ESA Certification for Your Cat

Highly intelligent and affectionate, cats make marvelous emotional support animals (ESAs). If you want to live with your cat in housing that does not allow pets or if you want your cat to fly with you in the cabin of commercial airplanes, you need to get proper certification. Certification that will guarantee certain rights for housing and air travel under federal law.

What is ESA Cat Certification?

ESA cat certification comes in the form of an official ESA letter from a licensed mental health professional. There are two types of ESA letters for cats.

ESA Cat Certification for Housing

With an ESA letter for rental housing, your cat will be recognized by the Fair Housing Act (FHA) that states that property owners/managers must make reasonable accommodation for your ESA cat, even if they have a policy barring pets from the premises. Under the FHA, property owners/managers also cannot charge you for accommodating your ESA cat, including pet deposit fees.

There are a few exceptions under the FHA. The property owner/manager does not have to make accommodations for your ESA cat if:

• The housing has fewer than 5 units and the landlord resides in one of them
• The housing is a single family home that is not represented by a real estate agent.

ESA Cat Certification for Air Travel

With an ESA letter for flying, your cat will be recognized by the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) that states that commercial airlines must allow your ESA cat to travel with you, free of charge, in the cabin of their airplanes.

Under the ACAA, the airlines can make some limitations regarding flying with your ESA cat, such as requiring advance notice of an ESA cat traveling with a passenger.

How to Get Your Emotional Support Cat Certification

If you already have a relationship with a licensed mental health professional, you can ask them for an ESA letter. Be aware that all healthcare professionals do not support the idea of an ESA cat being part of treatment or are not fully aware of the details needed in an ESA letter to meet FHA or ACAA requirements.

For these reasons — plus convenience and affordability — thousands of people over the years have turned to The DOGtor for their ESA cat letter. A combination of our extensive network of healthcare professionals and our unmatched experience, brings an unparalleled level of efficiency to the ESA certification process. What that means to you is a simple, hassle-free process that gets you your ESA cat certification quickly and affordably.

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