Psyched

Okay,

I'm having a bit of a dilemma. Heading to BC in 2 - 3 months, my cat is 12. if we go ahead and leave her with relatives as i am having difficulty making my mind up what is best for her, and i later decide i want her with us, would this be a 'big' problem to arrange for her to join us at a later date?

Anyone had a similar experience?

TheThornes

Hi. I don't think this would be a problem. We brought our cat (10 years) and our dog (11 years) with us when we came. However, we have friends that waited until they were settled and in their new home etc before having relatives send their cat over. I think as long as the cat has its export papers in order and has had all the appropriate shots etc, then it should all be OK.

Psyched

GREAT! thanks for that, feel bit better now!

Yelkcub

Hi

A lot of North Americans have suggested that as UK cats are normally outdoors animals (they suggested that Canadian / US cats are normally kept indoors) there is a risk that the cat will meet up with a larger predator and not survive the tale - is there any truth in this?

Thanks

R I C H

I think there's some truth in it. Several friends and neighbours keep cats, some are indoor, some outdoor. Those that keep outdoor cats seems to have to find replacements fairly frequently, mostly due to coyote appetites.

Steve_P

What he said ^^^ plus some jurisdictions (Calgary for one) have by-laws dictating that cats are not allowed outside the confines of their owners property.

This basically makes them indoor animals.

Yelkcub

Funny enough they mentioned coyotes being an issue along with bears and wolves. It makes me wonder if it is fair to bring a UK outdoor cat to Canada if it is a possible dinner for one of the aforementioned. That been said having seen some of the quotes to take a cat to Canada, it would be a very expensive meal........

TheThornes

All depends on where you live I guess. If you end up living on an acreage or somewhere remote then yes there is probably more of a risk but you're probably OK if you live within a town or city. More likely to get hit by a car!

We're in a town and we're happy for our cat to go out although she chooses not to most of the time. We don't tend to get bears anywhere near us - I've lived here for 16 months now and still haven't seen a wild one, not even in the mountains! Again, haven't seen one myself but we do occasionally get cougars spotted. We also get coyotes spotted in town sometimes although they tend to stay on the outskirts.

Another thing to bear in mind with cats is local bylaws. I know that everywhere is different but, in our town, cats are not allowed to venture outside your yard or garden. If they do, you can get fined. Firstly, quite difficult to stop your cat leaving your yard unless it's an indoor cat and, secondly, quite a difficult bylaw to enforce unless you have neighbours that take a real dislike to cats. To be honest, you do see cats out and about but most people don't seem to mind.

So I suppose, in summary, like anything, there's always a small risk but I think it pretty negligible unless you live somewhere where there is a problem with the native wildlife; the threat of being hit a car is more of a threat as in the UK.

Psyched

Thanks to all for the comments.

Not having visited our destination of Kamloops before and only having previously spent 10 whole days in Canada (Vancouver & Victoria) we still have a great deal to get use to/understand. All remains rather daunting what to do, what not to do yadda, yadda......

On a slightly different note and bearing in mind Canadians are most likely brought up understanding the nature, risk and likelihood of wild animal encounters - How do us brits go about figuring this stuff out? Where to wonder, precautions to take, from what i've just read coyotes can be rather interested in the under 7 age group and then there's the cougars http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-col...ar-attack.html

I do understand such attacks are likely 'considered rare' but if you do go wondering where do you get guidance, tips etc ("bears in this wood" type of stuff) or am i just being 'overly/unnecessarily concerned'.

Anyone got a handbook

bsmith

Saw them on the golf course in the background a couple of times in the summer while walking the dog. We live right in the middle of the city.

Psyched

** In the Interests of maintaining relevancy I have reposted my last 'post' as a new thread "No longer 'Top of the Food Chain' (?)" . Please correct me if i have infringed any site rules**

lins and Stef McLachlan

Hi
IMO you love the cat...right?
You will miss the cat....right
SO you take the cat...right?
simples!
.......lol.....
a hard one? Wouldn't be for me, my dog is so much part of the family. 12 is not old for a cat these days....modern medicine...living longer etc
Good luck hatever you decide
lol
Stef

R I C H

I you want any help about the Kamloops area, drop me a line and I'll try and help out.

FredElliot

So what is the process in taking the cat to Canada from the UK? Get a passort and put them on a airplane? any good airlines to go with or any assistance would be great - moving to Toronto soon hopefully. We usually fly with Canadian Affair / Air Transat but they no longer accept pets. It is likely the cat will follow after we have settled.

lins and Stef McLachlan

Hi
Canadian affair do not fly any animals during i think June to Sept and Dec to March, because of extremes of weather....hot or cold.....
With a cat you will probably get the option of sending as excess baggage or freight. Have a chat with the airlines, they will soon tell you. I know my dog's vaccines need to be up to date, microchipped and have had a rabies vaccine....not too sure with cats, but probably the same?
Hope this helps
lol
Stef