Traveling with cats on a plane can be difficult enough but things can get even more complicated when you are going abroad with a cat since you will need to bring a lot more things with you.
Not to mention it can take months to do and can cost you thousands of dollars. If you think its way too much work you might want to consider leaving your cat behind. If you can’t see your self doing that here is how you move with your cat to another country.
Things You’ll Need
Depending on the country you are going to you may need a lot of things or you may barely need anything at all. Before you leave you want to look up the countries rules on moving your pet to another country.
• Micro Chip
Odds are your cat will need a micro chip. To get one it will cost you around 50 dollars. Most countries have this as a requirement if you travel there as it has all of their identification and medical information which they need. You will also have to get one that based in the country that you are moving to as they are different in each country.
• Vaccinations
You will have to have all of your cats vaccinations up to date when traveling to another country. If your cat isn’t vaccinated yet you will need to get this done especially for Rabies.
• EU Passport
When you travel internationally you will need a passport for yourself but you will also need to get a EU passport for your pets as well. This is important because it could result in your cat getting quarantined if you don’t have one especially in the UK.
• Health Certificate
You will need one of these because you need to prove that your cat is in good health and doesn’t have any parasites. It also needs to be verified by a USDA veterinarian from your state for it to be valid. You may also need to translate them for an additional cost if the country you are traveling to doesn’t speak English.
• Cat Carrier
You will be on a plane and this a requirement for you to have. I listed a bunch of them here on another article that I wrote.
• Sedative
If your cat has a problem calming down and doesn’t like travel you will need to get a sedative. Make sure you don’t use one that doesn’t mess with blood pressure or prevents them from regulating body temperature as this could be dangerous for them when on the plane.
You can view my article “Types Of Sedatives For Cats And How To Use Them” for more information on this.
Pet Relocation Services
Another way you could move your pet to another country is you could hire a pet relation service like Pet Air Carrier or Happy Tails Travel. It can be expensive and you’ll have to pay the cargo rate and the shippers fee.
but it makes the process of moving them a lot easier so you don’t have to do all of the complicated stuff and if your pet is too large certain airlines wont allow your pet on the plane unless you have one of these services. Smaller animals you really don’t need to worry about this.
Transporting Pets Overseas By Boat
If you don’t want to take a plane with your pet to another country and you would rather go on a boat instead a company called uShip does just that for you.
What Is Pet Quarantine?
Before you can travel with your cat to a new country some countries require that they go through a quarantine period so they don’t bring new diseases into the country. However some countries don’t require you to do this at all and some make you wait an insane amount of time.
How Long Does Pet Quarantine Take?
Keep in mind that rabies is a huge factor in how long it will take to get them traveling with you. The United States is a rabies controlled country so it really depends on whether you are going to a rabies free, rabies controlled, or a high rabies country.
If you are going to another rabies controlled country this may reduce the time they have to stay or even avoid it all together. On top of that they will also have to get a blood test to see if their vaccine is working properly and it will take quite a few weeks to get the results.
If you want more information on this you can go to this link here and they will give you an idea on how long quarantines should take for what country you are going to http://www.pettravel.com/passports_quarantine_rabies_rules.cfm
High Risk Rabies Countries
This page here will show you what countries have the most rabies risk which is a lot! http://www.pettravel.com/passports_rabies_countries.cfm
Things to Consider
Letting your cat outside in another country can be potentially dangerous. A lot of countries have a rabies problem so this might put your cat at risk if they aren’t vaccinated. It could also have nasty predators such as large snakes.
Certain countries also consider having a cat as weird. As a result it might be harder to get an apartment and it may cost you more money. Non typical cats breeds may also not be allowed depending on the country you are moving to such as Savannah Cats so be sure to keep this in mind.
