Re: Visiting pets in quarantine
 

My vet in the UK said only I could make the decision whether to visit my two cats or not. It depends entirely on their character I was told, if they are easily stressed and pine every time you leave the house then visiting them may not be the best idea.

I was pleased both my two had handled the flight very well considering what it must be like for an animal to go on their first plane trip. The staff at Melbourne Quarantine were very nice and definitely seemed to be taking an interest in the moggies' welfare.

Inevitably they didn't eat as much as they would at home and lost a little bit of weight but were almost immediately back to their normal selves once they came out of quarantine.

I ended up visiting them twice a week whilst they were 'inside' and they were always pleased to see me and didn't seem too stressed when I left them again. It was definitely worth taking them some t-shirts in I'd worn to sleep on and bought them a scratching pole, fleecy bedcushion and some toys as the accomodation was clean and very new but only one box for them to sleep in.

As an aside regarding the flight over I worked airside at both Heathrow and Gatwick for many years and can assure anyone who is worried their animals will be well looked after. The only stressful bit for them is the trip out to the aircraft with all the noise of the airport, however, as Aussie flights tend to depart at night it is a lot quieter and less busy to upset them. BA definitely have enclosed baggage trailers for animals to go in to minimise the noise and in general they are only taken out the aircraft at the last minute. Once they are in the hold and the door is shut/lights are out most animals curl up and sleep (just think regulations state they have to have permanent access to fresh water, be able to stand up, stretch and turn around with no interference - now when you're sat in the battery seating in economy worrying about DVT who actually has the best deal here!!!)

Re: Visiting pets in quarantine
 

You all are so lucky for only having your pets in quarentine for 30 days. Coming from South Africa my 2 baby beagles need to stay in quarentine in Melbourne for 4 months after the 3 months here in SA. :eek:

:scared: Can you imagine. But I can't imagine leaving them here either. I will have to go and visit them once in Australia, my heart would not be able to take it. My babies are such loveable & sociable dogs that I amsure they will adapt and hopefully miss me as much as I miss them.

By the time we go over they will be about 2 years old, so they will be past their naughty & destructive phase too, so that's good. :rolleyes:

Re: Visiting pets in quarantine
 

The cats couldn't care less - we left them alone in the house for two weeks when we visited Oz back in May, with my friend going in once a day to feed them. They were happy as Larry... :rolleyes: The pup is a different kettle of fish, I fear. He did well at kennels in May, ate extremely well, got on okay with the owner, but did pine a bit... :(

Mishka has apparently been eating well in kennels - and our two cats could *definitely* stand to lose a bit of weight! They are fairly porky. :o

We've got some toys for the pup that are identical to the ones he had in the UK but brand new, of course. These may help if necessary. I'm terribly undecided what might be best for them - I can see value in both opinions - so we may make this decision based on what the quarantine people say to us when the pets arrive. We'll be guided by them based on what they consider best. We would definitely go if they were in distress, but if they settle quite well in the first few days, then we'll play it by ear, I think. I feel the cats would be okay, but I'm not so sure about the mishkapup. He can already outbark most dogs, and I don't think he'd be best pleased to see dh and dd disappear again. :mad:

Karma to you for this, FB. :) I found this incredibly reassuring and thank you for adding it to your advice. I'm sure you are right - especially as I have not yet recovered from being cooped up in economy on BA! I'm 5'9" and dh is 6'1" so we suffered big time.... :(

Sue

Re: Visiting pets in quarantine
 

Flying Banana - thanks for your info on what its like for pets going into hold of plane - yes the external plane noise worried me too - shame they can't wear earplugs! I hope poppy my dog will just go to sleep like you have said - karma sent!

Lynn x ;)

Re: Visiting pets in quarantine
 

Cheers for that. We won't be going out till next year and already I'm worrying about Stitch our Dog flying. Helped a lot, thanks.

Ginny

Re: Visiting pets in quarantine
 

Thanks from me as well, It is reat to know others are as soppy about their pets as i am....