Trust building for a cat who doesn't know permanency

[lilin]

So I am very likely to be moving out of country permanently in the mid-term future, and I'm a little concerned about my Pia kitty.

As far as she is concerned, she's had at least 7 "homes" in under 2 years.

1. Her first, where she was abandoned. I don't mean she was brought to a shelter. I mean she was literally abandoned, locked inside an empty house.

2. The shelter, which terrified her so profoundly that she was put in...

3. Her first foster home.

4. Her second home, where unscrupulous parents let both their children and a dog terrorize her without intervention, and then...

5. Back to the shelter, which led to...

6. Her second foster home, and then finally...

7. Me.

She is a wonderful cat, even after all that. I've had her about 4 months, and she has come out of her shell a lot. I have breakthroughs with her all the time. Today, she napped in my lap for the first time ever. She's sat in it before, but she was always a bit too skittish to stay for long. Her trust is coming along.

But I am very worried about such an intense move. She is coming with me. No if's, and's, or but's about that.

But I am concerned she will be very threatened by being in such a radically different place. She can be extremely territorially insecure. And every time she's left a territory, she's lost her human along with it. And I want to break that association and try to bring down her anxiety.

On the drive from the shelter to my home (which was over half an hour), she did ok. And that's a really good start. But it's nothing compared to a long plane ride across an ocean.

So I want to do a lot of trust building with her. I need her to trust me more than she fears change. Does anyone have suggestions for that?

I also would like to know if it's possible to take her in the cabin with me for such a long, cross-continental flight, assuming I have a pet passport for her obviously. I have flown with my elder kitty in the cabin, but that was within the country, and I know things are much more strict for crossing major boarders.

I would be going to Europe. Do I have to "ship" her (god, I hate that terminology), or can I take her in the cabin?

Thanks!

ETA: I would be going to the UK, and it looks like animals cannot arrive in the UK in the cabin. They must be "cargo." I'm not ok with that. I won't do that.

Has anyone brought their animals in via France instead? On the Chunnel or something?

 

[katluver4life]

I would think you'd have to contact the individual airlines or go online and look at their policies regarding pet transporting. I know many airlines have relaxed their rules a bit on having pets in the cabins, but I'm not sure about overseas.

I think it's wonderful your taking her with you. You'll have to be sure to have her UTD on all the vaccines required for the UK. I'd talk to your vet and see if she could possibly be given something to help ease her stress during the trip. Make sure to put something you have worn inside her crate. Feliway spray may help also. As long as she is with you, she will adapt to wherever you and she go. Good luck!

 

[lilin]

 
I would think you'd have to contact the individual airlines or go online and look at their policies regarding pet transporting. I know many airlines have relaxed their rules a bit on having pets in the cabins, but I'm not sure about overseas.

I think it's wonderful your taking her with you. You'll have to be sure to have her UTD on all the vaccines required for the UK. I'd talk to your vet and see if she could possibly be given something to help ease her stress during the trip. Make sure to put something you have worn inside her crate. Feliway spray may help also. As long as she is with you, she will adapt to wherever you and she go. Good luck!

Yup. It's not too complicated, since the US is a "listed" country. She needs a microchip and a rabbies vaccine, basically, and then a third party certificate. That must be done 21 days before travel. I've got plenty of time, so none of that's a problem.

But the UK has its own unique laws in addition to the EU PETS scheme. They don't allow non-service animals to arrive by plane, in the cabin, period. They must be cargo if they're arriving by air.

Other EU countries don't mandate this. I could take her in the cabin if I arrived in some other EU country.

So what I'm trying to figure out is if I could keep her with me if I arrived via France, and then went into the UK by ferry or chunnel. I'm not finding a real clear-cut answer, but even if I can't be physically with her, I'd feel more comfortable with her in cargo on the ground, where there can't be pressure and temperature changes that could kill her in under an hour.

I'm just not ok with flying an animal by air cargo.

So I guess I'm trying to figure out if she can stay with me if I arrive in the UK by some mode other than air.

 

[katluver4life]

So I guess I'm trying to figure out if she can stay with me if I arrive in the UK by some mode other than air.

 I do believe this can be done using a Ferry, say via France, I found a few sites that say animals can be brought over this way, but they must remain in the vehicle. I wonder if a good travel agent would be able to help you put this all together.

 

[elizabeth1st]

England has rather daunting quarantine laws about dogs and cats. Check the rules and good luck. It's not easy!

 

[lilin]

England has rather daunting quarantine laws about dogs and cats. Check the rules and good luck. It's not easy!

As I understand it, I can avoid quarantine as long as she has the microchip with a registered rabbies vaccine 21 days prior to travel, and a certificate stating as much. The laws have loosened up in the last few years, it seems.

But I will make sure to dot my I's and cross my T's. The last thing I want is for her to wind up in quarantine.

 

[soopermouse]

they won't let you have her in the cabin on an intercontinental flight, because some people might have allergies.  IMagine someone who has a cat allergy and is stuck in the cabin with a cat for 10 hours... it's a bad idea.

 You can fly to France or ireland and then take a bus or train via the ferry or the Eurotunnel. Eurotunnel will charge you a fee for your cat.

 Make sure she has al her shots within 2-3 weeks before arriving.

YOu would maybe want to have her in a pet carrier and give her a sleeping pill?