# Pets



## BunnyNaya (Sep 8, 2015)

Hello everyone I live in Minnesota with 8 rabbits and two cats. My boyfriend and I want to move to germany and are wondering about how accepting flats are of this many pets. We are mainly moving there for school and we have a lawyers talked about moving to germany and want to follow through with it but pets area concern for us. My bf and I would never imagine getting rid of them. Anyways any info is great we hope to find a two bedroom flat one room for us and another for the rabbits. Even if not we can live with a one bedroom and use the living room for them. Anyways giving me a lot of information. I know germany is a lot more pet friendly and won't quarantine pets. Thanks guys!


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## Nononymous (Jul 12, 2011)

One or two cats shouldn't be a problem - landlords are fairly accepting and getting them into the country is relatively simple - but no idea if you'd have an easy time of it with eight rabbits as well. Probably not. The move alone would be nasty.


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## laster (Sep 3, 2015)

I don't know if this rule is applied for any pets or just dogs/cats, but I know you have to pay tax for each pet you have, and if you have more than three, you are classified as animal breeder, and you also need an appropriate place.


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## beppi (Jun 10, 2013)

Please disregard the posting above by laster: There is no tax and regulations for cats and rabbits, only for dogs!
However, landlords are genarally worried for their property and thus not too welcoming towards people with so many pets. Since their consent is required for having any, you should mention it during your flat search.
You are right that there is usually no quarantine required, but a vet's certificate is - and transporting pets internationally is not cheap. We brought a cat with us (only one pet per person allowed on a flight) and had to pay roughly half the fare as a human needs. Sending them as unaccompanied luggage costs more than that - google per forwarding companies to get a quote!


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## Nononymous (Jul 12, 2011)

beppi said:


> Please disregard the posting above by laster: There is no tax and regulations for cats and rabbits, only for dogs!
> However, landlords are genarally worried for their property and thus not too welcoming towards people with so many pets. Since their consent is required for having any, you should mention it during your flat search.
> You are right that there is usually no quarantine required, but a vet's certificate is - and transporting pets internationally is not cheap. We brought a cat with us (only one pet per person allowed on a flight) and had to pay roughly half the fare as a human needs. Sending them as unaccompanied luggage costs more than that - google per forwarding companies to get a quote!


This won't help you if you're transporting your own personal hobby farm, but depending on the airline, you may still be able to bring a cat with you as cabin baggage (in a soft-sided bag) at zero or minimal extra cost. Much less stress for the cat, as you can park the bag in your lap every so often.

It's all in the distant past now, but I recall moving back from Berlin to Canada with over 200 kg of checked luggage, then getting on the plane with four carry-on bags, a baby, a stroller, and a cat, and not paying a dime extra. Unimaginable.

Coming to Germany, what I recall at the time was that we needed a rabies vaccination for the cat about a month before departure, then a vet inspection with certificate three days' prior. The form was handed over to customs when we landed.

All that being said, moving to Germany as students with two cats and eight rabbits would be a nightmare.


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## beppi (Jun 10, 2013)

Nononymous said:


> Depending on the airline, you may still be able to bring a cat with you as cabin baggage (in a soft-sided bag) at zero or minimal extra cost. Much less stress for the cat, as you can park the bag in your lap every so often.


This was exactly what I was talking about: Bringing a pet with you in the cabin.
Possibly the rules are different from airline to airline, bun in our case, one pet per person was allowed (in an airline-approved pet carrier that fits under the seat), but we had to pay excess luggage fee for it with a minimum of 4kg, which turned out about half as expensive as our ticket.


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## Nononymous (Jul 12, 2011)

Out of curiosity I just checked Air Canada - you can bring one cat per person in the cabin, but the carrier counts as one piece of carry-on luggage with a $50 or $100 surcharge. So not too bad, really.


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