cornishvellan

i'm really concerned now. belle gets into a fit even if she's in the car for 5 minutes-how the hell is she going to cope with drive to airport, 2 hour flight and then a further trip in the UK? she will be in a right state and to be honest, i don't think she would survive. i'm not sure but i think that small pets can be carried on board but i will have to look into it (i think alitalia and british airways allow small pets on board).

plus to top it all, my eldest dog, daisy (aged 15) has heart and kidney disease so i'm worried about her traveling too. to be honest, i'm not sure if she will make it to the UK but i am preparing her because she deserves to be treated like the others and there is always hope... hubby said that if there were any problems he would drive the dogs over to the UK.

Marmalade

I think it may be wise to drive them to the UK, although I know that it is a long way to go. I hope that you figure something out that helps all of you. Good luck.

cornishvellan

thanks for your help. i'll chat with hubby about it.

xx

TraceyW

We're taking our two cats back (much to hubby's disgust!) and I had a quote from Dogtainers for $2300.

They had their rabies vaccines done at My Best Friends vets on Oxford St in Leederville. Very sexy sounding vet.............don't look at him, just close your eyes and listen!!!!

lisas

Hi Tracy,
We have been quoted $3095 from dogtainers for 2 cats. I'm wondering why ours is more than yours as we really had to haggle to get that price. We are flying them from Brisbane to Heathrow and then they have a flight to Manchester. We also have 1 airline crate for them so only have to purchase 1 more. Where are yours flying from and to?

Cheers

Nu-Shooz

Sorry not got back to you sooner re: pm about cats.

I haven't had a quote from dog tainers yet, but i am in the process of ringing them, so i will let you know how much they quote me for 2 cats. They sound the cheapest anyway.

TaraC

Do you have to ship your animals using a shipper if you're coming back from Australia? It seems really expensive based on the comments here. I brought my two cats to the UK from the US last September and was able to do everything myself, with some kind assistance from DEFRA and Virgin. It ended up being much cheaper (probably saved about $1,000), and it wasn't difficult to do - I just had to be very organised and have a cooperative vet.

Re. the sedation issue, my two cats are not happy travellers and hated the car journey, but they handled the trip fine (a lot better than me) even without sedation. One recommendation I did have from the vet was to make sure the lights in the animal compartment are turned off, as they are much more likely to sleep. Course, since I wasn't actually in the compartment - and probably would have been happier if I was -- I don't know if they actually slept or not, but they did seem ok when I picked them up and are now very happy to be back in the UK. One of them is 14 and really did fine.

My last comment is for the person thinking of bringing them back in the cabin. I don't think you're allowed to do this under the DEFRA rules (unless it's just from the US that it's not allowed). I had to hand over both my babies to the special handler in DC and wasn't able to see them again until they had made it through the DEFRA centre at Heathrow.


good luck on the move.

Marmalade

Hi Tara,

How much did it cost for each cat approximately? I know we've discussed this before, but am looking at pricing right now. Thanks.

TaraC

I just checked my forms, and for both cats they charged me $739.25 for transport by Virgin from Washington, DC to Heathrow. This included transport at 614.25 and a $125 handling fee. They charge by the size of the carrier, and I had one that was 20x20x31 (which is the medium SkyKennel - very large cat!!!) and one for my petite girl that was 21x16x15 (small SkyKennel). The total weight of both pieces was 17kg. I should mention that when Virgin's US rep measured everything up the price was actually about $100 more than I had been quoted. However, I had the original quote with me, which showed the correct dimensions of the carriers, etc., so he shaved off bits here and there so I ended up with the correct quote (just something to keep in mind).

I was then charged another 230 pounds at Heathrow. This is the handling charge from Virgin in UK. From what I was told, this is not a DEFRA charge and is purely an airline fee, so it may differ according to the airline you use.

Hope this helps.

Tara

Marmalade

Hi Tara,

Thank you for the valuable information. It really helps.

When you say "for both cats they charged me $739.25" ~ do you mean in total for the two or it was $739.25 for each of them? Also, the 230 pounds, was that for both or each? Just wanted to clarify. Sorry for all the questions. Just want to make sure I am budgeting appropriately.

I will be flying with BMI from Chicago to Manchester, but what I have been told sounds similar to what you are saying.

Marmalade

TaraC

Oops, sorry, I should have been clearer. It was $739.25 for both and 230 pounds for both, so a total cost of around $1200. Good luck on your move, and please keep me posted on how it all goes.

Marmalade

Thanks Tara. That doesn't sound too bad. I'll let you know when I do finally make that move. In the meantime I'm off to Scotland for the first 2 weeks in June, can't wait

TaraC

Have a great time. Hope the weather improves for you - it's been awful here for the past few days, after a month of brilliant weather!

Marmalade

Yes, my mother just called and told me to bring warm clothing, as she said, 'It's bloody freezing here!' ~ But, I told her that I was still coming

I leave Friday afternoon, and can't wait.

TaraC

Weather's supposed to be better this weekend, so your timing is perfect. Have a good flight and enjoy your time home.