Sarahad

Hi just looking for advice from anyone who took pets with them or who are planning on taking them.

We have just the one cat but my daughter would be devastated if we had to leave the cat behind. I just have a few worries...!!

We are planning on renting when we first get there but we may need to go into a hotel for a few days until find a rental... what would we do with the cat then??? Or would people suggest going out and finding a rental prior to moving over??

Any advice or experiences on taking pets anyone has would be great!

Thanks
Sarah

iaink

Find a local cattery or pet hotel (many vets operate them) to put up kitty for a few days.

Sarahad

would you say arrange that from UK before we were leaving for Canada??

dbd33

I park the cat and the dog at the vet quite often. They don't seem to need any notice. I'd smuggle the cat into the hotel room and sort something out in the morning, worst case the cat can stay in the car.

Sarahad

i may sound daft but im worried about stuff like what if its a daft in the hour flight and i cant get cat litter and litter tray when get there!

dbd33

Bring an aluminum cooking tray and some litter and kibble; that wouldn't take up much room and would do for a day or two.

iaink

Well, then it might shit somewhere it shouldnt. Our cats have been known to do that even with a litter box It cleans up.

ezvanetree

I flew my cat from Australia to Canada (it took three days to get him here, what with all the paperwork and vet checks he had to go through!) and cost about $1200 CND to do it (Australia won't let you fly your pets yourself, you have to use a cargo company) but it was well worth it. The cat has settled nicely and he helped make our new home here seem more familiar.

That aside, what we did before we arrived is look for a motel that took pets (many do). You can contact the hotel/motel directly about pets, but many will note if they do on their websites. I then brought his bowl, litter box and food with me so he had familiar things upon arrival. I also brought some tablets of 1mg of valium that I got from the vet before I left Australia. These weren't for the flight (they don't like to accept drugged pets) but for the nights in the hotel. It saved our lives, because of course he was quite anxious in the hotel and would have stayed up all night meowing without the valium. Cats tolerate valium very well--it just calms them down and allows them to sleep. We bought a harness for him when we arrived and took him out on walks to keep him entertained.

We then rented a place (short term rental, fully furnished) and just announced that we had a cat and had every intention of him living with us in the rental accomodation (under no circumstances was he to be boarded after all that he had been through!). The landlord hesitated but agreed. As I say, the cat has settled very well, goes outside and doesn't get lost, and I am very glad we brought him, although it was a nightmare trip for him and I hope I don't have to do something like that to him again! Good luck with your move!

Sarahad

Thanks. we were considering not bringing her but the more my 3 year old has gone on about it i know we cant do it the cat will have to come with us... and like you say with all the upheaval its something familiiar. She is part of the family. Just a nightmare trying to sort everything out in your head isnt it!

sans

LOL i gotta get 5 cats their

Sarahad

Goodluck is all i can say!! any plans so far? where u heading??

Sarahad

OMG!!! I have just read some old threads about taking cats over and it says by law your cat cant roam free and if it goes on someone elses property it can be shot??!! :scared: Is this true?? My cat loves being out and would hate being locked up all day. Its giving me 2nd thoughts about taking her...

ezvanetree

Some cities have by-laws that say cats must be leased when outside, but it isn't very common. I don't think there is a province wide lease law for cats. Technically I suppose you could shoot a cat that wander onto your property but I don't think that will be much of a worry in Edmonton.

Sarahad

Well one of the threads i read was about a woman who took 4 cats over to Edmonton with her and that she is now left with one... one got rabies and got put down, one got shot and the other ran away. The one left is now really timid... makes me wonder if i am doing whats best for the cat if we take her or if we are being selfish and doing it for us....

dbd33

I would have thought the biggest danger to cats in Edmonton would be them freezing solid. Canadians do not, in general, shoot cats. They do shoot stray dogs in rural areas but that's another thing; cats are not renowned for worrying livestock. Rabies can be avoided by vaccination, wandering off is a risk but the same risk as with any other move.

I wouldn't worry about cat bylaws, Canadians love to legislate, it's how they fill in that long winter, and so there are laws for everything. People tend to ignore the sillier laws and you can be sure that cats aren't going to worry about being in compliance. As I write, our unlicensed cat is off frolicing with the unlicensed cat from next door in a public place without a permit; I've scolded him for this, told him Jack Layton won't like it, but I see no sign of contrition.