?? about cat travelling internationally

[daisey's mum]

hey guys....I am hoping to take my 2 kitties Daisey & Blossom back home to UK from here in the US. I was just wondering have any of you ever travelled with your pets? What type of carriers do I get for them...how do they be in those though for like 12 hours....toilet facilities and food etc...?? Can they be sedated to make their journey easier? Can they be taken as hand luggage??

and what about quarantine??

I'm so sorry for all the questions guys....just so desparate to get home and not wanting to leave them behind...NOT EVER

thx guys....really appreciate it

Dee

 

[wellingtoncats]

Dee-

I have never travelled over with my pets but I have had cats imported from Australia. But I have travelled nationally with my pets and they go in the luggage section with all the bags etc. They are just normal carries but must be approved by the place your flying with.(I'm sure your local airport has all this information btw!) It's required to have a drinking bowl hanging from the front, but it's sad they do that because the water normally ends up all over them. Make saure you put warm bedding in because of that sad fact. I don't think you would be able to put a litter tray in there

. I have never heard overhere of cats as hang luggage... I doubt that's possible and I'm also not sure about sedation.

Sam.

 

[buzzy]

Hi Dee
I have travelled quite a lot with my cat and an ordinary well padded cat carrier has been fine, she is very docile and used to travelling since a kitten so did not need sedation - but i would check with your vet about your kitties. A friend of mine just took her dog back to the UK and she had to go into quarantine for some time after arrival so you may find this is usual- sorry!

There are some companies in most countries I've been to who will completely take care of pet travel - down to arranging watering and giving your cat attention during any stopovers - though they can be expensive!
Hope I've been of some help!

 

[purrfectcatlove]

What I have done 11 years ago when bringing Samy with me is that , in the section for the water I placed a little cut sponge and filled it good up . The sponge sucks all the water of , but the cats can lick it since it stayed moist .

 

[mellanie]

The UK has very strict regulations about letting cats and dogs in. You have to get a test called a 'rabies titre' done which basically measures the level of rabies vaccs. in their system. It is rather costly and time consuming. Your best bet is to call your vet ASAP to get the testing and checkups started. As for sedation, your vet should be able to prescribe something for the trip. I'm happy to hear your babies will be going with you. Hope this helps!

 

[hissy]

Perhaps this article will help?

Traveling with Cats

 

[ghostuser]

I brought my cat's Toby and Lukcy with me FROM the UK 5 years ago when I came here. I used a specialist firm in the UK as I had heard some horror stories about cats being put in cargo holds that were not pressurized and consequently being killed.

The company is called Air Pets (www.airpets.com) and they had an arrange with British Airways for transporting pets. They provided the cage and all the "attachments" for food, water and litter that kept my guys very comfortable on the flight. They also picked Lucky and Toby up from home - I found them to be wonderful people and when I picked the cats up from the airport, they were really relaxed...no meds.

If you look at the airpets website they have details on a program call Pet Travel Scheme which effectively gives your cats a "passport" can can get them into the UK without quarantine as long as vaccinations are in order...hopefully it will provide you with the information you need, even if you don't use airpets yourself.

Good Luck

 

[daisey's mum]

wow thx guys....really appreciate your help - I don't feel as anxious and worried now...I will check out the airpets site...I'm not planning to travel until early in the new year...so will give me plenty of time to get Daisey & Blossom organised.

 

[sandie]

The quarantine rules have been modified recently (Nov 02). The standard quarantine for the UK is 6 months, however they have devised a program called PETS. It requires at least 6 months of planning prior to departure, but it allows pets to be released to you without quarantine. It's a TON of information, and would take me too long to type out here, but here's some websites to get the information.

www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/quarantine

www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/ncie/iregs/animals/uk.html