Aero1900

Yes, but have you ever held a horse?

My aunt and uncle bred miniature horses for a while. Very interesting little things!

JamesNoBrakes

it’s cargo. All cargo must be secured by regulation. If you can reasonably hold onto it, yes…but cats are cats and they don’t like to be held onto and can generally make it so uncomfortable and painful they can get free. Dogs that sit under the seat where luggage would go is more along the lines, although lap children under 2yrs are allowed by regs, so it comes down to whether the airline thinks a cat can be reasonably secured for takeoff and landing and then whether they want to allow it. ESAs are, or are least were, considered a category of service animals. That’s what created this whole mess. Airlines never had to agree to take exotic or unusual animals as ESAs or ones that couldn’t be secured, but they lacked the training and legal departments to enforce that. The law rewrite has made this much easier, by excluding all but a few animals that can be transported in the cabin as service animals. But as far as transporting animals in general, that’s up to the airline and whether it can be secured as cargo. People bring cats in carriers into the cabins all the time…

rickair7777

Just put it in a small animal carrier designed for that, and stick it under the seat in front of you. Doesn't even need to be an ESA. All US airlines probably allow that for cats and small dogs (check the airline's website). They don't allow some more exotic animals because of smells, or the risk of their behavior if they escape. Rodent-like animals for example will ground the plane until they are caught and they can be very hard to find. The hazard is that they'll chew on wires.