# Moving Cat to the UK



## cjmoving (Nov 9, 2008)

Hi,

I'm moving in the spring and currently working on getting all of the necessary steps done with my feline friend.

I'm very skeptical of putting him in the cargo area of the plane. I'm very, very worried about it in fact and not really sure what to do. Does anyone know of any methods to get a cat into the main area of the plane. 

He's such a well-behaved animal, no meowing, spazzes, no peeing not in a litterbox, etc. I don't want to put him through the freak-iness of being in cargo for a 5+ hour flight.

Any ideas are much appreciated.

Thanks!


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

We've had a number of people inquiring lately about transporting pets.

I would contact a pet transporter. (It has been a while, but I actually found the one I used in the Yellow Pages under "pet transport.") The one I used (Pet Express in San Francisco) had all the information about the various airlines, airports and the regulations for getting my cats into and out of the countries. They were really good about explaining all the options and they were perfectly willing to give out information before I committed to having them handle all the arrangements for my two cats. 

They even did the pre-flight boarding - I had to fly over a week before my apartment in Germany would be available, and since I couldn't have them in the hotel with me, they had to fly later. I got a little "report card" on their experience in the boarding kennel - details of whether or not they ate and how they behaved. It was obvious that the staff there were all animal lovers and took excellent care of my "babies" while I was gone.

A good animal transporter will know which airlines will and won't allow your cat in the passenger cabin and under what conditions. Ask your vet if they can recommend a transporter - or if you have a local zoo, ask them. (The place I used also did large animal transport for zoos and wild animal parks.)
Cheers,
Bev


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## Minuvweyna (Aug 6, 2008)

I just brought my cat with me from the US to the UK. It is very hard to avoid putting your cat in cargo, but I found a way, because I am a very nervous cat-mother. No airlines flying _to_ or _in_ the UK are allowed to have animals in cabin.

Instead I flew Air France (Air France) from the US to Paris, they allowed me to have my cat with me in the plane, for $150. They required a soft sided case, and I would recommend StudriBags (SturdiProducts). Other airlines may allow this as well, I believe Lufthansa may also allow cats on their flights as long as the destination country allows it.

After I landed in Paris I took a train to Calais (Rail Europe). They do not mind cats, but you do have to buy a pet ticket, it cost about 7 euro I believe. I then stayed the night in Calais. French hotels are very pet friendly; places that do not accept animals are the exception.

In the morning I took the ferry (P&O Ferries) from Calais to Dover. The ferry requires a hard sided carrier, so you either need to bring an extra carrier or buy one in Calais; there are at least 2 pet stores in town that should have an acceptable carrier. On the ferry my cat was secured with cargo, and I had to go upstairs, but she did fine, and I was not concerned about heating and air issues, so it was alright.

Once in Dover I took a train to London (National Rail), then used the Underground (Transport for London) to switch stations in order to catch my train to Edinburgh. There is no charge for transporting an animal on trains in the UK, they just count as part of your baggage allowance. If you need more baggage than is allowed then you will pay an excess baggage fee. You are allowed 3 bags on UK trains, including the pet carrier. This is why I bought a cheap hard sided carrier in Calais and then simply threw it away when I arrived in Dover.

I will warn you, it is a VERY long trip and more expensive too, and flying a cat in cargo is probably safe, so I consider myself quite mad for having gone through all of this. However, in the end, I had a safe cat who was very eager to get out of her carrier and explore our new flat.

I absolutely do not recommend sedating a cat whether in cargo (dangerous!) or in the cabin of the plane. I tried valium before our trip, and it had a very frightening and entirely opposite effect on my cat. She became very agitated and upset and uncoordinated. I was very worried she would hurt herself, and she howled almost non-stop for about 15 hours until it wore off. Some cats may do fine on it, but definitely try it well before your trip, and still never sedate an animal in cargo, it can depress their breathing and be fatal.

If you need any other advice concerning my crazy trip to the UK, please feel free to ask, I'd be happy to provide any help concerning transportation, as well as what is required to import a cat into the UK (it's a long, involved process no matter where you are coming from, other than I believe Ireland.)

Best wishes,
Elizabeth


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## Eliska (Oct 14, 2008)

cjmoving said:


> Hi,
> 
> I'm moving in the spring and currently working on getting all of the necessary steps done with my feline friend.
> 
> ...



Where are you moving from? If it's from Europe you could take the train or ferry. I understand your fears, I would not want to put my cat in cargo at all. How long is the flight?


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## kygirlinlndn (Mar 20, 2009)

Minuvweyna/Elizabeth - I am getting ready to make plans to do the EXACT same thing! Only, I will hopefully be picked up at Dover and I am moving to London, not Edinburgh. I was wondering if you had to get the tick and tapeworm treatment readministered in France before you were allowed on the ferry? I have been looking through the information for transporting pets for months now, and I was unsure of whether the route you described would work given that the parasite treatments are supposed to be administered 24-48 hrs before your connection to the UK. Apparently you got through! Great post!!

Thanks,
Susan


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## Minuvweyna (Aug 6, 2008)

kygirlinlndn said:


> Minuvweyna/Elizabeth - I am getting ready to make plans to do the EXACT same thing! Only, I will hopefully be picked up at Dover and I am moving to London, not Edinburgh. I was wondering if you had to get the tick and tapeworm treatment readministered in France before you were allowed on the ferry? I have been looking through the information for transporting pets for months now, and I was unsure of whether the route you described would work given that the parasite treatments are supposed to be administered 24-48 hrs before your connection to the UK. Apparently you got through! Great post!!
> 
> Thanks,
> Susan



I did not have to readminister tick/tapeworm, but only because I did not need it for arrival in France, and I timed it and my trip very carefully. I had the treatment done 36 or 40 hours before we landed in Dover (so the afternoon before we got on the plane to France). The treatment is to be given between 24 and 48 hours of your ARRIVAL in the UK. This gives the treatment time to kill any pests, I suppose. So with careful timing you can do this, provided your time in France doesn't last too long. If it does, you will need to have it readministered, and then wait at least 24 hours in France before arriving in the UK, so I would try to do it in one fell swoop.


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## kygirlinlndn (Mar 20, 2009)

*It's me again!*



Minuvweyna said:


> I did not have to readminister tick/tapeworm, but only because I did not need it for arrival in France, and I timed it and my trip very carefully. I had the treatment done 36 or 40 hours before we landed in Dover (so the afternoon before we got on the plane to France). The treatment is to be given between 24 and 48 hours of your ARRIVAL in the UK. This gives the treatment time to kill any pests, I suppose. So with careful timing you can do this, provided your time in France doesn't last too long. If it does, you will need to have it readministered, and then wait at least 24 hours in France before arriving in the UK, so I would try to do it in one fell swoop.


Hello again! I am planning my trip in just a few days with my cat. I have all the necessary tickets and I get my official health certificate on Thursday! Did you have an English only health certificate or the dual French/English one? Was there any harassment when you arrived in Paris? I am terrified they won't want to let my cat in! Also, you referred to a "pet ticket" for the train from Paris to Calais. Did you purchase this directly from the conductor or is there some other way to purchase it? I currently don't have one, but I thought I read somewhere that they are purchased in cash once you are on the train.

Thanks for any information you can give me!!


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## Minuvweyna (Aug 6, 2008)

kygirlinlndn said:


> Hello again! I am planning my trip in just a few days with my cat. I have all the necessary tickets and I get my official health certificate on Thursday! Did you have an English only health certificate or the dual French/English one? Was there any harassment when you arrived in Paris? I am terrified they won't want to let my cat in! Also, you referred to a "pet ticket" for the train from Paris to Calais. Did you purchase this directly from the conductor or is there some other way to purchase it? I currently don't have one, but I thought I read somewhere that they are purchased in cash once you are on the train.
> 
> Thanks for any information you can give me!!


You need to use the French bilingual form. The UK officials will take it without question and the French require that the form appear in French (which is odd, because there is no requirement that it be filled out in French, only that the questions appear in French) - they are a strange country...

Paris completely ignored me. I went LOOKING for a customs person to check all my paperwork, like a good little traveler. When I finally could make the bored customs people understand that I HAD a cat, with me, and wanted to know if they would like to see her papers, they said "no, we don't need to see anything, go catch your train" I don't know if they will want to see YOUR cat's papers, but they didn't care about mine...

You may be able to purchase a cat ticket on the train, I'm not sure, but I bought one at the station in CDG airport. Give yourself a lot of time to do this, because the lines are long. Also be careful in that train station, things are not labeled quite as you expect and I actually managed to miss a train while being on the right platform (at least I was under the right platform number) - be the stupid American and ask people if they are waiting for the train you are, it might save you 60 euro.

Also, be sure that you have the carrier your airline wants (probably a soft sided carrier) but you will need a HARD sided carrier for the ferry (since your cat will be with luggage (it's secure and all was fine, but you cannot take the cat up to the passenger area). There are pet stores in Calais, and you can get a cheap hard sided carrier, but make sure you have it for your ferry, I had a panic filled morning trying to find one when all the stores were still closed.

Hope your travel goes smoothly, and that you, and kitty, enjoy the UK.


Cheers,
Elizabeth


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## kygirlinlndn (Mar 20, 2009)

Minuvweyna said:


> You need to use the French bilingual form. The UK officials will take it without question and the French require that the form appear in French (which is odd, because there is no requirement that it be filled out in French, only that the questions appear in French) - they are a strange country...
> 
> Paris completely ignored me. I went LOOKING for a customs person to check all my paperwork, like a good little traveler. When I finally could make the bored customs people understand that I HAD a cat, with me, and wanted to know if they would like to see her papers, they said "no, we don't need to see anything, go catch your train" I don't know if they will want to see YOUR cat's papers, but they didn't care about mine...
> 
> ...



Thank you! I think the only thing I don't have is the hard-sided carrier, which I didn't think I would need. My husband is picking me up at the Calais and we are all going into the car. Do you think that the kitty will be able to stay in the car? If not, my husband can bring a hard-sided carrier with him, perhaps.

Thanks again for all your help!!

Susan


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## Minuvweyna (Aug 6, 2008)

If you are taking the ferry as a car passenger I actually think you HAVE to leave her in the car, so the soft sided carrier should be fine. I was a foot passenger so she had to go with my suitcase, so it needed to be hard sided.

You should be fine, disregard the hard carrier. 

Good luck!
Elizabeth


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## kygirlinlndn (Mar 20, 2009)

Minuvweyna said:


> If you are taking the ferry as a car passenger I actually think you HAVE to leave her in the car, so the soft sided carrier should be fine. I was a foot passenger so she had to go with my suitcase, so it needed to be hard sided.
> 
> You should be fine, disregard the hard carrier.
> 
> ...


You have been really great! Thanks for all your help! It's a shame you are in one part of the country and I am going to be in another.

Best,
Susan


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## Aby (Sep 6, 2009)

Hello,
I recently moved to UK with my cat, a who was 10 1/2 at the time and I too was very worried about putting her through the travel. If you haven't already read about the Pet Passport on DEFRA, the steps are their website under UK - Animal health and welfare - Pet Travel Scheme

You have to start this process about 6 months prior to your travel date to avoid the quarantine, then once obtained you have 4 months to travel. 

This is how I did it and about what I paid, from Phoenix.

1. Bella was microchipped (about $100). This must be done first as all subsequent steps require the chip being scanned, then the action performed.

2. Bella received a rabies vaccine. As the UK has no rabies this is required, even if your cat lives indoors. (don't remember cost but nominal)

3. Following 2 weeks of the vaccine, Bella had a blood test to ensure the vaccine took. This test was then sent off by the vet to the only approved laboratory in Kansas. Again I cannot remember the cost but I believe under $100. 

4. Within a month, test results return, and if negative, then you can proceed. It is important to remember that the 6-month travel ban (basically the quarantine period you undertake by remaining in the US) begins on the date the blood test was drawn.

5. About 2 weeks before your travel date, you need a certificate from the USDA. This part wasn't obvious on the DEFRA site when I went through it and my vet wasn't familiar with this at all. Call your local USDA office as their turnaround time and prices may vary. In Phoenix, the office has 72hr turn around time, the cost was $70 I think and payable only by check.

6. Within 24-48hrs prior to travel Bella got treated for parasites/worms/fleas/ticks. This was a spray-on treatment and an injection. I think the cost was around $150.

7. The flight--from the US you really only have the choice of flying BA into Heathrow. There is a list of where you can fly from and where on the DEFRA site. Also, not sure where you are flying from but check beforehand to make sure they are allowed to fly animals during the month you want to travel. I was very lucky as Bella went in December because BA cannot fly animals during the summer due to temperatures in the cargo hold. Also there are restrictions on the transport crate, it must have about 5" above your cat's head when standing up and have room to turn around. You also need to have food and water bowls reachable from the outside (common sense, no?). I was lucky and found a crate on craigslist but be prepared, this could run you $75. Worth it, but still, an unexpected cost. I dropped her off at the BA cargo office. Yes, it was heartbreaking for me as she was terrified and shaking and crying but this was the only way to get her over and I was not going to leave her behind.

Bella flew unaccompanied on BA to Heathrow for $850. Unfortunately her passport came through before my visa so she went ahead of me and my partner picked her up. BA has a special pet reception area and they took very good care of her on the flight. All the animals fly in the front of the cargo area and their crates are secured, the area was heated. I packed her crate with my pillowcases and nightshirt. When she landed at LHR they brought her through the DEFRA vet checks quickly. 

Alternately you can fly in the cabin and then pick up your cat following the flight, there were several people who did that with their dogs. 

There is no way around the stress, going to vet so often upset Bella and I know the flight was scary, but she recovered quickly. 

As a side note, my vet strongly discouraged sedating her, he even said she would probably wear herself out meowing and go to sleep. 

I wish you luck and I won't say don't worry because I know I did!


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## runamonk (Oct 16, 2009)

Howdy,

I recently moved to the UK (April of this year) and brought my dog and two cats with me. 

After completing all the chipping, testing and paperwork (I had the best vet in the US they had done this process hundreds of times in the past and they made is painless for me). 

After my visa was approved, I booked all our flights. I was just like you and very nervous about putting my little monsters on loud noisy plane to say the least. Anyhow I checked around and finally found a direct flight from the US to the UK that had special live animal areas in the cargo hold. In fact when checking with several pet transport companies they all recommended BA or Continental as they are both very good at taking extra special care of pets.

So I go to the airport about 5 hours before my flight so I could take my monsters to a special cargo terminal just for large shipments and live animals where I had to check them in, go over all their information, copy everything again and get them ready to go. This included them securing the crates all closed, adding food and water dishes and wanting to pull out all of my hair before heading to my own terminal to check in.

It is not recommended that you sedate your pets for international flights in fact my vet advised against it and the airlines did not allow it. They assured me it was for the safety of the animals that they have these rules in place.

Once I landed at heathrow my fiance (wife now) and I headed over to the special place near the airport to pick up the monsters. Be prepared to wait, we had to wait a couple hours. It took about an hour to get them off loaded and then transported to the pickup location and they of course had to go over all the customs documentation, check through all the paperwork and test the chips to make sure the animals matched all the documentation. 

They all did fine and made it through and were quite happy. Although I suspect the ladies at the receiving area wanted to keep my little min pin (Bruno) he was out of his crate straight off and one of them was walking him in their little grassy area haha.


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## Yaneth34 (Mar 18, 2010)

Hi Runamonk 

Your reply was in 2009 and hope you are still around lol.. i just had a question. How much did it cost you to fly your dog? Do you think they have a flat fee all year around!? or you think they charge base on what time/season you are flying? :confused2:

I'm in Los Angeles and planning to fly to London. 


Thank you 





runamonk said:


> Howdy,
> 
> I recently moved to the UK (April of this year) and brought my dog and two cats with me.
> 
> ...


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## fsantarelli (Oct 8, 2013)

Elizabeth, thank you so much for your message. I'm flying from Washington DC to Rome Italy (where I'm originally from but I've been in the US for the past 20 years). Thankfully, my cat can fly in the cabin with me from Dulles Airport in DC to Rome and then I need to take my cat to the UK. I'm going follow your advice and fly from Rome to Paris and then take the train to Calais, the ferry to Dover and then another train to London. I don't want my cat to go in the cargo. She's an older cat and I don't know how she would be in the cargo even if it's two hours flight from Rome to London. Thank you so much again!!!
Francesca


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