Taking my cat to the USA

[Plewesa]

Has anyone ever flown their cat to the USA from England?  If you have approximately how much does it cost and is it a fairly simple thing to do.Has anyone ever flown their cat to the USA from England?  If you have approximately how much does it cost and is it a fairly simple thing to do.

[Pickle]

I moved to the USA in 1999 along with 2 cats.  If memory serves they had to have rabies injections and microchips.  They also needed an export licence which involves a check from the vet something like 48 hrs before travel to make sure they were in good health and have no parasites.  They flew with an animal transport company who provided the travel cases and all the rest of the paperwork.  They didn't appear at all worried by the experience, they came straight out of their cases to explore as soon as we got them to their new home!  I think they miss it now - there's less wildlife to chase here!

Back then it cost around �400 for the both of them.  You will need to get them passports if you plan to bring them back.

This website is very helpful.  Good luck! http://www.defra.gov.uk/anima lh/quarantine/pets/contacts.htm

 

[Pickle]

The link doesn't seem to work hold on

http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/quarantine/pets/contacts.htm

[hopalong]

Just take money out of the kitty ;-)

[hyaphilomena]

Hi there- I actually stumbled upon this site by accident and happened to read your posting. I am originally from the US and have lived in Germany for the past 5 years. I have 3 dogs (Shelties) and have travelled with them back and forth a LOT. It is not a problem at all to travel with your pet to the US. Also, many of the airlines allow you to take your pet with you in the cabin as hand luggage, providing they're small enough to fit comfortably under the seat in front of you. This is a much cheaper and more comforting transportation method (at least for me) as a pet owner. I would never put my dogs in the cargo hold if I could help it! Check out Sherpa Bags; they are soft-sided carriers officially approved by airlines for in-cabin pet transportation. I've actually never gotten checked by APHIS (the US Customs-type agency for animals & agriculture) once I arrived in the US, so they must figure that you have all of your stuff together if you're bringing your pet such a long way. All that is needed is documentation that they have been vaccinated against rabies more than 30 days, but less than 1 year from your departure date, and also documentation from an official veterinarian that they are in overall good health at least a few days prior to your journey. Anyway, good luck. I know what a worry it can be to transport your pet over such a long distance (mine are like my kids!), so I thought I'd offer what advice I could.

[Pickle]

hyaphilomena is correct about Germany but England is a special case - we have far tighter laws on import and export of pets.  They are definitely not allowed in the cabin on the way back to the UK - it's part of the regulations for the PETS scheme.