in the UK where I live. It's is, it seems to me, specific to America where they have this well oiled machine which kicks into action. Perhaps it's partly due to the fact that they have lots of hurricanes it seems to me in America along a specific corridor.

Hurricane Helene was a devastating tropical cyclone that caused widespread destruction fatalities across the South-Eastern United States in late September 2024. It was the strongest hurricane on record to strike the Big Band region of Florida, and the deadliest advantage hurricane since Maria in 2017.

America's great rehoming process

In the United States, when natural disasters like hurricanes displace companion animals, animal rescuers, shelters, and organizations come together to relocate and rescue these animals. The goal is to ensure that pets left behind or made homeless after a disaster are brought to safety, cared for, and, ideally, rehomed. This type of large-scale animal transport is complex and coordinated, involving many steps and stakeholders.

Process of Companion Animal Transport After Disasters

1. Initial Rescue Efforts:
   After a natural disaster like a hurricane, local authorities, animal control, and rescue organizations begin by identifying and rescuing animals. This could include dogs, cats, and sometimes other companion animals like rabbits or birds. Many of these animals are either found wandering, trapped in homes, or surrendered by families who can no longer care for them due to the crisis.
2. Temporary Shelters:
   These rescued animals are typically brought to temporary shelters or staging areas. Here, they receive medical care, food, and water. Many times, these shelters are set up by national animal welfare organizations like the ASPCA, Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), and Best Friends Animal Society, along with local shelters. These temporary shelters often quickly reach capacity, especially in heavily impacted areas, and that’s where the need for transportation arises.
3. Assessment and Coordination:
   Rescuers assess the health and temperament of the animals to determine if they are fit for transport. Volunteers and coordinators from national organizations, local shelters, and transport groups create a plan for relocating the animals. The plan involves moving animals from the affected region to shelters in other parts of the country that have the space and resources to take them in. In many cases, a distinction is made between pets who were owned and need to be reunited with their families, and those who were strays or surrendered prior to or during the disaster. The former are often held locally for a period to allow families to reclaim them, while the latter may be transported sooner.
4. Air and Ground Transport:
   There are two main modes of transporting companion animals across the country:

• Ground Transport: Ground transport is typically coordinated using a network of volunteers or professional pet transport companies. They use specially equipped vehicles that can accommodate multiple animals in a safe and controlled environment. The trips are often long-distance and require careful planning to ensure the animals are kept calm, safe, and healthy during the journey.
• Air Transport: In more severe disaster situations, or when time is of the essence, air transport may be used. National organizations partner with airlines, pilots, or charter services to fly animals out of disaster zones to safer areas. Organizations such as Wings of Rescue, GreaterGood.org, and Pilots N Paws are frequently involved in this effort. After Hurricane Helene and other hurricanes, private aircraft, cargo planes, and even military planes have been used to evacuate animals.

1. Receiving Shelters and Rehoming:
   The animals are sent to shelters across the country that have capacity and resources to care for them. These receiving shelters might be in areas unaffected by the disaster, where adoption rates are higher or where the animals will have a better chance of being rehomed. For example, dogs from a hurricane-hit area in Texas may be sent to states in the Northeast, where there is a demand for adoptable pets. Once the animals arrive at their destination, they are often placed in foster care or in shelter adoption programs. The animals receive additional veterinary care and may be microchipped or spayed/neutered if necessary.
2. Public Awareness and Adoption Drives:
   Following the relocation of these animals, shelters and rescue organizations often launch public awareness campaigns and adoption drives. Highlighting that these animals are survivors of a natural disaster can attract attention and motivate people to adopt. These campaigns often have strong media coverage, drawing attention to the urgent need for homes for these pets.

Example: Hurricane Helene (or Similar Hurricanes)

Hurricane Helene, although not as notorious for animal displacement as other hurricanes (like Hurricane Katrina or Harvey), serves as a case study of how animals are moved in response to such disasters. After hurricanes, it is common for animal shelters in the affected region to be overwhelmed with stray or surrendered pets. Local authorities, overwhelmed by the number of displaced animals, seek help from national organizations.

For example, in hurricanes like Helene:

• Wings of Rescue or Pilots N Paws might arrange flights to transport animals out of affected areas.
• Shelters in unaffected states, like those in the Midwest or Northeast, would receive the animals. These shelters would prepare for an influx by recruiting extra volunteers, organizing adoption events, and reaching out to the public.

Key Organizations Involved in Disaster Animal Rescue

• ASPCA: The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is often one of the first organizations on the ground to help coordinate animal rescues.
• Humane Society of the United States (HSUS): They provide direct response teams and coordinate the evacuation and relocation of animals.
• Wings of Rescue: A nonprofit organization that uses air transport to relocate animals from disaster zones.
• Best Friends Animal Society: They often play a leading role in disaster animal rescue and relocation efforts.
• Pilots N Paws: A volunteer organization that uses private pilots to transport animals.

Challenges in Transporting Animals

• Capacity: Shelters in disaster zones are often quickly overwhelmed, and coordinating the transfer of hundreds of animals is a logistical challenge.
• Health Risks: The stress of transport and the animals’ exposure to trauma can make them vulnerable to illness or behavioral issues.
• Resource Constraints: Coordinating large-scale evacuations requires funding, volunteers, vehicles, and space in shelters across the country, which can be difficult to secure quickly.
• Reuniting Pets with Owners: While some animals are transported for adoption, others may need to stay in the area to be reunited with their original families. Tracking and identifying pets during a chaotic event like a hurricane can be difficult.

Through this process, companion animals are given a second chance at life, and many are adopted into loving homes across the country, far from the disaster that originally displaced them.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins. Also, sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified. And, I rely on scientific studies but they are not 100% reliable. Finally, (!) I often express an OPINION on the news. Please share yours in a comment.

More turbulence than normal for cats in aircraft cabins

Climate change is leading to increased turbulence on flights. A tragic incident occurred on a Singapore Airlines Boeing flight where one person lost their life and over 30 passengers were injured due to severe turbulence. The plane dramatically dropped 6,000 feet and had to make an emergency landing on Tuesday (May 21), as reported by the New York Post.

The gentleman who died of a suspected heart attack was Geoffrey Kitchen, 73. He was a retired insurance worker and a musical director living near Bristol. Six other passengers were in a critical condition last night in hospital.

He was with his wife Linda. He was on a holiday of a lifetime travelling to Singapore, the first leg of their trip to Indonesia and Australia.

A further 47 passengers were taken to hospital. Witnesses said that just seconds after the seatbelt sign was turned on the aircraft plummeted thousands of feet. Passengers were thrown into the air with their belongings. The pilots declared a medical emergency and diverted to Thailand. One passenger said that wherever you looked there was another injury.

Cat in aircraft cabin. Note: the carrier is the wrong type. Should be a soft one. And it is too large! 😻😹 AI created it.

Many airlines do allow cats to travel in the cabin, provided they meet certain requirements. Here are some airlines that warmly welcome cats on board. For example, American Airlines: Allows cats in the cabin, but check their specific policies.

What are the requirements for flying with a cat? 

When flying with your feline friend, here are some general requirements:

1. Carrier: Use an airline-approved cat carrier that fits under the seat in front of you. Soft-sided carriers are often preferred.
2. Health Certificate: Obtain a recent health certificate from your veterinarian, confirming your cat’s good health.
3. Vaccinations: Ensure your cat is up-to-date on vaccinations.
4. Reservations: Book your cat’s spot in advance, as airlines limit the number of pets per flight.
5. Age: Most airlines require cats to be at least 8 weeks old.
6. Weight Limit: Check the weight limit for in-cabin travel (usually around 9 kg, including the carrier).
7. Documentation: Carry necessary paperwork, including vaccination records and microchip details.

Remember to check specific airline policies, as they may vary. Safe travels for you and your furry companion!

And remember that there is more chance of encountering turbulence when flying nowadays thanks to global warming. The effect on the domestic cat in their carrier under the seat needs to be factored in.

While it’s rare, cats can occasionally escape carriers inside the cabin of an aircraft. To prevent this, follow these tips:

1. Secure Carrier: Ensure the carrier is securely closed and zipped.
2. Comfort: Make the carrier comfortable to reduce stress.
3. Stay Calm: If your cat gets out, stay calm and gently coax them back in.
4. Alert Crew: Inform the flight attendants immediately if your cat escapes.

Remember, most cats remain calm during flights, but it’s essential to be prepared.

Increased turbulence

Clear air turbulence (CAT) is caused by vertical wind shear, which are sharp variations in wind speed or direction with altitude. This type of turbulence is invisible, lacking any visual indicators such as clouds, and often arises when a large moving air mass encounters another at a different speed, such as when jet streams meet slower-moving air. 

Jet streams are rapid air currents that travel from west to east high above certain regions, like from the US to Europe. The jet stream's strong winds are driven by the temperature disparity between the Earth's polar areas and the equator. Many aircraft take advantage of the jet stream when flying across the Atlantic, allowing them to reach Europe more quickly and with less fuel.

Climate change doesn't cause uniform warming across the globe, and this uneven warming significantly influences CAT. Near the poles, warming is more intense at the surface, while at lower latitudes, it's stronger at higher altitudes. This is because there's more water vapor in the atmosphere over the equator. Water vapor, a greenhouse gas, leads to further warming, enabling the air to retain even more water, thus continuing the warming cycle. Consequently, there's a greater temperature disparity across the jet stream, resulting in faster wind speeds, increased shear at the boundaries, and heightened turbulence.-------------

P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Video inside cabin as couple rescue 3 kittens from Serbia and fly them back to Chicago

Couple rescue 3 kittens from Serbia and fly them back to Chicago in the cabin. Screenshot.

This is cute. I am amazed that it worked out so well. The kittens started off in carriers and ended up outside but behaved well and the other passengers were disinterested or at least no one complained or appeared to have questioned what was going on. Although the aircraft was fairly empty. Thankfully. They flew Air Serbia from Belgrade to Chicago.

We found 3 kittens in a village in Serbia at 3 weeks old with no mom🥺 so we took them in and decided to keep them! Now they travel Europe in our van with us… but we were going home for the holidays so of course they had a come with!

This is an embedded video. If it is removed at source on Instagram it will stop working here. Sorry if that has happened.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by IAN & ANA RYAN / travel & vanlife (@ian.and.ana)

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Rescued, starving feral cat has come a long way and is now a therapy cat at San Francisco Airport

His name now is the elaborate 'Duke Ellington Morris'. He used to be a starving and ill feral cat back in 2010 when he was rescued from a colony. He spent some time at the SPCA before being adopted by a mother and daughter.

Duke Ellington Morris an airport therapy cat who was a starving feral cat until rescued. Image: Instagram.

They discovered that he had the character to be a therapy cat and became one. At that time San Francisco Airport used dogs as companion animals to calm anxious travellers. Airports are places where travellers can become anxious so it is a nice idea to use domestic animals to calm them.

The airport used dogs and has now expanded their little group of therapy animals ('the Wag Brigade') to include Duke Ellington Morris, who has his own Instagram account and a rabbit called Alex and LilLou the pig.

They are all certified by the San Francisco SPCA as therapy animals and have graduated from therapy animal school with a certificate to say that they have been passed the Animal Assisted Therapy Program.

Duke appears to have always demonstrated a temperament ideally suited to therapy animal work.

Tuxedo cats: 10 facts.

His is a regular male tuxedo cat; a black-and-white cat. He looks nice in his therapy cat uniform. As mentioned, he was rescued as a starving feral cat. He is 'paying it forward' as they say in the United States (respond to a person's kindness to oneself by being kind to someone else).

"Anyone missing a cat?" Cat chaos on San Francisco-bound flight

"Anyone missing a cat?" the flight attendant announces as she holds the said cat at arm's length while walking down the aisle.

Cat escaped from carrier (or released) is found and reunited with owner! Screenshot.

This is one of those American internal flights with cats and dogs in carriers under the seat except a couple 'escaped'. Well, I'm not sure that they exactly escaped but perhaps were released 😉👍. Result? Cat wandering around the cabin where he/she was found by a nice flight attendant who doesn't know how to carry a cat 😃. Or she is a little nervous and holds the cat at arm's length to avoid a scratch perhaps. Fair enough.

@david.hislop Well that’s a first ✈️🐈😹#cats #catsoftiktok #unitedairlines #united #southwest #southwestairlines #reels #catstagram #catslovers #airlines @United Airlines ♬ original sound - David Hislop

It is all quite cute because cats add some soul to an aircraft's cabin when in mid-flight don't you think? It is sort of more homely and friendly. As long as a cat does not escape their carrier while the aircraft is landing! And then wanders out of the door and down the steps. 

I mean along the gangway to arrivals. That would be chaos. This little episode seems to have been fairly manageable. 

Note: I can't promise that the TikTok video on this page will continue to function for years ahead! I expect it to fail fairly soon. Sorry if that has happened.

Dave the stray cat befriended by 2 England footballers in Qatar to come to England

 

Kyle Walker who marked Kylian Mbappe in the quarter-final match between England and France, said: "John [Stones] named him Dave. Some people really don't like the cat but I love him. I love him."

The Three Lions returned to the UK without the World Cup but Dave the cat is going to be shipped out of Qatar despite the fact that the players said that they would only do it if they won the World Cup. This is a great result for Dave.

Dave on his way to a shelter in preparation for flying to England in due course. Image: Daily Mail photographer.

The promise that they would take him home was made by England defenders Kyle Walker and John Stone.

Before Saturday's defeat against France, Walker added: "Dave is fine. Hopefully I can stick to my promise that he will come home with us if we were to win the World Cup."

The video on this page at the top of the article shows you that Dave is coming home and the ladies in the video I believe are the ones who work at the Qatar Animal Welfare Society. They are being paid £2000 by the players to prepare Dave for his flight to the UK.

He will be micro-chipped, vaccinated, neutered and then he will have to spend four months in quarantine before making his trip to his new life in Manchester, England.

Dave is going to dislike that quarantine session tremendously but his future looks bright because he has somebody who really loves him and who will care for him.

The lady's name is Janet Barry, 68. The Times tells me that she is the head of the society. She said: "Dave a really lovely, talkative tabby and it's easy to see why the players fell in love with him. He's a beautiful cat and will be staying with me before he's flown to the players because we don't want him doing a disappearing act from the hotel.

She further added: "The FA [Football Association] approached me to help them after the players said they wanted him properly looked after and brought home."

The manager of the hotel where they stayed said that there are lots of stray cats around the souq "but Dave is now one of the fattest and healthiest after being fed at England dining tables for so long."

The stray cats are familiar across Qatar. There is one England player who is frightened of cats. He is the midfielder, Jordan Henderson.

His teammates, being aware of this, played pranks on him. A fellow midfielder, James Maddison, said: "The other day [Henderson] was eating and I just went behind him and brushed his leg with my hand. I have never seen someone shoot up so fast. He was so scared."

Should cats be allowed on aeroplanes when 10-20% of people are allergic?

I think that this is a good question raised by Jacqueline Swartz writing for CNN. It is against the domestic cat and therefore I am a bit reluctant to write the article but, as I said, it's a good point. I think it needs discussing at least briefly.

Reluctant feline flier. Image: Reddit.com.

Jacqueline is allergic to cats. In fact, she says that she is severely allergic and vulnerable to allergic asthma. Quick research indicates that 10-20% of people are allergic to domestic cats. That is up to one in five people.

If there are a hundred people on an aircraft, 20 of them will be allergic to cats at a maximum. That's quite a big number and if there are 200 people on the plane you can double it.

Of course, not everyone is going to feel the effects of a cat in the aircraft's cabin as you have to be quite near, I would suggest, to the cat in a carrier to get the effect and therefore perhaps only one or two people allergic to cats will suffer negative consequences.

But as you probably know the feline cat allergen is carried on cat dander which disperses throughout the environment in which the cat finds themselves. I would suspect, therefore, that some cat dander travels out of the cat carrier into the cabin.

That might be a good point because it means it rests on the seats and I wonder if over time it builds up or whether the cleaners vacuum the seats or wash them down regularly.

Apparently, more people are allergic to cats than dogs because in writing this article you have got to think that if you are considering banning cats from aircraft you got to consider banning dogs from aircraft too.

One person who supports Jacqueline's argument that there should be a discussion about allowing cats on aeroplanes is an allergy and asthma specialist Dr. Mark C Jacobson, a former president of the Illinois Society of Allergy and Immunology.

He said:

"There are no hypoallergenic breeds of cat or dog.....The confined space of a plane could definitely pose a hazard for patients with cat allergy sufferers."

He confirmed that the dander is small and sticky and attaches itself to aeroplane seats.

I think it has to be admitted right away that there is no possibility of banning cats from aircraft! The only solution is for people who are allergic to cats to do something to protect themselves.

With billions of Covid-19 masks available to us, wearing one wouldn't look out of place and it could help prevent the dander from getting into the person's airways.

Apparently, air circulating throughout aircraft cabins passes through a HEPA air filter. Most airlines have them which may also help. But it probably wouldn't help if you are sitting near a cat.

Jacqueline says that on her six-hour Air Canada trip from Bogota she asked the flight attendant where the cat was located as she'd learnt that a cat was sharing the cabin with her. She was told the cat was three rows behind her! She wasn't allowed to move seats as the flight was full. And she also learned from the attendant that there were other cats and dogs on the plane.

Pets must remain in their carriers under the seat during the flight when they travel in the cabin.

Jacquelin's research informed her that economy passengers can call the airline ahead and reserve a seat five rows from the nearest cat! That might not work but there again it might.

Jeff Lane who works for United Airlines said:

"We try to be sensitive and move you away from cats. We deal with this day in and day out."

You wouldn't realise that it was such a big issue. Sometimes airlines allow eight pets in the cabin on a flight. United Airlines allow six pet cases in the cabin of Boeing 787, 777 and 767 aircraft. Four pets are allowed in the cabin of Airbus 320s and 319s.

This seems to be a pet problem (forgive the pun) of cat allergy sufferers. Tonya Winders, president of the Virginia-based Global Allergy Airways Patient Platform said: "We have been trying to raise awareness of cat allergy in cabins since 1985".

The Federal Aviation Administration's Air Carrier Access Act is meant to protect people with disabilities including severe allergies in aircraft cabins. The advice apparently is to select airlines that don't allow cat in cabins. If they do call ahead and try and sit as far as you can away from a cat and have a conversation with your doctor before flying!

Cat-loving Taylor Swift tops a table of celebrity private aircraft polluters

Although Taylor Swift has defended herself by saying that she loans out her aircraft to others, she has been found to be top of a table of celebrity private aircraft polluters with 170 flights on her jet in 2022 to July 29 according to a digital sustainability company, Yard, and as reported in The Times newspaper today.

Image: Pinterest.

Taylor Swift's Falcon 7X clocked up nearly 16 days in the air to July 29. The average flight time was 80 minutes covering a distance of 139.36 miles. The calculated emissions were almost 8,300 tons of carbon dioxide. This is 1184.8 times the average person's.

You will find pictures on the Internet of Taylor Swift in her Falcon 7X jet with one of her cats on her lap. She does like to travel with her cats as I understand it. But she does tend to relate to her cats as babies in my view which I don't think it's helpful because it is better to relate to your cat companion as a cat as it is more respectful and it leads to better caregiving. But it not a big deal. The important thing is that she loves cats and is good caregiver.

Taylor Swift's Falcon 7X. Image: Christopher Peterson/Splash News.

Taylor Swift tops the league of polluters through the use of private jets but, as mentioned, she does defend herself and I am an admirer of hers by the way. The information apparently comes from Yard who use the Twitter account of @CelebJets, which tracks the movements of the jet-owning celebrities of the world using GPS and detailed maps. I don't know whether this is an unacceptable invasion of privacy but they are able to do it in great detail and therefore calculate the carbon dioxide pollution. I guess the information on their travel arrangements is in the public domain in the first place.

Floyd Mayweather the retired boxer is a close second behind Swift. Allegedly his jet emitted more than 7,000 tons of carbon dioxide in the same period. Jay-Z is third on the list but a spokesperson for the rapper said that he no longer owns the plane.

Fourth on the list is Alex Rodriguez, a retired baseball player. This comes Blake Shelton and sixth is Stephen Spielberg with Kim Kardashian coming seventh. Mark Wahlberg comes eight and Oprah Winfrey comes ninth. 10th on the list is Travis Scott.

Polluting the environment with carbon dioxide has become a serious issue as it affects the planet and therefore us all going forward, including our cats.  We all have a responsibility to do our bit. Although I fully appreciate how hard that can be when governments are doing nowhere near enough.

Air Canada flies man's cats to California without him

Abbas Zoeb, a software engineer, has two cats, Mimi and Bubba. They are young siblings, brother and sister from the same litter, 19 months of age. He was flying to San Francisco, USA from Toronto, Canada on Air Canada as he was relocating for a new job.

Before he embarked on the aircraft, he was questioned about the start date on his visa. The questioning went on for a long time causing him to miss his 8 AM flight.

His baggage was offloaded from the plane but Mimi and Bubba were not taken off and they were flown to San Francisco without him.

Abbas Zoeb’s cats, Mimi and Bubba. Photo by Abbas Zoeb.

After the questioning about his visa he spent hours looking for his cats. He was very worried. He thought he had lost them. Cats travelling by air are sometimes lost at airports and it can take a long time to find them.

RELATED: How long can it take to find a lost cat at an airport?

Air Canada called him in the afternoon to tell him that they Mimi and Bubba had been flown to San Francisco and that he could wait to see his cats in San Francisco or he could have someone pick them up in San Francisco.

Zoeb requested that they be returned to Toronto which meant waiting until 11:45 PM because the flight takes 5.5 hours.

He told the Washington Post "I just had a bad feeling that something has happened because they are just too nonchalant about this". He was referring to the attitude of Air Canada personnel. I guess that they don't always understand the relationship between cat and human.

As I understand it, there were flown back to Toronto. When he saw them they looked tired. He said that they were sneezing for about a week.

Air Canada said that they will refund his ticket, baggage, pet fees and other fees for the missed flight. They also offered C$200 in compensation to use towards a further flight.

They apologised but Mr Zoeb thinks that the amount paid in compensation is derisory and he wants the airline to give him a more public apology. He is considering taking legal action over the amount of compensation that he received.

He said: "C$200 is totally insignificant for how much I’ve been going through and how much time I’ve put towards this and what my pets have gone through.

“I did let them know that that is not an acceptable apology or not an acceptable amount if they want to rectify anything ... They said that’s the most they can do.”

Air Canada refused to pay any more in compensation. Apparently, in Canada airlines must compensate travellers up to $2300 to replace lost items or damage to items while in the carrier's control. That would not seem to be irrelevant in this instance.

Air Canada are no longer taking requests to transport animals in the cargo hold until September 12, 2020 because there are unusual delays at airports which, incidentally, reflects the problems encountered in the UK.

Domestic cat is on the loose in the cabin of an aircraft as it ascends after takeoff

When I saw this video, I found it slightly charming but I also found it slightly disturbing because I don't think a domestic cat should be on the loose in the cabin of an aircraft. Is it allowed? Is the owner being sensible? The cat is certainly entertaining the other passengers but depending upon how the cat reacts, this could end up in disaster. What if the cat becomes scared and runs down the cabin and hides somewhere hard to get at? 

There would have to be a search and I just think it could end up in a bad way. Perhaps I'm being too negative and pessimistic but there may be a rule in any case with this airline which states that cats should be kept in a carrier under the seat when they are allowed in the cabin. Other than that, they should go in the hold.

I would really like to see some comments on this video because I am sure that some of the readers will have taken their cat on a flight in the cabin in America for instance and therefore, they have first-hand information about the pluses and minuses.

Cats on a plane. pic.twitter.com/3tSauOqIOn

— If Your Pet Talked 🗣 (@IfYourPetTalked) June 12, 2022

Note: This is an embedded tweet. Sometimes they are deleted at source which stops them working on this site. If that has happened, I apologise but I have no control over it.

Flying pets into Australia is a nightmare!

NEWS AND COMMENT: There is a Facebook page providing advice on how to import pets into Australia by air (Petsflyingtoaustralia | Facebook). It is called Pets flying to Australia. The reason why there is an advice page on Facebook on this matter is because it is very complicated and troublesome. And, in my opinion, it is complicated and troublesome because the Australian authorities have a great fear of the importation of wild animals which may escape their owner's home and prey on native wildlife species. 

My distinct impression is that the Australian authorities are very risk averse when it comes to any importation of any non-native species, domestic or wild. The domestic cat is non-native to Australia.

Kucing and Amal. Photo: Brooke and John.

There is a story currently on the Internet which highlights this attitude. A couple of Australians, Brooke Jones and John Waskiw, had the temerity to apply to fly into Australia from Malaysia a couple of domestic, street cats. 

RELATED: Why are there no native cats in Australia?

The cats' names are Kucing and Amal. The importation by air process cost them AU$25,000 (US$17,692). And apparently their story is not unusual. Attempting to bring pets home means going through a lot of hoops and hurdles and includes paying massive bills, uncertainty, headaches and long waiting times. Clearly the authorities want to put people off importing domestic cats into Australia. That must be the underlying purpose.

John must've been working in Malaysia because it is said that he found Amal on the street near his workplace as the only survivor of a litter of kittens, the mother which is Kucing. When he was scheduled to return to Australia, he found that he couldn't leave the cats behind in Malaysia.

He fell in love with the cats. He said that he had no option but to bring them with him. He said that once you take them off the streets and look after them you have an obligation to care for them for the remainder of their lives. There is an argument which supports that. If you rescue a cat, it is said that you become the owner of that cat.

RELATED: Is it legal to own a caracal in Australia?

In another story, Cielle spent AU$12,000 to get to Siamese-cross cats to Brisbane, Australia on a flight out of Los Angeles. She described the experience is very stressful. She said that when they saw her 84-year-old mother they stopped screaming! I can sense the stress that that entailed.

Source: The Sydney Morning Herald.

Hong Kongers are struggling to get their cats and dogs out of Hong Kong in a mass exodus because of Beijing's crackdown

NEWS AND COMMENT-HONG KONG: The world has heard about Beijing's crackdown on Hong Kongers for being too democratic. China is in breach of the treaty with the UK to allow democracy to exist in Hong Kong until 2047. They unilaterally decided that the agreement was over and jumped the gun and imposed their version of democracy in Hong Kong much too soon which has forced many thousands of Hong Kongers to leave. They have to get out. Their freedoms including freedom of expression have been lost.

Hong Kongers are struggling to get their cats and dogs out of Hong Kong in a mass exodus because of Beijing's crackdown. Photo in public domain.

In fact, since January 2022, 2,500 Hong Kongers have arrived in the UK (or are applying to emigrate to the UK) every week. I think we can expect perhaps several hundred thousand Hong Kongers to be in the UK in due course. There appears to be a bit of a crisis in certain work sections of Hong Kong such as school teachers where they describe a brain drain. Hong Kong has changed massively thanks to Beijing's crackdown on freedom of expression.

That's the background and is causing real problems with companion animals. The problem, as I understand it, is that people are desperate to get out of Hong Kong but they are still in a Covid pandemic. This has placed, as we all know, severe restrictions on flights both incoming and outgoing into all countries including Hong Kong.

In addition, the Chinese authorities, apply a zero-Covid policy both in China and Hong Kong. They have a very strict set of rules in order to squash the transmission of the virus. This in addition, creates barriers to free movement including flight out of the country.

As a consequence, it is reported that some Hong Kongers have joined together, perhaps via social media, to fund private jets to fly them and their pets out of the former British colony. It was a dependent territory of the British Empire from 1841 to 1997.

Hong Kong's population declined by 1.2% in the first six months of 2021 according to a recent census. I believe this is been put down to this mass exodus. 

Businesses who arrange charter flights are busy. Chris Phillips, who works as a pet and medical charter manager for a private jet broker said that: "People want to get their pets back to their home countries and their dogs and their rabbits, and they just can't get them back via commercial routes". 

He is referring to expats in Hong Kong. It isn't just the native Hong Kongers who want to get out but foreigners working in the country too.

A company called Pet Holidays say that they arranged 18 private jets last year and expect to arrange 20 this year. The zero-policy against Covid had resulted in the culling of 2,000 hamsters in Hong Kong. Animal advocates were very much against this because the transmission from animals to people appears to be highly unlikely. It is said that it is not a genuine hazard and therefore there was no need to cull 2000 hamsters. Vets are calling for them to be quarantined. There have been reports that some hamsters where infected in The Netherlands before export to China. And a cluster of Covid infections in hamsters. Some owners have abandoned them.

Update: Feb 4th, 2022: 9 dogs and 10 cats had tested positive for the virus in Hong Kong.  Will this lead to some horrendous treatment by Bejing? They are not the best when it comes to animal welfare.

One company involved in arranging flights out of Hong Kong said that they have seen a 700% surge in business recently. Another private aviation company based in Hong Kong, Live Travel, told CNN that 90% of arrange flights are about relocation. People are on the move with their pets. The trouble is that Covid and Beijing are making it very difficult.

Pasco County Animal Services in Florida takes rescue animals from the path of Hurricane Ida

The video shows how Bay Area, Florida animal rescue groups have helped by taking animals impacted by Hurricane Ida which cut a path from Louisiana to New York. Both were devasated. The director of Pasco Animal Services, Mike Shumate, got a call from Charleston Animal Society who worked with the Humane Society of South Mississippi. He says that the majority of dogs received are ready to be adopted which obviously makes it much easier for them. 

The video shows the co-director of Southern States Bully Rescue explaining how they had to work really fast to get the animals out of there. It's about quid pro quo or paying it forward. Mike makes the point very well by saying that if he helps animal shelters in Louisiana then one day they will need their help when a storm or hurricane passes through Florida. 

I think it's a very impressive network of shelters who work so effectively together under these dramatic circumstances. I also think it is only in America where you get this kind of teamwork and that may be because they appear to have more devastating storms compared to other countries together with the fact that they have many animal shelters. They had to find a way to deal with these emergencies and they certainly did.

Note: This is a video from another website. Sometimes they are deleted at source which stops them working on this site. If that has happened, I apologise but I have no control over it.

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Shelter animals transported out from the path of Hurricane Ida

America has a wonderful system of transporting shelter animals away from disaster zones so that those shelters are freed up for animals caught up in the disaster and the resident animals are moved out of harm's way. This works so successfully because of the wonderful volunteers who carry out the work with passion and commitment and because there are efficient air services which carry out this work. 

Shelter animals transported away from the path of Hurricane Ida. Photo: People.com.

America is a large country and therefore a lot of the time transporting shelter animals out of the path of a hurricane means putting them on an aircraft and flying them hundreds of miles.

In this instance, Hurricane Ida was classified in Louisiana as a Category 4 storm on Sunday afternoon. Before it hit landfall animal shelters and rescues has made preparations by transporting their animals to areas outside of the storm's path.

One shelter which stepped into the fray and did their bit is Helen Woodward Animal Shelter based in California. They took in 40 cats and 25 dogs from a transport flight planned by the well-known charity Greater Good Charities, in less than 24 hours.

Their website tells me that they have three arms to their charitable work: empowering people, safeguarding animals and preserving nature. As for safeguarding animals they say that they transport at risk pets to safety among other services.

The charity contacted Helen Woodward Animal Center asking for help. The adoption services director of Helen Woodward Animal Center said that it was one of those moments when animal rescue becomes a life-saving mission. She said "without a place to put these dogs and cats, many of these orphan pets would face a tragic end. We couldn't say no."

They are now looking for temporary foster care for the 65 Louisiana cats and dogs in their care. This is the way shelters deal with spillover numbers. When they have too many cats and dogs, they can go to their volunteers who live in the area who willingly provide foster care services to rescue animals. It greatly extends the scope of a shelter. Foster carers provide essential work.

Another shelter which stepped up to the plate is Operation Kindness based in Dallas. They took the ground route and drove a transport vehicle to Louisiana, filled it with young shelter animals and took them out of the path of the storm. They took, in all, 20 dogs and 31 cats in the age range two months to 16 years from Jefferson Parish Animal Shelter.

These lucky 51 companion animals are now looking for homes in Texas. Applicants can apply through their website at operationkindness.org.

Note: This is a video from another website. Sometimes they are deleted at source which stops them working on this site. If that has happened, I apologise but I have no control over it.

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Many other organisations worked together to help protect Louisiana's shelter animals from this devastating storm. It is a good example once again of how animal rescuers can work together so effectively to save lives.

Pen Farthing flew back to the UK last night with his menagerie of animals rescued by the Nowzad charity

Mr Paul 'Pen' Farthing and his rescued cats and dogs from his Nowzad animal rescue charity based in Kabul, Afghanistan, landed at Heathrow airport last night and immediately took a connecting flight to Oslo to see his wife who had left Afghanistan last week. The cats and dogs are in quarantine and they will remain there for four months as per the usual procedures. This will obviously be a very difficult time for them to add to the trauma already suffered.

Some of the cats and dogs in Kabul on the way to the airport. They were probably offloaded to get air. Photo: The Daily Mail.

I understand that his flight from Kabul went via Muscat. Initially the reports were that he was going to fly to Uzbekistan first and then on to Heathrow. Mr Farthing said that he has mixed emotions in his tweet which stated:

"Arrived Heathrow with partial success of #OpArk Mixed emotions & true deep feeling of sadness for Afghan today. Heathrow Ops centre, Border Force, HARC & Air Pets were all bloody amazing. Witnessed 1st hand the compassion Heathrow is showing Afghan refugees."

Mr Farthing's tweet on landing.

To be clear, he used a privately funded chartered jet for the evacuation operation. He did not commandeer any military plane and therefore we did not take any seats for people. In fact, he offered available seats on his plane but there were no takers. This runs entirely counter to what we read in the news media that a lot of people qualified to evacuate Kabul have been left behind. Why couldn't they have been found and placed on Mr Farthing's flight?

Also, to be clear, Mr Farthing has evacuated 94 dogs and 79 cats as I recall. A large number indeed but some animals have been left behind at Nowzad. The report indicate that Nowzad is currently closed because the staff are at home perhaps for their own safety. The staff could have evacuated because they were issued with visas but because of the chaos and complications of getting to the airport they couldn't make it. I think the Taliban stopped them.

Mr Farthing blames the MoD for being obstructive and an audio recording is on my website of Mr Farthing leaving a voicemail on Peter Quentin's answerphone in which he threatens him. At that time Mr Farthing was obviously very desperate to get his animals out. There is quite a big discussion about Mr Farthing's behaviour but I wholly support him because he was under great stress as were the animals. And it does seem that the MoD was being obstructive. They appear to have decided that the optics, to use a modern term, were not good if animals were seen to be evacuated before people.

Indeed, there are people now, quite senior people, who are continuing to criticise Mr Farthing for evacuating animals over people. But that is entirely incorrect because Mr Farthing was adding to the aircraft inventory at Kabul airport and was not taking away one of the military aircraft. He was adding seats and therefore had the right to evacuated animals. In fact, he offered seats for people on that particular flight but there were no takers. And he says that you can't put people in the hold where there are cats and dogs because it is not allowed.

You have to admire Mr Farthing and his forcefulness for achieving this. And for setting up Nowzad in the first place. It would not have been set up without this kind of forceful personality. The issues now do not go away because the animals concerned will have to leave quarantine, all being well, and be rehomed. And there are issues back in Kabul to do with animal welfare because Nowzad which he founded will now have to be entirely about rescuing animals in the region rather than reuniting support animals with military personnel who have returned home. This will be a repositioning of the operation as I see it. How will they manage to do this and will they be successful?

And the evacuation of Americans and the military is going to weaken animal rescue and animal welfare in Afghanistan. A lot of money was sloshing around which help animal welfare. That's going to go away because the donations were provided to operations like Nowzad on the basis that animals were reunited with military personnel. Will Nowzad be able to raise that kind of money to rescue cats and dogs that were owned by Afghanistan citizens?

One British politician, Tom Tugendhat has criticised a decision to use soldiers to evacuate Mr Farthing's animals while the lives of Afghans who assisted the British were under threat. I think he's wrong and being melodramatic. As mentioned, Mr Farthing added to the aircraft inventory. He added seats and did not take them away. And why shouldn't animals have some rights as well? Even under the most severe circumstances. Why should people be always superior to animals under these circumstances?

The story actually divides people between those who care about animals and those who don't. But for me, it is entirely correct that the animals were evacuated. We're talking about less than 200 animals that have been rescued from Kabul compared to 100,000+ people. Is that not fair, sensible and reasonable?

Ariel Dale says "American Airlines lost my cats. No one can tell me where they are!"

The words in the title kind of sum it up. Ariel Dale says on her TikTok page that this was her worst nightmare. She said that her two cats had been in a kennel at the airport for over 14 hours because their flight was cancelled. She said that American Airlines at F. Kennedy International Airport had lost her cats. She was ultimately reunited with her cats after a series of events as reported on 4 videos on TikTok that she shared and which explain the entire saga.

Ariel Dale says "American Airlines lost my cat. No one can tell me where they are!"

She says that she decided to put her cats on a cargo plane from Los Angeles to New York. It was a tough decision but she decided that it was in the best interest of the cats. Her cats become anxious around people she said which is why she does not want them in the cabin. Because of a mix-up by the airline, she made her flight with two minutes to spare.

CLICK FOR SOME PAGES ON AIRLINE TRAVEL AND CATS

She received a message when her flight was about to take off saying that her cats were delayed and then cancelled and then a further flight was booked. Of course, her cats were on a different aircraft because it was a cargo aircraft.

The new flight carrying her cats was then delayed also. She was reassured that her cats were being well looked after. She attended the arrival of her cats but they were not there. When Ms Dale was finally reunited with their cats, they were distressed she said. She wants the airline to apologise. Ms Dale paid over US$700 for the safe transportation of the cats. It did not happen and she wants compensation or at least an apology.

She was told to file a complaint and she expected a response within 15 days. Ms Dale said that her cats were all traumatised by the experience. The Independent newspaper contacted American Airlines for a comment. We are waiting with baited breath!

Her cats are Stevie Nicks (a tortoiseshell) and Mr Tumnus (black-and-white). Ms Dale is a singer and actor. She has 53k followers on TikTok.

Comment: I would never allow my cat to travel in the hold of a cargo aircraft while I was on a passenger aircraft. The chances of things going wrong are increased substantially. Just saying but not criticising. I don't think she'll do it again though. At least she got some publicity out of it and a viral TikTok video. Some celebs would give their right arm for that kind of drama in their lives :) .

Cats in private jets - so much better than in the hold of a commercial airliner

Kate Beckinsale has two flat-faced Persian cats. Being a celebrity, and I guess being quite wealthy, she is able to take a private jet on occasions. I don't expect she takes them all the time but, on this occasion, I believe that she was flying with her fellow cast members from her latest TV show Guilty Party, which was shot in Calgary, Canada. 

She is able to take her two cats and her dog, a Pomeranian, with her. And what is particularly pleasant is that she can let them wander around the cabin, obviously under supervision in the interest of safety but this is so much better than being stuck in a cat carrier under the seat or in the hold of a commercial airliner.

Clive, Kate Beckinsale's Persian in the captain's seat of a private jet. Screenshot from Instagram video.

Her two cats are Clive and Willow. I believe that Willow is a female, perhaps a chinchilla Persian and I also believe that Clive is about 12 years of age. He is pointed. Is he a Himalayan? His age, by the way, is probably not far from the lifespan of a contemporary person.

Kate Beckinsale likes to have some fun, which is enjoyable for her followers on Instagram of which there are 4.7 million. The captain of that jet agrees to allow Clive to sit in the left-hand seat which is the normal captain's seat, as I understand it. And he pretends that Clive is the captain. The aircraft is on the ground so it's completely safe.

It is always good when a celebrity person likes animals, provided they are good cat guardians and Kate Beckinsale is. Another high-profile celebrity who loves cats is Taylor Swift. That doesn't need saying because the world knows about it. She has 160 million Instagram followers. Only the National Geographic has more! 

Taylor Swift can genuinely influence the world by what she says on her Instagram account. She has an enormous responsibility. Perhaps I'm being a little bit too critical but I don't think she discharges that responsibility in respect of her cats brilliantly sometimes because, for example, she loves the Scottish Fold which is a cat breed which probably should not exist.

If they are not bred carefully, they can suffer from severe disabilities due to cartilage problems. It is a genetic mutation which causes the cartilage of the ear flaps to lose its rigidity causing the ears to fold flat to the cranium. I think she could have adopted a more inherently healthy purebred cat or better still a completely unwanted and "left-on-the-shelf" rescue cat which she saved from euthanasia. Now that would have helped all rescue cats the world over.

Note: This is a video from another website. Sometimes they are deleted at source which stops them working on this site. If that has happened, I apologise but I have no control over it.

Feral cat attacks pilot mid-flight

COMMENT ON THE NEWS - SUDAN - TARCO AIRLINES: A plane was parked in a hangar at Khartoum International Airport before the flight. It was being worked on: cleaning and maintenance. A semi-feral cat sneaked onboard and into the cockpit where it hid.

Cat attacks pilot of plane mid-flight. This is a fun mock-up but
it was not fun at the time. Photo: News Hub.

30 minutes into the flight the cat emerged or was seen by the crew. The report is skimpy but the cat attacked the senior pilot, we are told. This sounds like defensive aggression from a scared cat. Perhaps the crew tried to remove the cat from the cockpit. 

It was a potentially serious situation as it could have jeopardised the safety of those onboard. The captain aborted the flight and returned to Khartoum  International Airport.

We don't know what happened to the cat. I hope it was simply freed. Airport management may change their policies and procedures to avoid a recurrence. I hope that the cat and no other cats are harmed as a consequence.

It is a very rare, perhaps unique event. Although there have been many incidents of domestic cats escaping their carriers and getting lost at airports. These cats make their way to safe places such as in the roof spaces. Great distress is felt by the owner. 

The cause? Probably a broken lock on the cat carrier or man-handling of the carrier at the airport causing the lock to break or become distorted.

Persian cats have been banned from one airline becuase they have breathing problems due to extreme breeding. There have been Persian cat deaths in the hold of aircraft during the flight.