Feline hearing protection

ebykowsky

ebykowsky

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Getting a new fluffy family member that we'll want to take with us on trips. Do any of you who own cats / do Pilots & Paws flights have good solutions for either feline ear protection (that are appropriate size / stay on head) or a soundproof cage (that still has decent ventilation)?
 
Daleandee said:
Truth! Mine listens when I pick up the spray water bottle (don't need to use it just let him see it).
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When you pick up the spray bottle, one of my wife's cats just squints, like Clint Eastwood saying, "Go ahead...make my day...."

Ron Wanttaja
 
wanttaja said:
When you pick up the spray bottle, one of my wife's cats just squints, like Clint Eastwood saying, "Go ahead...make my day...."

Ron Wanttaja
Click to expand...

I take it no one in the Wanttaja household has made his day yet?
 
Depending on how often you'll fly with him/her, you probably won't need protection. It's nearly impossible to put protection on ours so we simply don't. He's 10 years old and hears perfectly fine. On an average year, he tags along on maybe 10 flights. He doesn't mind it at all. He falls asleep the moment I put his crate on the plane. Now, if you go fly with the cat on a weekly basis, that would be a different story but once a month or less, I don't think it'll have a huge impact on his/her hearing.
 
Best hearing protection is blankets. If it's too loud Fifi will find her way under them. Generally speaking though, the lower pitch rumble in an aircraft cabin is not particularly problematic for animals.
 
Tried mutt muffs on our pugs. They didn’t allow them on their head more than five seconds. They’ve flown hundreds of hours with us without special protection and their hearing is still fine, from what we can tell.
 
Look up Girl With the Dogs on youtube. She uses something called the Happy Hoodie (?) when using the high velocity dryer on animals she’s grooming. Most seem to do well with it in regards to both the noise and air flow.
 
ebykowsky said:
Getting a new fluffy family member that we'll want to take with us on trips. Do any of you who own cats / do Pilots & Paws flights have good solutions for either feline ear protection (that are appropriate size / stay on head) or a soundproof cage (that still has decent ventilation)?
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Hello,
The current world leader in feline ear protection is an American company aimed at dogs, called Mutt Muffs. Their two smallest sizes fit cats beautifully.
Please take time to acclimatize the cat to them, and use plenty of bribery. Go slow and steady, don't slap them on for the first time the day they are being taken up. I'm actually an Australian ex pilot , but when I saw your post, had to respond!

There is one brand with plausibly similar or higher protection, in a snood style instead, the mil spec type now commercially available through Rex Spex, but they are not doing tiny sizes yet - watch that space, however having played around with both kinds of models on a variety, cats tend to do better with the human type as the snood type can constrict breathing on anything but breeds of dog used in the military. Find me on Fb if you have more questions.

Good luck!

Dr Alicia Manolas
Non Canine Assistance Animal Trainer.
Director, Non Canine Assistance Animals Australia (private org).
 
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