Hi
Just wondered if anyone has transported their cat recently? I emailed Air Transat yesterday to enquire about this and they say they do not export live animals from or to the UK.
What airline did anyone use and what are the costs?
We have been told they can go as 'extra baggage' inexpensively or do you think it's better to go through a pet moving company?
Also has anyone had any problems with their cat settling in, in a new country?
Thank you

Your cat will probably need to get accustomed to be an "indoor" cat (if not already) in the winter months.

Likely in the summer months too, although this is dependent upon the municipality and the local wildlife

I brought my 2 cats over from the UK to Calgary at the end of April. I flew with Canadian Affair and my cats were on the same flight as me. I called Thomas Cook Cargo at Manchester Airport and they told me that I had to book the cats on the flight via an agent. Basically I paid £502 for both cats and that included their airfare plus the paperwork needed for them which the agent posted to me.

As for being indoor cats, I would start keeping the cat in if your cat is used to being outdoors. My 2 boys are 6 years old and have been used to going outdoors but I kept them in for 2 months before moving and they are now totally fine with staying in....I'm not taking the chance that they would become coyote fodder!

We moved over with our cat (and dog) at the end of 2008. We flew with Air Canada but used the company Airpets to oversee the animals' travel etc. The cat cost us around GBP4-500. They were on the same flight as us too.

Where we live (Cochrane Alberta), cats are supposed to stay within the boundaries of your property/garden although there are several cats around us (including ours) who do go out and about and no one seems to mind. In town where we are, coyotes are not a problem but may be if you lived on the outskirts or out in the country. Our cat is about 12 now and doesn't wander off to far. In winter, it is her choice to stay indoors.

Other then the cost it was no big deal for us to bring the cat. As for going outdoors, other then the -30 days (Thankfully few and far between) our cat always nips out for a breath of air. She seemed to settle fairly well.

Thank you everyone, for all the info/advice

Hi

As you can see from my username I too have cats and my husband and I are thinking of moving to Alberta. Our cats don't travel well, even for the 10 minute car journey to the local vet - my brother (admittedly a vet so it was easy for him) got his cat put under local anasthetic when he moved in the UK for a 7 hour car journey, to save on his cat's stress when moving. Does anyone know if this is an option for airtravel - and did your cats not get very stressed by the noise of the aeroplane etc?

Thanks for your help

Vets usually do not advise sedation for animals travelling on airlines. Anyway, the flight is nearly 9 hours and no sedation lasts that long.
Lastly, local anesthetic just numbs one part of the body.......

We brought our 12 yr old collie (not a cat admittedly). She had never been crated before and ended up in that crate for nearly 12 hours in total.
She was very subdued on arrival; so much so that the examiner at this end asked what sedation she had had ... but I think she was just sulking! She was totally fine as soon as we let her out and she saw her family here

One of my cats is a dreadful traveller and he fared ok with the 12 hour flight. The worst thing for us was the 2 1/2 hour journey from Calgary to Lethbridge where he didn't shut the frick up the whole way!!

Seriously, I know most cats don't like the journey but as long as they are healthy, they should be ok. As for any type of sedation, I was told that the animal would be refused by the animal handlers at the airport if it seemed doped up in any way....also any sedation can apparently mess with the animal's resperation which is not good. The animals are kept in the dark in the plane hold and sleep for most of the journey. I worried about my cats too but they were absolutely fine after the long journey.

Thanks for all the info! I did realise after I typed that I meant a general anasthetic and not local...not sure which part of the cat I would have numbed, maybe the vocal chords!

I suppose they don't have time to settle down in the short trip to our vets so maybe a longer journey would give them a chance to calm down more. At least I don't have to worry about quarantine which was originally one of my fears about moving.

Thanks again

Thanks for the info
Which agent did you use as I have just had a quote from Airpets for £1,039 for our cat ( that's more than our flight ) although I think that was for collecting her from the house and taking her to the airport.
Although for that price, I would expect to see her living it up in the 1st class section of the aircraft, sipping champagne, not in a crate in the hold