Cat emmigration

March 13, 2009 9:05 AM

Moving a cat from US to England: how?

What is involved? I've heard mention of quarantine...
Is it worth it? As in, is the process so stressful to my cat that I should just find a new home for him, here.

All advice and personal experience is welcome!

posted by cgs to pets & animals (18 comments total)

"The Pet Travel Scheme (PETS) is the system that allows pet dogs, cats and ferrets from certain countries to enter the UK without quarantine as long as they meet the rules."

Basically, you need to have kitty microchipped, blood tested, vaccinated, get PETS documentation from your vet, treat kitty for ticks and tapeworm 24 hours before entering the UK, and then make sure it does so via an approved transport company on an authorised route (plane, train, automobile, boat). As long as your cat is small enough to fit into a Sherpa Bag it should be able to fly into the country with you in the airline cabin, with the bag tucked under the seat in front of you.
posted by lia at 9:22 AM on March 13 [2 favorites]

There's no quarantine for cats coming from the US, but there is a lengthy process required to make sure the cat has been vaccinated for rabies. Read this page.

A coworker was moving back to the UK with her cat a few years ago. I remember that she had to try a few vets before finding one that would do the paperwork for her. Also, I remember that her flight was cancelled due to weather, and so there was an issue with transporting the cat, but that was more of an airline issue than one with the agency. I can get more details from her if you want, just memail me.
posted by cabingirl at 9:23 AM on March 13

PETS - Pet Travel Scheme for Owners or 6-months quarantine.
posted by idb at 9:24 AM on March 13

The UK is rabies-free, so immigration rules are relatively tight for animals.

The US is eligable under the PETS scheme, which allows for immigration without quarantine, as long as you cat is microchipped, vacinated, and passes a blood test, and then is transported via an approved route.

If your cat isn't eligable under PETS, then you will need an import licence, and to arrange a quarantine facility for the cat for 6 months after landing.
posted by ArkhanJG at 9:31 AM on March 13

Hah, that's what happens when you forget to preview :)
posted by ArkhanJG at 9:32 AM on March 13

Wow! Ask and ye shall ;-)

lia - I can't imagine an 8 - 10 hour flight w/ my cat crying the entire time from under the seat. I'm pretty sure there would be a revolt. Do people actually do that? I guess I was imagining her (miserable) down in some sort of luggage hold :-/
posted by cgs at 9:55 AM on March 13

Do people actually do that?

Sedation is usually involved, in my experience. Have a chat to your vet about your options.
posted by goo at 10:12 AM on March 13

Unfortunately in the cargo hold there is a risk of your pet dying or getting lost. So you have to take that into consideration. You'd want to do everything you could to minimize that risk. If possible, its probably better to endure 8 hours of misery by your feet, knowing your cat is safe, than to spend the whole flight going "what if". At least, for me it would be. Also, some cats travel better than others. I once drove a friend and her cat from Kitchener to Thunder Bay, and the poor thing was not comfy but he was quiet and very well behaved.

Travelling with pets link.
posted by sandraregina at 10:20 AM on March 13

i brought my dog from southeast asia to the us, and he's been from the east coast to the west coast and back again, all in his sherpa bag, which he also gets popped into for trips on the subway and cars. if your cat can get gradually used to being in the bag or hard carrier, it shouldn't be super stressful for kitty. also: you can always stick your hand in every once in a while to give kitty a rub.

some people do sedate their animals—i don't have to do that because jarvis is really mellow, but i do give him treats every time the plane takes off and lands to help his ears pop, the same way people chew gum or suck on candy.
posted by lia at 10:21 AM on March 13

ms. timshel sez:

As a person who has brought three animals into the UK successfully (1 dog and two cats) I can tell you that it is difficult but possible.

It is a minimum six month process, but does not need to involve any quarantine if you follow all the steps exactly:

First you should find a vet who is familiar with the Defra pet passport scheme. It will make things much easier if they have experience sending a cat to the UK.

Then you must get your cat microchipped If you have not already done so. You will need to get a rabies vaccination for your cat (microchip MUST be done before this).

You usually need to wait two weeks to take a blood test. The vet needs to send this blood to a special lab to be tested for rabies. They need to fill out a form that states the pet is to be exported.

There is a 6 month wait from when the blood test is taken at which point, you have up to a year from the original blood test to fly with your cat.

No more than 24 hours and no less than 48 hours before you are due to fly, they have to be given a health check and health certificate by the vet and a tick and tapeworm treatment. You will then need to take those documents as well as the lab results to the USDA to be notarized.

Contrary to what the other poster have said, you are not allowed to take a pet directly into the UK in the cabin. They are all required to be in the cargo hold. This is a climate controlled environment and is perfectly safe for them. They are very particular about kennel sizes - the cat needs to have two inches above the head when standing up.

There are only certain airline carriers and routes that are approved by the UK so you will need to fly with one of them. Virgin Atlantic and British Airways are two that I have had experience with.

More information can be found on the Defra website: http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/quarantine/index.htm
posted by timshel at 10:42 AM on March 13 [2 favorites]

By the way, all of our animals were fine within a day of getting here. The six month process is far more stressful to you than the one day of flying is to the cat. Finding a new home for your feline friend is going to be a much harder adjustment for both parties.

I will say the process isn't cheap. After vet charges, airline fees, Defra fees and purchasing a new kennel it comes to around $1000.
posted by timshel at 10:48 AM on March 13

I've never moved my pets across any ponds but have friends who have done it. Their lesson learned? It sucks and transport agencies can help with some of the messier aspects of the move. (this is one that is quite good) There is an associated cost but they can help mitigate the stress of the process.
posted by lostinsupermarket at 10:57 AM on March 13

I recently flew nine hours (Midwest U.S. to western Europe) with my 13 lb. cat in a Sherpa carrier under the seat in front of me. I had a sedative for her just in case, but I ended up not using it; she was silent and perfectly behaved the whole time. And she's a very talkative cat under any circumstances, and she HATES being in a carrier, and I didn't do anything to get her used to being in one (not wise, I know). sandraregina is exactly right; even if they're unhappy, it's better to have them close to you than to sit there wondering about them the whole flight.
posted by transporter accident amy at 11:21 AM on March 13

Contrary to what the other poster have said, you are not allowed to take a pet directly into the UK in the cabin. They are all required to be in the cargo hold. This is a climate controlled environment and is perfectly safe for them.

two problems with flying animals in cargo holds:
1) climate control and pressure can be lost during flight sometimes, in which case you end up with a dead animal. rare, but possible and horrible.
2) airlines will not load your animal into cargo if the temperatures at point of departure, point of arrival or anywhere in between are too low or too high, because of fears your animal might die on the tarmac while being loaded or unloaded.

you can't take kitty directly into the uk in the cabin, but you can take kitty there indirectly in the cabin flying to one of the countries that has valid sea or train entrance on the PETS scheme: france, holland, belgium or spain. i'd do this rather than put an animal in cargo hold.
posted by lia at 11:58 AM on March 13 [1 favorite]

I had a very different experience bringing my cat with me in a Sherpa carrier in the airline cabin for a cross country flight from Los Angeles to New York. My cat freaked out. She also urinated inside her carrier and if you are familiar with how awful cat urine smells and how the air inside a plane is recycled, well then you can imagine how much everyone on board hated me.

Good luck!
posted by cazoo at 11:59 AM on March 13

The PETS pages linked above say that kitty must have an ISO standard microchip. Are HomeAgain chips compliant with this?
posted by fireoyster at 2:59 PM on March 13

According to this, yes.
posted by ArkhanJG at 9:25 AM on March 14

One thing to be very careful of: Make absolutely sure you are in full compliance with the rules and that you have talked with the appropriate PETS scheme people to confirm and reconfirm that what you are doing meets the critera. Spend the money on overseas calls--it is worth every penny. If you do not, your pet may end up in quarantine for six months.
posted by yellowcandy at 8:39 AM on March 15