sedation while flying?

Hi guys & gals.
Well the time to fly is nearly upon me.... crates are out taking up half the apartment, poppy loves it lola is petrified of it...

so i got wondering would it be better to sedate the two of them mainly due to the fact lola is scared of anyone but me. She is scared when someone comes to my house so im rather worried while being handled in cargo she drops dead of a heart attack... :confused:

has anyone sedated their cats? they will be crated for 24 hours as we fly to london heathrow which is 10 hours (including check in) then a 8 hour drive to Glasgow....

has anyone sedated their cats?

I did , I took my 2 cats with me when I went to Vancouver , one of them did throw up the pill though ... but it went ok.

My brother just had a puppy flown in from Missouri to Montreal. I know:frustrated: He told me they weren't allowed to sedate the pup. I thought he said it was airline rules. Fortunately Cally arrived safe and sound and ran around like a mad dog when I opened the door and let her out.

its just so long and i dont know if anyone has met lola apart from catsnatcher but even when she came by lola was under the bed and she knows her!!!

So for her own sanity i think shes better knocked out.... i will ask the vet as i know some are against it.

The vets I worked for usually recommended NO sedation if at all possible. A few reasons: first, the sedation makes the animal feel weird and dopey and out of sorts which can actually make a stressful situation even more stressful. Secondly, there's some risk (I can't remember exactly what it is) associated with the change of pressure when the animal's on a sedative. I'd ask your vet about the pros and cons of it.

Nope, definitely DO NOT sedate a cat going in the cargo hold: http://www.vetinfo4cats.com/catmed.html

It is a very bad idea to give tranquilizers to a pet traveling in the baggage compartment. Recent data compiled by the FDA and the airlines strongly suggests that sedation is a major factor in most of the deaths of pets traveling by air. Apparently, the effect of tranquilizers is enhanced by the pressurization (or relative lack of pressurization --- most baggage compartment pressures are roughly equivalent to the pressure at 8000 ft. of elevation). Pets who may be properly dosed for use of tranquilizers at ground level may be overly sedated at altitude. The mechanism of death as it relates to sedation and air travel is not completely worked out but it is better to be cautious.

Forgot to add, another problem with using sedatives on cats is that they often have the opposite effect, making a cat MORE hyper and uptight rather than less.