Kitty, Leaving On a Jet Plane

...I won't bring her here again....

We are leaving the islands of Hawaii after ten years of humid, but colorful living. Destination: The desert sand, snakes and stars at one of the only two places on earth that get the massive, truly huge, dust storms. Yes, Arizona.

I could be feeling happy and sad and all kinds of sweet feelings, but mostly I’m feeling anxious. When we depart from here, I will be putting my little Emerald Kitty Kitty (that’s her first, middle and last name) into a soft-sided cat kennel under the seat ahead of me in the airplane’s cabin. I don’t mean the cockpit. We will be in the coach cabin along with approximately 150 other people, maybe more. Emerald will not be allowed out of the kennel from the time we get through Security until we land in Phoenix.

The cat kennel has to be a certain size: 16 inches in height, 9.5 inches in width and 10 inches in width. Kitty will be feeling somewhat trapped, but she will be able to stand up and stretch her legs if she wants to. This will not be a direct flight. We have to fly to Honolulu and wait for two hours there before we can travel onward to Phoenix.

Thank goodness it won’t be a red-eye flight. When people are trying to sleep they do not want to hear a cat meowing. Some people, my husband being one of them, do not want to hear a cat meowing at any time of day.

I don’t think Kitty will meow too much once we have waited and boarded the plane for the short flight to Honolulu. I am, however, concerned about getting through the Security area prior to that. Our daughter went through this whole procedure last year when she moved to Phoenix with her family. It was almost the same time of year so the temperatures in Phoenix were very hot in the daytime – upwards to 115 degrees Fahrenheit and then hot at night; steady at about 106. The various airlines do not allow pets to travel below the cabin during the hot months in Arizona because the tarmac is too hot -- too dangerously hot -- once the plane lands. Animals can die after they get taken out of their special temperature-controlled area if they are left too long on the tarmac before one of the airline personnel drive them into the cool airport building. Human error can occur and animals can be forgotten out there on the tarmac.

For this reason, the animal is allowed on board in the cabin if it is within the size restrictions and can fit into a small kennel. The kennel must be placed under the seat ahead. Before the passenger with the animal can board the plane, the security person wants to check the kennel for drugs or any kind of dangerous material. It is necessary for the owner of the animal to carefully take the little cat or dog out of the kennel, hold on tightly to the animal, let the security person satisfy the required checking of the inside of the kennel, and then put the animal back into the kennel. Many times I have read articles in The Maui News of a person losing their cat at the airport during this little procedure.

I watched from approximately 200 feet away while my daughter went through the Security point with her kitty a year ago. I saw the mellow cat, Potcha, slung over my daughter’s shoulder, held onto tightly with two hands while the two children clung to my daughter’s legs, upset and afraid that Potcha would escape. What a schmozzle. Potcha was confused at all the commotion of fifty people in her vicinity.

I heard later that once my daughter got on board for the flight to Honolulu, Potcha was fine. He is a very mellow cat. But after the regular two hour wait in Honolulu and then a delay of another couple hours before the flight from Honolulu to Phoenix got underway, Potcha began to realize he needed a cat box. He meowed. He meowed again and looked up at his little human, Priscilla. “I hope you remembered to bring my litter box,” he said politely. People in the seats around Priscilla and her family gave meaningful eye contact to Priscilla with raised eyebrows for that extra special added effect -- to let her know they intended to get some sleep now that the six hour (red-eye) flight to Phoenix was finally a reality. Well, things went from bad to worse. I will spare you most of the details.

And why would a person in their right mind go through this ordeal of bringing a cat on-board a plane? Well, if you’re asking that question, perhaps you are not an animal lover.

I see ads every day on Craigslist stating this kind of sentiment: “I am moving. Can't take my cat. Really good cat. Please email me for details.” I cannot fathom how someone can really enjoy and love their cat and then just dump them off in life. On second thought, we all make mistakes with our animals and then pay dearly with regrets. So I guess I can see how these situations come up time and time again here on Maui.

So here I am -- getting ready for the big day. I do hope I can scruff my kitty just right as I pull her out of the little kennel for the security guard to check the kennel’s interior for bombs. I also hope I do not meet a fellow passenger like the one my daughter encountered.

There is only one pet allowed to be transported in each section of a plane during any one flight. That was one too many pets for a particular lady on Priscilla’s flight that eventful night. After Potcha had meowed and meowed and would not relent, this lady jumped up from where she was sitting in front of Priscilla and came charging over to Priscilla’s little area in the sky. The lady leaned over -- glared into Priscilla’s eyes -- and shouted, “You’re invading my space and you better do something about it.”

Priscilla is little, but awfully assertive, never needing the use of vulgarity to get her messages across. Suffice it to say, Potcha survived the flight to Arizona and lives happily ever after with his human family. Priscilla says, "Why would a person deprive their cat from living the rest of his or her life with them, just because of ten or eleven hours of difficult traveling?"

I don’t want to be cleaning a cat’s kennel at 35,000 feet above sea level and have nowhere to throw out the evidence. I am hoping to get through this ordeal without too much trouble, embarrassment and stress. I have a feeling my hopes are going to be dashed and it will become a minute-to-minute matter of sheer determination. But God willing, Emerald will arrive safe and sound with us in Phoenix next week.

All comments are welcome and appreciated. Mahalo nui loa.