# Bringing Pets from USA



## capamando (Sep 22, 2013)

Hello Folks,

We are considering renting an RV and traveling in Mexico with our three cats in order to find a place to live withing a year or two...can someone help us figure out what is needed by the authorities to enter Mexico with our three cats?

Thank you,


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## tijuanahopeful (Apr 2, 2013)

They will each need to have their shots, especially rabies. I'm in the process of moving to Tijuana, and I've heard that they also need a health certificate. On the other forums that I'm on, some posters say that they need one, some say that they don't. I'm going to be on the safe side, and get one, even though my vet says that only proof of a rabies shot is necessary.


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## conklinwh (Dec 19, 2009)

capamando said:


> Hello Folks,
> 
> We are considering renting an RV and traveling in Mexico with our three cats in order to find a place to live withing a year or two...can someone help us figure out what is needed by the authorities to enter Mexico with our three cats?
> 
> Thank you,


We've taken our cats back and forth a few times but stopped two years ago.
What I always had was their shot record, including rabies, as well as the new vet form attesting lack of parasites. My vet in Raleigh had a stack of the forms. Issue for us was the timing as I had been told that needed to cross within 5 days of the date on the form and that not always the plan as friends and relatives on the route.
Our vet had no problem post dating a few days to keep us within the 5 day window.
All that being said, we were never asked for anything in either direction. Only question was how many cats. Theoretical limit is two pets per person.


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## tijuanahopeful (Apr 2, 2013)

I only have one cat, so that shouldn't be a problem. I'm going to make an appointment to take him in next Saturday to get his health certificate. You never know who you'll get at the border, and how picky they'll be.

It's bad enough that I get sent to secondary every time I cross back into the US, so I'm just going to take a precautionary measure, and get the health certificate.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

The limit is two pets per person, so have the vet make your paperwork fit that requirement.
It is the rental vehicle that will be a problem. Mexico wants the owner/importer to be the same and to match the major credit card for the deposit, etc. You cannot even bring a UHaul into Mexico, for example. It is also doubtful that the rental agency/owner of an RV would allow you to take it out of the USA. Then, how would you insure it in Mexico? 
If you buy an RV, no problem. It would be yours.


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## mes1952 (Dec 11, 2012)

I've lived and crossed the SY border for over 2 years and brought in dogs and other stuff and never had a problem and never been checked or asked about anything. I used to bring several 45 lb. bags of dog food across to an animal sanctuary in Baja and the one time I was searched by the aduanas they simply passed me through.
Never had a problem crossing back into the U.S. with stuff including animals as well. They've even let me go through with fruit in my car.


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## tijuanahopeful (Apr 2, 2013)

I guess I'll find out on the 30th, which is the day that I'm taking my cat across the border.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

The original poster asked about touring Mexico, exploring for a place to live. 
You folks in Baja California are in a tourist zone, a rather free zone, and generally have little idea of what lies beyond. In the interior of Mexico, Aduana and INM laws and rules are enforced and foreign vehicles must have appropriate importation documents & be driven only by drivers permitted by those rules. If yoou doubt that, try to board a ferry for the mainland with your US or Canadian car. Without an importada temporal, your ferry ticket will be of no use.
So, advice from within the Zona Frontera should be taken with a grain of salt. It is a different world in Baja, with little connection to the rest of Mexico. It seems to be sort of a beach/party suburb of San Diego.


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## tijuanahopeful (Apr 2, 2013)

I just moved to Tijuana and when I go to the border, they weren't even interested in looking at my cat, let alone his rabies vaccination certificate. 

But I agree with RVGringo, living in Baja is much different than living the interior of Mexico. If had planned to move to the interior, I would have done things much differently.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

RVGRINGO said:


> The original poster asked about touring Mexico, exploring for a place to live.
> You folks in Baja California are in a tourist zone, a rather free zone, and generally have little idea of what lies beyond. In the interior of Mexico, Aduana and INM laws and rules are enforced and foreign vehicles must have appropriate importation documents & be driven only by drivers permitted by those rules. If yoou doubt that, try to board a ferry for the mainland with your US or Canadian car. Without an importada temporal, your ferry ticket will be of no use.
> So, advice from within the Zona Frontera should be taken with a grain of salt. It is a different world in Baja, with little connection to the rest of Mexico. It seems to be sort of a beach/party suburb of San Diego.


The only caveat I would give to RV's comment is a clarification of the last line, the "beach/party suburb of San Diego". That applies to part of the coast between Tijuana-Rosarita Beach-Ensenada. And the beach/party, but not the suburb part, may apply to Cabo. But not so much to the rest of Baja. 

La Paz seems like a nice Mexican town, not all that different from say Los Mochis on the other side of the Sea of Cortez. And I have been in some fishing villages like Abre Ojos or Bahia de Tortuga that are definitely Mexican villages with no connection to the US or tourists of any kind. Well, to be completely honest, Bahia de Tortuga sees tourists once a year when the annual Baja HaHa sailboat crowd passes through. But the rest of the year it is just as Mexican as any place on the mainland.


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## vantexan (Sep 4, 2011)

We crossed over today with our two dogs at Laredo. Have read numerous times that it's best to have required paperwork but it's rarely if ever looked at. It was the first thing the customs lady wanted to see. Anyways we're in Saltillo now, heading to San Miguel. Looking for better weather than Monterrey but have to say the mountains around it and Saltillo make for a great setting.


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## tijuanahopeful (Apr 2, 2013)

I think it just depends on who you get at the border. I asked if she wanted to see my cat or his rabies certificate, and she said, "No." So I went on my way.


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## mr_manny (Nov 22, 2013)

Good Info.
We have 2 yorkies and 2 chihuahuas that will be joining us, when we make our move south


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## maesonna (Jun 10, 2008)

If you want to see the requirements ”from the horse’s mouth” (cat’s mouth?) here (all in Spanish) is the Mexican government page giving all the requirements for bringing cats or dogs. The relevant documents would be #1 and #3 from the list of three pdf files. There is nothing that contradicts the information given by various people above, but as several people have mentioned, the officials often don’t seem to check the documentation very thoroughly. In #1 it mentions that dogs/cats coming from Canada or USA don’t need to have had antiparasite treatment.


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