air plane travel with 2 week old kittens

Question
QUESTION: Is it safe for 2-week old kittens to travel onboard an airplane? And, if no,  what could happen to them? thanks,  Lisa

ANSWER: Lisa,

2 week old kittens should not be away from mama for any length of time.  So it would depend on how long they will be on the airplanes and whether you can put them with mama or not.

Why would you want to travel with 2 week old kittens, anyway, as they should not yet be weaned and need to be fed at least 4 times a day?

I am afraid I cannot really give you a solid answer without a little more background!

Best regards... Norm.



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: hi Norm,the kittens will be with their mother----i am moving and wanted to take them with us but was told it was unsafe for the young kittens to travel by air(in the same kennel as their mom) i was told they need to be 8 weeks old to fly, and i was wondering what could happen to them and if this is true?-they said it had to do with the air pressure, but new human babies go on airplanes,....so i was just wondering??

Answer
Lisa,

The air pressure concern sounds spurious, to me.  Cats' ear canals are shaped differently than humans, and, so, they seem to have fewer problems with air pressure than we do.

There are two problems with having the kittens and mama in the same carrier for any kind of travel.  First is that, if mama sees or hears something that frightens her, she may, inadvertently, harm the kittens.  Secondly, in carrying her from place to place, she may accidently roll over on the kittens, crushing them.

You can wean the kittens by age 4 weeks, so they would be safer to travel in different carriers!

Best regards... Norm.