Transporting Pets for a Move

Is renting a car and driving not an option? That would be the only way to transport plants. For a cat, I think flying is the best option.

For cats, you can take them on the plane with you and put the carrier under the seat; you will probably have to pay a fee to the airline when booking the ticket. Mine ended up settling down in the dark white-noisey space. 

I would request a private screening room when going through security though, because they will ask for the cat to be removed from the carrier at that time and I found out the hard way it can get very hectic trying to wrangle the cat in a scary open space with lots of people!

For particularly anxious cats, you could talk to your vet about med options (usually gabapentin or antihistamines) that might help them be calmer during the experience. 

We relocated to Philly burbs. 

Houseplants- gave them away, but kept some of the nice pottery.

Kitty- we flew red eye with a 7 year old male cat. I got a health certificate from vet (ensuring shots were up to date, etc). The vet gave us a kitty Valium of sorts. I only gave half, and regretted it. It wore off about an hour before landing. Lots of howling, trying to escape his carrier.

We got a soft-sided carrier for under the seat. We flew first class bc i had points, so seats are larger there. I hated to waste my points, but glad i had the larger space under the seat.

Pet fee for travel was $150. Gulp. This was an American Airlines flight, nonstop. Kitty was given a tag with my name and flight #, attached to carrier

TSA Security experience- that was stressful. You take kitty out and wait in a room with an agent, they scan your carrier. My cat tried to make a break for it, of course. This was at SFO. There were several cats going through that night, it was chaotic.

My cat had one accident upon arrival, waiting for our luggage. I had a peepad in his carrier, so just threw it out at the airport.

It was worth it, despite the stress. He's loving the humidity here and was perplexed by the snow last winter. He tried to capture the snowflakes 😆 

I hope this helps!

I have made the reverse journey with cats by car and by plane, and by plane was definitely easier on everyone. I always flew with Jetblue through JFK (getting from my original NYC residence to there by train and airtrain). I purchased Jetblue's underseat pet carrier in advance, which is good quality and useful later for trips to the vet.  You need to make sure that you indicate you are bringing a pet, since there is a limit on how many can travel in each cabin. There is some paperwork that you will need to get from your vet beforehand. The trickiest part for me was security at the airport since you need to take the cat out of the carrier and carry the cat through. This worked with one cat that was comfortable on a harness and leash, but with others, I noted to security that the cat could potentially escape and they had us go into an enclosed room where they did the security check. 

None wanted to eat or drink. I did not give sedatives since didn't want to risk any breathing issues, but some cats can respond well to anti-anxiety meds--you could talk with your vet and try the meds before flying. I always wrapped a wee pad around the inside base of the carrier and brought spare pads, but I did not have any potty accidents for any cats. If your senior cat has kidney issues, there is a greater risk your cat could have a potty issue, so you may need to be prepared to change the pad or offer a makeshift litterbox in a family bathroom stall at the airport. I booked direct flights whenever possible. For houseplants, I've taken some smaller ones on a plane before in the cabin, packed to fit under the seat or in a carry-on. You could check with the airline about options for larger plants.

We moved from Paris to Berkeley a little over a year ago and flew with our cat in-cabin both ways. It's definitely doable and probably the least stressful option for them (and you) because they are always with you. My main tips are: 1. Fly nonstop with a pee pad in the carrier just in case, 2. If your pet is generally anxious, talk to your vet about meds for the flight and test them in advance; 3. Don't bring a lot of bags with you in cabin, just check everything because juggling the cat through security is enough hassle, 4. Book your flight over the phone to ensure your cat is cleared to travel with you. 5. Leave the cat carrier out with cozy blankets so they can get use to it a few weeks prior to the trip. 6. Check cat litter and a cat box so you have it upon arrival at your new place. On such a short flight (6-7hrs), your cat likely won't need it's box or food so that makes things easy but they'll want it once you arrive into your hotel/apartment. 

Wish I could help on the plant front but we just sold or gave away all of ours before the move because we didn't really know the light and furniture situation of our new apartment. 

For the cat: flying is least stressful only because it's fastest.  I would contact the airline to arrange to take it in the cabin with you.  They'll give you guidelines on what size & type of carrier is allowed to fit under the seat in front of you.  They'll most likely require a health certificate from your veterinarian within a few days of flying, so contact your vet as soon as you know your timing to get that scheduled.

If you're driving with the cat, find motels that will allow pets.  I did one cross-country move over 5 days and used Motel 6 at each stop, which worked well - call them to schedule ahead.  You can request an ADA unit which will have a larger bathroom so you can let the cat out in there to stretch its legs, eat/drink, and use the litter box.  You can get disposable litter boxes if you don't want to clean and pack up a litter box each day.  Then I did another cross-country move where we drove straight through, which honestly I liked even better.  It was about 36 hours of driving, 2 drivers switching off, and the cats in a large dog kennel with beds, food and water, and litter box in the back of the car.

For plants, if driving just settle them upright in their pots and let them ride.  Otherwise, I'd bare-root them (take out of the pot and remove as much soil from the roots as you can).  Wrap the roots in wet paper towels and then place the roots and towels into a plastic bag to keep them damp.  Skip that part if they're succulents.  Then wrap them in newspaper for cushioning and you can ship them to yourself.  You could possibly put them in a suitcase and fly with them as well.  It would be worth looking at the USDA website for any agricultural restrictions for transporting plants into NY or the other states if you're driving, though CA is the only state I know of that has checkpoints and even CA is not really worried about houseplants.

Good luck!