Moving cats from UK to Canada
Aug 10th 2003, 5:24 pm
#1
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Thread Starter
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 156
Moving cats from UK to Canada
Hi,
We are going to be moving our 2 cats from Scotland to Vancouver, BC. Can anyone recommend a good company to use? If they are coming with us, we will probably be going via Amsterdam, otherwise we could have them dropped off and picked up at the airport on either side.
Also if anyone has any advice, as it's a long trip for them to make, and they usually hate being in their carriers for even 2 minutes!
Thanks.
We are going to be moving our 2 cats from Scotland to Vancouver, BC. Can anyone recommend a good company to use? If they are coming with us, we will probably be going via Amsterdam, otherwise we could have them dropped off and picked up at the airport on either side.
Also if anyone has any advice, as it's a long trip for them to make, and they usually hate being in their carriers for even 2 minutes!
Thanks.
Aug 10th 2003, 8:32 pm
#2
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Joined: May 2003
Location: Vancouver, BC
Posts: 1,198
Re: Moving cats from UK to Canada
Originally posted by ngoodlad
Hi,
We are going to be moving our 2 cats from Scotland to Vancouver, BC. Can anyone recommend a good company to use? If they are coming with us, we will probably be going via Amsterdam, otherwise we could have them dropped off and picked up at the airport on either side.
Also if anyone has any advice, as it's a long trip for them to make, and they usually hate being in their carriers for even 2 minutes!
Thanks.
Hi,
We are going to be moving our 2 cats from Scotland to Vancouver, BC. Can anyone recommend a good company to use? If they are coming with us, we will probably be going via Amsterdam, otherwise we could have them dropped off and picked up at the airport on either side.
Also if anyone has any advice, as it's a long trip for them to make, and they usually hate being in their carriers for even 2 minutes!
Thanks.
This was a question asked a few months back in the Brits2Van site - so I'm doing a cut and paste here as the reply was very detailed ....
Clare
We used Airpets to get our cats
over here. They are based at Heathrow and their number is 01753
685571 or web is www.airpets.com
We found the idea of putting our pets on a plane too upsetting to
deal with ourselves so we went for the full package with airpets.
They collected both cats from our house in Warwick a few days before
we flew - we thought it would be easier to sort out the packing
without them under our feet - and they stayed at the airpets cattery
for about a week.
They were put on BA plane by airpets and they arrived in Vancouver a
couple of days after we landed. This gave us time to find a hotel
that allowed pets and buy cat litter etc. We collected them from the
airport. We had to fill in some paperwork at the main terminal and
pay a handling/import fee. We were then given an address close to
the airport where they were being held and we went to collect them
from there.
The cost of collection, boarding, export/health certificates, IATA
approved air travel container (a wooden crate!), freight and airline
handling charges for two cats came to GBP 760. We had made sure that
the cats were up to date with their vaccinations including rabies
before we handed them over to airpets, also we had had them chipped
for ID purposes.
There is a cheaper alternative and that is to book your flights with
an airline that allows you to take your cats on the plane as excess
baggage. We didn't go down this route as we thought the whole
experience was stressful enough without worrying about the cats
health and welfare.
over here. They are based at Heathrow and their number is 01753
685571 or web is www.airpets.com
We found the idea of putting our pets on a plane too upsetting to
deal with ourselves so we went for the full package with airpets.
They collected both cats from our house in Warwick a few days before
we flew - we thought it would be easier to sort out the packing
without them under our feet - and they stayed at the airpets cattery
for about a week.
They were put on BA plane by airpets and they arrived in Vancouver a
couple of days after we landed. This gave us time to find a hotel
that allowed pets and buy cat litter etc. We collected them from the
airport. We had to fill in some paperwork at the main terminal and
pay a handling/import fee. We were then given an address close to
the airport where they were being held and we went to collect them
from there.
The cost of collection, boarding, export/health certificates, IATA
approved air travel container (a wooden crate!), freight and airline
handling charges for two cats came to GBP 760. We had made sure that
the cats were up to date with their vaccinations including rabies
before we handed them over to airpets, also we had had them chipped
for ID purposes.
There is a cheaper alternative and that is to book your flights with
an airline that allows you to take your cats on the plane as excess
baggage. We didn't go down this route as we thought the whole
experience was stressful enough without worrying about the cats
health and welfare.
Aug 10th 2003, 10:54 pm
#3
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 156
Thanks Clare, that's very helpful. I'm looking forward to having my kitties over here with me soon!
Aug 11th 2003, 11:10 pm
#4
Forum Regular
Joined: Aug 2003
Location: Exeter, Devon
Posts: 103
Re: Moving cats from UK to Canada
Hi there,
We moved our cat from UK to Toronto last October and it wasn't a nice experience. Please be careful which service you use. We used Air Pets based at Heathrow and weren't impressed by the service. Not only were they expensive to start with, there were all sorts of extras to pay once we landed in Toronto which we had assumed would be covered. Not only that, our poor kitty was put in the tiniest box you ever saw - so small he couldn't turn around. We flew British Airways so he had to go in the hold and not in the cabin as we would have preferred. When we arrived, there was no sign of him and after asking loads of different people where he would be, we eventually found out he had been transported straight to cargo which was miles away. By this time, it was very late and dark and we didn't have a map of the area. Eventually (2 hours later), he was cleared and we were reunited. He was terrribly distressed, all the skin on his nose had been worn away and was bleeding and the box he was in was really battered. There was also no water in the box for him to drink which we thought was disgusting. It looked as if he had been through quite an ordeal and it took a while for him to recover. Since then, I have heard various horror stories about the way pets are treated by airline staff. The baggage handlers often throw the boxes very roughly like they would a suitcase. Try to avoid putting your cats in the hold as it's either absolutely boiling hot down there or unbearably freezing. If we ever go back to the UK, I will insist that our beloved feline travel in the cabin with us. Some airlines allow it - KLM is one I know. Check out this website for very useful information and tips:
www.i-love-cats.com/meow/ramblincat
and take a look at their message board.
I wish you all the best and am sure your cats will be fine especially if they go in the cabin with you - just be very careful.
Cheers, Sheryl
We moved our cat from UK to Toronto last October and it wasn't a nice experience. Please be careful which service you use. We used Air Pets based at Heathrow and weren't impressed by the service. Not only were they expensive to start with, there were all sorts of extras to pay once we landed in Toronto which we had assumed would be covered. Not only that, our poor kitty was put in the tiniest box you ever saw - so small he couldn't turn around. We flew British Airways so he had to go in the hold and not in the cabin as we would have preferred. When we arrived, there was no sign of him and after asking loads of different people where he would be, we eventually found out he had been transported straight to cargo which was miles away. By this time, it was very late and dark and we didn't have a map of the area. Eventually (2 hours later), he was cleared and we were reunited. He was terrribly distressed, all the skin on his nose had been worn away and was bleeding and the box he was in was really battered. There was also no water in the box for him to drink which we thought was disgusting. It looked as if he had been through quite an ordeal and it took a while for him to recover. Since then, I have heard various horror stories about the way pets are treated by airline staff. The baggage handlers often throw the boxes very roughly like they would a suitcase. Try to avoid putting your cats in the hold as it's either absolutely boiling hot down there or unbearably freezing. If we ever go back to the UK, I will insist that our beloved feline travel in the cabin with us. Some airlines allow it - KLM is one I know. Check out this website for very useful information and tips:
www.i-love-cats.com/meow/ramblincat
and take a look at their message board.
I wish you all the best and am sure your cats will be fine especially if they go in the cabin with you - just be very careful.
Cheers, Sheryl
Last edited by rooster; Aug 11th 2003 at 11:15 pm.
Aug 12th 2003, 1:20 am
#5
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 156
Thanks Sheryl,
That's good to know, I think I would be as traumatised as the cats if they were upset!
I had a look at KLM's website a while ago and did see that cats could go on the flight if they were a certain size so we might try that. We have one small cat and a fat one, the fat one has been on a diet recently so hopefully we canget him on the flight with us too.
That's good to know, I think I would be as traumatised as the cats if they were upset!
I had a look at KLM's website a while ago and did see that cats could go on the flight if they were a certain size so we might try that. We have one small cat and a fat one, the fat one has been on a diet recently so hopefully we canget him on the flight with us too.
