Jumping_tigger

Hi There,

I was wondering if anyone had moved their cats across, and had any idea on costings involved, and what would need to be done for them to be able to move out with us.

We are not planning on moving until around next June, while we wait for our visa to come through.

Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you.

(First time using this forum)

Bluegrass Lass

We just moved back to the USA from Edinburgh. We flew our 2 cats on United Airlines (they had the most direct flights) from there to Indianapolis, Indiana. United required us to use a relocation agent. We chose to use the same agent that also happens to handle pets that are incoming to Edinburgh - their name is Extrordinair. In our case, we already had the cats vaccination records from our US vet, this included rabies and an FVRCP vacc. We simply filled out a Booking form for Extrordinair to reserve the flights, then a few days before their flight, we took them to our UK vet to get a health certificate saying they were fit-to-fly (required by the airline). The day of the flight, we have the pick-up driver the health cert & vaccination cert, and that was it. Our total cost was about £1075, including pickup from our location and transporting to the airport. We already had the shipping crates from our flight over to the UK, but we could have gotten the crates from the agent as well.

I imagine that all the documentation that Florida will need is proof of rabies, but you may want to call the Florida USDA office just to make sure. You probably want the USDA's APHIS office for FL.

In our case, the cats cleared customs in Newark, as that was the airport they landed in from Edinburgh - and that's where their paperwork was examined. We then picked them up from the United cargo office in Indianapolis.

Keep in mind, though, that some airlines put in place heat embargos for certain time periods. If outside temps are too hot, airlines do not want to fly pets. I imagine FL airports would put embargos in place given how hot it gets down there, so you need to research this with airlines. If I were you, I'd consider moving in very early June, if not a bit earlier, to try and get the cats there before the major heat starts in FL.

thinbrit

Wow, prices have certainly gone up. I paid £100 to fly my cat from Manchester to DFW in 2006. She was checked in to the hold during the international portion of the flight, then allowed to travel in the cabin (still in a carrier) once we changed at Miami for the domestic leg.

Bluegrass Lass

Yeah, flying in-cabin wasn't an option at all. We paid about that same amount when we flew our 2cats from the UK in 2011 from Manchester to Louisville, KY (via Atlanta).

Bob

One thing to consider, flying in summer would be how many airlines that will do it, as quite a few won't during the hotter months to certain destinations.

As for costs and info, there was a thread a few days ago that had loads of info.

H Bomb

We are going from London to New York in 5 weeks (eeeek). We are just in the process of paying for our 2 cats.
Pick up from our home in London, overnight boarding, vet checks, custom made box, flight, checks at the other end and we collect them from the airport = £1200.

WhyteBoar

Our two cats are going at the end of July and we're just in the process of booking them. It is going to cost £1200 for flight, crates, pick up service, vet checks etc.

The only thing I am doing is organising their rabies vaccinations. I am told it isn't absolutely necessary for Arizona, but I would rather have them done to prevent any issues on the other side.

A few have mentioned the temperature embargo. I have been told that some airlines organise for air conditioned vans to be ready to take animals from the plane to customs. It is worth asking the question.

Flabound oneday

If your cats are outdoor ones ,I would seriously consider bringing them. we had a real outdoor killer back in England who was always bringing back mice, birds etc. we made the incredibly hard decision to leave him with friends. He had a wonderful life as they lived in the country.

here with all the natural predators , we knew he wouldn't have survived. It was without doubt the hardest but kindest decision.

sadly the old boy passed away 3 weeks ago, at the ripe age of 13 they found a tumour in his stomach. we had the peace of mind that he had had 3 wonderful years with our friends.

Englishmum

Come to think of it, I've never seen a cat outside a house in the US (New Jersey) with the exception of cats belonging to two expat friends (one Brit and one Aussie).

Sadly, it seems that the majority (not all, before I get moaned at!) of Americans, or certainly the ones I've encountered - declaw their cats and keep them indoors all the time; if they're declawed 'they can't damage the furniture'... They always looked shocked when I ask them how would they like it if they were to have their fingernails ripped out OTOH on the positive side I didn't get the local cats crapping in my garden....it drives my sister mad where she lives in England where the neighbourhood cats like to use her garden as their toilet lol!

It seems so cruel to me, thank goodness it is banned in the UK. Here in Switzerland there are loads of cats in the local vicinity of our apartment, although we live near to a couple of farms and I guess they help to keep the vermin down.

Jerseygirl

I have only seen one cat roaming around. I thought it was a mountain lion or similar...it was the same colour and enormous but it was wearing a red color. One good thing about keeping cats indoors is that you never see dead ones in the road.

Quite a lot of people keep medium to large dogs outside...using hidden electronic fences to keep them from straying.

Bob

We see them often. They're always dead though, by the side of the road. Car or animal being the cause.

ChocolateBabz

Same here, I couldn't let my two out where we live.

WhyteBoar

My two have always been indoor cats so they won't need to adjust in that respect. If anything they'll have more room as we'll be in a larger house. :b

thinbrit

Sadly, it is much more extreme than that. Declawing usually involves the amputation of the last bone of each toe. It is equivalent to you cutting off each finger at the last knuckle.

civilservant

We have 3 indoor cats - but they certainly aren't declawed. Yes it means our furniture has scratches but who cares? Anyone who has cats, and chooses to keep them indoors, should know that the scratching is part and parcel of being an animal.

I catch them sitting on the window ledge sometimes looking out at the world and it makes me wonder if they really do wish they could go roam.