cat flying with me for the first time

hi guys! im flying with my cat for the first time to go home for christmas and im nervous for 2 reasons: 1. my mom and i have 3 (elderly) dogs at home and im sure they’ll all be fine bc my dogs are old but who knows… 2. my cat has never flown before and she can tend to be quite needy sometimes. so i want to know if anyone has any tips for flying with cats? she’s gonna be on the plane with me so im probably gonna get her some melatonin unless something else would be better? it’s only a 2 hour flight but i am sure it would just be easier to have her be sleeping… also should i give her the melatonin/whatever before or after security?? thank u so much!! i love my cat so much and she’s pretty well behaved besides her needing quite a bit of attention which i don’t mind! so im not too worried on the meeting my dogs part since they’re old and she’s chill but of course any tips for that are also welcomed! thank u :)

and of course cat tax attached!!