# US to Spain Cat moving



## ulugeyik (Nov 10, 2008)

We are moving to Spain in about 2 months and want to bring along our two cats. Called US Airways who has a direct flight from Philly but they do not carry Pets transatlantic. British Airways gets good reviews and appears friendly but has policies to the effect that if too many people reserves to carry cats, yours might not be able to board. That sounds like an unsafe bet. Anyone has any experience with this?

Also, then comes the issue of the paperwork, the cats' comfort etc. We found the regulations and are trying to find a vet that is state certified. It looks like we should not tranqualize the cats for the trip. But then we are not sure what else to pay attention to. What is the best/most comfortable way of doing this?


----------



## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

It will cost you a bit, but you would definitely feel better using a pet transporter. (Oddly enough, these guys are listed in the yellow pages.) They keep track of which airlines have the best accommodations for animals and which airports have the best holding facilities. 

They also have their own policies regarding the comfort of the animals (i.e. size of container they must be in and when and how they are fed before and after the flight). 

I used a pet transport service in San Francisco to fly my two cats to Germany and found that they were extremely co-operative and very sensitive to my concerns. They also had their own boarding facilities and did the veterinary exam and certificates as part of the deal.
Cheers,
Bev


----------



## libove (Feb 24, 2008)

*US to Spain cat travel*

We will be taking our kitties (okay, at 16 years old, one of them is clearly not a "kitty', but you get my drift) when my wife completes our relocation from the US to Spain on February 18, 2009. (I am looking forward to the reunion!).

Not all air carriers allow pets in the cabin or in cargo anymore, and all charge silly / ridiculous fees for it. Delta Air Lines happens to allow up to two pets in cabin per flight, at the modest fee for the massive inconvenience they obviously suffer for permitting this of $150 per pet. Sheesh. Pet in cargo (which I do not desire to do to my cats!) is $450 each! (These are trans-Atlantic numbers; your mileage and fees will vary domestic / elsewhere in the world). Note, nobody can take a pet in cabin to the UK. You must reserve the spot for your pet in the cabin in advance, because they are reserved ahead, and if you show up at the airport with pet number N+1 (N being however many they'll permit in your cabin on that flight), you will not be permitted to board your pet.

International domestic animal movements are well regulated. For Spain, you need only to implant an RFID chip matching one of the two ISO standards understood in Europe, have the rabies vaccination up to date, and have two health certificates: one from your vet, certified by your state's vet, within 4 months of the relocation, and the other from your vet, no certification necessary, within one week (maybe ten days) of the actual air travel date, for the airline. Your vet should be familiar with all of this.

An EU "pet passport" is NOT required to bring your pet directly to Spain from the US. It might be required if you land at an intermediate EU city and connect to Spain. It will be required for your pet to travel between EU Countries once you're here.

Best of luck. I'd appreciate pet owners' experiences with drugging vs not drugging their pets for in-cabin trans-Atlantic transport, particularly for older boys like my 16 year old N.C. who have never traveled by air before.

Cheers,
Jay in Barcelona


----------

