helcat12

For those travelling with pets, especially cats, I can tell you it is all OK

Cats arrived in their new home yesterday and they are fine and just hiding under the sofa to recuperate.

I took them in the car to the Servisair warehouse in Manchester where a very nice man called Jay took charge of them.

I was a little disturbed when they put their cat carriers onto a forklift truck but they didn't go far - only into the next warehouse door.

ANA handled the shipping paperwork and were good. It arrived in good time, had all the stickers for the carriers (although the carriers also came with some Live Animal stickers, so they were plastered with them!) and good instructions about what to do.
They were also very easy and prompt to deal with on the telephone and by e-mail. Lin Cawthorne was my contact there and very efficient and nice she was, too.

I bought cat carriers for £19.99 each on the Internet - they are called "Travelaire" and are apparently a discontinued model now owned by Vari kennel and they are fully IATA approved for airline transport of pets.
The newer model Vari kennel is £39.99 in small, so the older Travelaire model (which is still fine) is a big saving if you have multiple pets.

I just put a "puppy pad" on the base to absorb any nasties or water spillages (£1 for 5 in Poundland and what a bargain compared to the pet shops!!) and a blankie on top and they were comfortable all the way.

I had the cats Rabies vaccinated the day before they flew. I got the vaccine cheap because the vet had a batch of vaccine that was going to be out of date in January and he wanted to use it up before then
It is WELL worth shopping around - I had quotes which varied from £35 per cat (Rabies vacc and fit to fly letter) up to £80 per cat.

The vet drew up a letter for each cat to say they were fit to fly and included the Rabies details on this letter and this was completely acceptable at Vancouver Border Control.

If any cat owner is concerned or worried and needs advice, I can answer queries and post a copy of the wording of the Fit to Fly letter (which I just pinched from the appropriate section of the Defra Export Health Certificate).

One more worry off my list

singingringingtree

Good post with some useful information there (puppy pads - excellent ) and good to hear the cats are safe and well after their journey.

Mrs-G

YAY! Glad it all went smoothly and that they got there OK.

They'll soon come out from under the couch and get used to their new surroundings with your hubby

You next then.... bet you're counting down the days now.

helcat12

They are already doing so, which is great.
Zoso is already on the window ledge looking outside, which doesn't surprise me because she is a feisty one, but she cannot go out for a while - there are coyotes out there and they have got to take it slowly.

I am certainly looking forward to going at last but there is so much to do I am scared it won't all be done in time - sell the house (please!!!!), sell the car, clear out the kitchen cupboards, telephone insurance and Council Tax and bills and bank accounts and tax and say goodbye to everyone..........

I want to cry when I think about it but I am not sure whether it is tears of excitement, relief or fear.
I will need a serious bit of pampering when I get there, that is for sure.
But the day after I fly is our 17th Wedding Anniversary, so ..........

mrsr0binson

That's fantastic news

Don't worry about the other things too much; it all somehow comes together...

Funky Florist

Glad the cats arrived OK! It's such a relief to know they are safe and sound. I know when we picked up our dog from Vancouver there was much joy on both sides. The only difference was I didn't need to pee in the nearest bit of shrubbery...

helcat12

...but you did anyway

Funky Florist

You shouldn't have been looking...

The4BellsLondon

Aww glad they got there ok

harris

Would appreciate knowing who you shipped the cats with and cost if possible. Many thanks.

helcat12

I shipped them with ANA aviation.

http://www.ana-aviation.com/

On this age is the telephone number and a very helpful lady called Lin Cawthorne handled my cats for me.

I was too chicken to completely do-it-myself but the companies that supply the containers and everything were charging a lot more money and also they just weren't that helpful.
Lin was kind, always available to respond if I had questions and she sent the documents in good time.

She was straightforward and didn't complicate matters - I got the cats to the vet,got all the vaccination stuff and paperwork for that and got them in approved containers to the airport, while she handled the shipping side of things.
It all worked very smoothly.

It isn't cheap - I paid about £175 per cat for the shipping, but that was less than I had budgeted for so I have no complaints.

With Rabies vaccinations, IATA carriers, flight and fees at Vancouver, I paid around £250 per cat.
If you love your pets, then that isn't the end of the world financially, is it?

I can also sell the cat carriers over in Canada and probably get back most of what I paid for them as they are expensive.

harris

Many thanks for the information.

delsol79

Funny you should say that about the forklift - my friend was taking our cat to Manchester airport for us and messaged me to say "Gizmo is en route though a little disturbed that the last time I saw him he was whizzing about on a forklift truck!"

Sounds like an amazing price - I really wish we had gone this route. We paid 600 quid for one cat!

The4BellsLondon

hahah - yeah they put my 2 big hounds in crates on fork lift too - Scooby was not impressed!!!

helcat12

It was a bit unnerving when he put the 5 cat carriers on the pallet, as they only just fitted and I was worried about them falling off into the path of one of the massive artics that were moving round there.

I thought the price was fine for the cats, although some may say I am mad.
£600 for one sounds a lot - I would have wanted him to travel on the Captain's lap being hand-fed wild salmon for that money!!