My friends joke that my cat has more frequent flyer miles than they do—and they might be right. Jetson, my three-year-old tabby, does not meow or wail when we sit at airports or on airplanes. He doesn't claw to get out of his carrier or resist being put back in when I have to take him out. Seatmates on flights often comment that they didn’t even realize they were sitting next to a cat, only noticing the carrier when the flight arrives and everyone gathers their belongings to leave. Jetson is a good traveler, for a cat, but it wasn’t always this way.

I fell for him over Facebook when I saw a photo of two curious eyes surrounded by a fluff of black and gray stripes, posted by a friend, who had rescued this orphaned kitten and nursed him to health. I could provide him with the loving, forever home he needed to grow into a smart and healthy cat, but a distance of over 500 miles separated me from my new fuzzy friend in Michigan. In order for Jetson to become a city kitty in New York with me, he’d have to be comfortable taking airplane flights.

Jetson may have flown thousands of miles with me in peace, but that’s not to say he doesn’t get anxious at times. From his carrier underneath the airplane seat in front of me, Jetson often looks up. I return his stare, soften my expression with a small smile, and calmly reply in the same way I do any other time we’re out and about—with a simple “you’re okay." It helps people a lot, too.