How to Travel with a Cat to Canada: 12 Essential Tips

If you’re planning a move to Canada and can’t imagine leaving your beloved cat behind, you’re not alone. Bringing your feline friend along is entirely possible with the right preparation. In this post, we’ll share our personal experience and 12 essential tips on how to travel with a cat to Canada, ensuring a smooth transition for both you and your pet.

We made this journey from Chile to Canada with our adorable calico cat, Corita, who was nearly 8 years old at the time. From gathering necessary documents to training and transportation, we’ve compiled everything you need to know.

Let me share a list of tasks related to how to travel with a cat to Canada.

I’ll walk you through everything we did, from buying the cat’s travel bag to the moment she arrived in Canada, in the same order it happened, so you can get a clear idea of what you’ll need to prepare.

If you want to know what happens after arriving, check out 15 things your cat needs when settling in Canada.

1. General Airline Research

If you’re wondering how to travel with a cat to Canada, one of the first things to check is the airline’s pet policy. You must follow the rules of the airline, your departure country, and Canada when travelling with pets.

That said, I recommend starting by looking into which airlines fly from your country to Canada. This helps you narrow down your options and find the best one for your trip.

From a personal perspective, I looked for airlines that offered direct flights to avoid too many stopovers and reduce stress for my cat. In our case, there was only one option available: Air Canada. So we chose that.

To look for flights in incognito mode, try Google Flights, Skyscanner, or Kayak to get an overview. Then, you can go directly to each airline’s website to book.

Each airline has its own pet travel requirements. 

2. Know Your Pet’s Characteristics

Once you know which airlines fly from your country to Canada, the next step in how to travel with a cat to Canada is knowing your pet’s characteristics—like age, weight, height, and width.

You’ll need the age because most airlines (including the one we chose) require your cat to be at least 12 weeks old to travel.

The weight will help determine if your cat can travel in the cabin or needs to go in the baggage compartment. In my case, my cat weighed 4.0 kg and was allowed to travel in the cabin.

From what I remember, the airline said the total weight—cat plus carrier—had to be under 4.5 kg.

As for height and width, that’ll be useful for tip number 3.

3. Buying The Right Carrier For Your Pet

When figuring out how to travel with a cat to Canada, buying the right carrier is a key step.

Once you’ve pre-selected the airlines that fly from your country and you know your pet’s characteristics, I encourage you to visit the website of each airline to check their specific requirements for pet carriers, especially the maximum size allowed.

The height and width of your cat will be essential to find the perfect carrier. It needs to give your cat enough space to stand up, turn around, and lie down comfortably, all while fitting under the seat in front of you.

When we did our search in early 2020, Air Canada allowed both soft- and hard-sided carriers (and it still does). We chose the soft-sided option because it gave us a few more centimetres in height—4 cm more, to be exact.

Here were the dimensions:

• Height: 27 cm (10.5 in)
• Width: 40 cm (15.5 in)
• Length: 55 cm (21.5 in)

We contacted a pet travel agency to explore our options, and they were fantastic. They even visited our home so we could try different carriers and see which one felt most comfortable for our cat.

You can also do this directly at a pet store, but we wanted to be extra sure the one we picked was suitable for the flight.

4. Train Your Cat

From my perspective, this is one of the most important steps when planning how to travel with a cat to Canada, and it needs time and patience.

We have to train our pets to feel comfortable inside their carrier. This helps reduce stress and helps them feel safe during the trip.

By this point, we had already bought the carrier I mentioned in the previous tip.

We started the training process months before our flight, at least ten months in advance.

For all the details on how we trained our kitty, visit How to train your pet to travel to Canada.

5. Airplane Ticket

One important part of how to travel with a cat to Canada is understanding how the airline handles pet tickets, you must pay a fee, and it depends on the airline.

On our first try, we booked with Air Canada, and the fee was around $100 USD. We did the whole process over the phone—buying tickets for my partner, myself, and Corita—and they linked our cat to one of the passenger tickets.

I highly recommend doing this part early. Most airlines have a limit on how many pets can travel on each flight, so you need to make sure there’s a spot available for your cat. Before buying your ticket, ask the airline if there’s space for a pet on that flight.

On some airlines, you have to buy your ticket first and then call to check if a pet can be added—which can be risky.

Also, make sure the person carrying the cat is the correct one. On Air Canada, once the pet is linked to a passenger, you can’t change that. It becomes a problem if there’s a cancellation.

That happened to us. Because of the pandemic, our first flight was cancelled. The second flight had a stopover in Brazil, which we wanted to avoid. So we decided I would take that flight, and Aldo would wait with Corita for the next direct one.

But since Corita was tied to my ticket, we asked to switch her to Aldo’s. It wasn’t possible—they couldn’t change the name. We ended up buying her ticket again and later received a credit note for the first one because the system wouldn’t allow them to change the pet to another passenger.

6. Visit The Veterinarian

A key part of how to travel with a cat to Canada is making sure your cat is healthy and has the right documents.

I recommend visiting the vet ahead of time to make sure everything is okay, and in case your kitty needs any medication.

To enter Canada, the main requirement is the rabies vaccine. But it’s important to also check the rules for leaving your own country, as they might have additional requirements.

In our case, the paperwork had to be issued very close to the departure date, which was stressful. So I’d suggest checking both countries’ rules early on, so you have time to prepare.

7. Paperwork

When planning how to travel with a cat to Canada, the paperwork is one of the most important (and sometimes stressful) steps.

You have to be careful, as the documents you need will depend on your country and its government regulations.

In our case, the local authority required a medical certificate from a veterinarian issued no more than ten days before the flight. With that, we had to request an export certificate, which we received just four days before our departure.

It was a stressful process. We had to request the document online, but still had to pick it up in person 2–3 days later.

The office was only open a couple of days a week, and there was a huge line of people waiting to get their paperwork.

8. Hiring An Agency

If you think all the paperwork involved in how to travel with a cat to Canada will be too stressful or time-consuming, you can always hire a specialized agency that handles pet transfers between countries.

We only paid for help with the medical certificate, just to make sure the document had all the correct information. We did the rest ourselves because we couldn’t afford to spend too much on this part.

In our case, we went to the same company where we bought the carrier, and they were really helpful.

9. Fasting And Food

When planning how to travel with a cat to Canada, one important thing to consider is your cat’s fasting and food schedule.

Make sure to follow your vet’s guidance about fasting, so your pet doesn’t feel too uncomfortable needing to go to the bathroom inside the carrier—though, to be honest, it might still happen.

Corita fasted for 8 hours, as recommended by our vet, so her last meal was just before we left home.

Because of unexpected airline changes and rebookings, the final route turned out to be: Santiago (Chile) – Atlanta (USA) – Detroit (USA) – Toronto (Canada).

The whole trip took almost 20 hours with two stopovers. My partner brought snacks and gave them to her on the last flight.

He also packed extra absorbent layers in his carry-on. So, when he noticed Corita had peed or pooped, he simply changed the liner in the airplane bathroom without any problems.

10. Airport Inspection

One of the surprises my partner faced during the journey was at airport security. At every stop, he had to take Corita out of her carrier and walk through the metal detector with her in his arms. This happened at all three airports along the route.

It was stressful for both of them—unexpected, noisy, and crowded—but they managed. Corita went back into her bag without a problem each time.

These small but important moments are good to keep in mind when figuring out how to travel with a cat to Canada.

11. Find a Pet-Friendly Place

Another important part of how to travel with a cat to Canada is planning where you’ll stay once you arrive.

Make sure the place allows pets. Most booking platforms have a filter where you can select this option.

It might reduce the number of available places, but believe me, there are always pet-friendly options out there.

12. Food And Bedding Upon Arrival

Another key part of how to travel with a cat to Canada is making sure your cat has what she needs right after landing, especially food, litter, and a place to rest.

Plan ahead so you have a litter box, litter, and food ready for the first day. You can bring small, sealed packages of food in your luggage, but always check with the airline first to be sure.

I recommend checking Google Maps for pet stores near your new place. You can also order online. A few stores I know here are PetSmart and Pet Valu (I currently buy food and litter from them), and Amazon.ca is also a great option, often delivering the same or next day.

This is the litter box I bought for Corita on Amazon, and that she is still using after more than 4 years.

And finally, give your cat time to rest. No matter how much you prepare, travelling is still stressful for them.

After a few days, once they’ve explored their new space, they start to feel like they own the place again, just like before.

Conclusion

 I hope this guide helps you coordinate and figure out how to travel with a cat to Canada and feel more confident about the process of moving with your furry friend.
To wrap it up, always double-check if your country has extra regulations, confirm all the details with the airline, and most importantly, take time to train your pet. It can make a big difference in reducing stress for both of you.
If you’d like to read more about training your cat for the journey, check out this post: How to train your pet to travel to Canada
And once you’ve landed, here’s what you’ll need next: 15 things your cat needs for settling in Canada
Wishing you and your cat a smooth and safe journey!