WILKINSONS

Still unsure whether to take kitty or not, I have someone here in the UK that would look after him and love him dearly. I would like to still consider taking him but I seem to be put off by the cost, trauma and many people saying that they lost their cats in Oz anyway. Help? what is the best thing for my pet and is the procedure very difficult? JaneX

bridie

We brought our cat, she was just over 2 years old at the time. There was no trauma (well, only for us having to say goodbye which was a tearful moment!) and she has settled in well. We now have a mad aussie mog to keep her company!!

We keep our cats indoors as she was a prolific hunter and I'm sure he would be too, but will be building them a run off the laundry door so they can have some out and about time.

The procedure is dead easy, we used Airpets and they took care of it all (for a fee of course!)

HTH

GinaUK

We'll be taking our cat with us (12 years old). As for the "procedure": have a look at the Airpets website: http://www.airperts.co.uk

You need to make sure that your cat's booster vaccinations are up to date and that s/he has been microchipped. Your vet will do it; costs about £15.

Then Airpets (or another similar company of your choice) will do the rest.

In Australia your cat needs to stay 30 days in quarantine. There are quarantine stations in Perth, Syndey, and I think Melbourne. Airpets will deal with this.

That's about it. Not much to do for you, i.e. the "procedure" is easy.

Gina

murdy

hi there,
we brought our year old cat out to Melbourne with us in September and we too used Airpets.They arrange everything for you and looked after our cat brilliantly.He flew out a couple of days after us,so we could drop him at Airpets on way to flying out from Heathrow.He then spent 30 days in Quarantine and we were able to visit him twice a week which was great as we only lived 10 minutes away.He was well fed and looked after and would have no hesitation in recommending Airpets.The total cost including quarantine cost approx £1100.The cat has settled well here and have had no issues with getting a license or with neighbours etc.
Hope this helps,Good Luck.

iPom

Yep, bought our cat. Can't get him inside these days... He lies in the sun all day and appears for feeding on the front step.

Ste&Dawn

Thanks for that. My wife and I are looking to take our British Blue with us if we get accepted and had just started looking into costs. We'll look airpets up!

chellem

Hi

I need to take two cats and a rabbit! My cat Nugget is a nightmare he is so boystrous and always in trouble and I have heard you can get fined if your cat goes in someone elses garden is this true? My other cat Pumpkin is a hunter and I am scared about her eating a red back or going after a toad - is there a problem with this in Australia. Also how do they cope in the heat?

If I leave the rabbit in a pen outside will it attract any sort of animals that might eat it? Does anyone know how much it is to fly a rabbit to Australia?

I know all these questions probably sound daft!

Chelle

yamahaha

We brought our evil killer black cat "Salem". Actually hes a big soft lump, but hes got a cool name!
Seriously though, Im glad we brought him here. He loves its and has a similar lifestyle to iPOMs cat by the sounds of it. I think hes happier here than he was in the UK...he always hangs in or near the house and has stopped doing his dissappearing acts he used to do in the UK. Think its partly cos of the hotter weather and partly cos weve got a decent garden now! Cats are tough and adaptable and after initial distress about his stay in Quarantine he was happy once we had began to visit him.
Think it cost us roughly 1500 quid all in. Expensive but worth it.

iPom

Hi Chelle
Fine, take the two cats, but I have to wonder about the rabbit? It's not like they're long lived plus they're so delicate, I'd wonder if it would be ok in flight - re-home the rabbit. You can get another one here. I have never heard of anyone bringing a rabbit here - probably because rabbits don't really form close relationships to humans, though I understand you probably love your rabbit. I wouldn't put a rabbit through the flight, personally. Nor the quarantine.

Cats acclimatise fast and they also seem pretty wary of spiders etc. Wouldn't worry about that too much. You are also meant to keep your cats in at night, but during the day they can be outside. However, some cats will be victim to snakes, but it's not very common. It's a risk you're going to have to take.

Yes, if you leave a rabbit in a pen, just like in the UK a fox might try to eat it, or perhaps a dog. Other than that, nope. Most pet cages I've seen are metal for this very reason. Tough wire mesh, not wood.

cra1gm

saw somewhere you cant have rabbits in cages in qld?

iPom

Seem to have them here in NSW, in Queensland, they're probably still illegal. I think you used to need a license to keep one, but then they outlawed them completely. I think you can have one for 'educational purpose' like a zoo or equiv. The only good rabbit in Aus, is a dead one (not my opinion). They're a huge pest and do huge damage, many that breed are escaped pets. People do keep them as pets here, usually children, but it's telling there's a lady in the mts here who rescues abandoned ones and rehomes them.... Don't bring a rabbit to Aus. They don't need any more.

GinaUK

Hi Chelle,

I had a look on the AQIS web site and I don't think you can bring your rabbit with you.

On the web site it says only companion/household rabbits from New Zealand are allowed to be brought to Oz (and only if those rabbits have meet numerous conditions re vaccintations).

It looks like from the UK you can only import rabbits for commercial use.

You can read about it here:
http://www.daff.gov.au/content/outpu...34CA7B02D58EA0

As others have said already: leave the rabbit in the UK.

Gina

iPom

I wonder why that is... .Introduction of disease, perhaps?

Surely they'd want mxymatosis here, if it's not already. Any Aussies know why this is?

chellem

Hi

Thanks for all your replies its been really helpful. The rabbit is my four year old daughters so think I am going to have to think up a good story about why we cant take her with us! Hopefully Lexie will be too occupied with living in a new country to get too upset about it!

I am definatly bringing my cats - husband not too happy about the cost though ha ha!

Chelle

iPom

Ah well, he'll get over it. Good luck Chelle.