Hi all -

I'm new here, nice to meet you. I moved to England a year ago and my cat has gone through the PETS scheme and is now cleared to fly here from the U.S. He is a 4 year old himalayan named Jimi and I really miss him terribley. He has been staying with a dear friend and two dogs for the past year, the dogs are at him constantly trying to play roughly and Jimi just isn't that kind of cat.

Anyway, because he will be flying to the UK there are strict guidelines to follow and he is only permitted to fly with certain airlines. Virgin won't accept him because he's a himalayan cat, I refuse to put him on American Airlines Cargo so that leaves me with British Airways. I decided to look into the airline's track record as far as how many pets they ship per year and how many deaths or illnesses arise with the pets they fly. I have called the airline and haven't received any factual information. Of course the airline says they have insulated, temperature and pressure controlled cabins for the pets with perfect everything but they would say that, afterall, wouldn't they? One man said they travel in the same conditions that people travel in. The tone of their voices just seems to me to be one of trying to appease me and get me off the phone. I would like to believe and trust what I'm told but have read so many horror stories in my quest for some statistics that it has frightened me. One site says there are only 30 deaths a year from pets travelling by cargo, another says 5,000. Who do I believe? And with no factual or statistical proof published that I can find anywhere relating to British Airways where do I go?

Can anyone offer any advice from personal experience? Does anyone know at all about BA's track record flying pets? Anyone have a good experience with a particular airline and can share it with me? I really need some help with this and it's time sensitive to all posts are welcomed. He's meant to fly on the 24th of this month. The flight is 9-10 hours long, have to arrive at the reception 4 hours prior. He's then held at heathrow for a further 2-4 hours...I refuse to sedate him. This cat has never been seen stressed out about anything and is as calm as is possible, he has been sleeping in the carrier for a while now and adores it. I am sure he will fly well but I need to be reassured about his flying conditions.

What can I do with such limited resources? It's apalling.
Thanks so much, look forward to your replies. All the best!

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