danny.f

OK. Tricky one this. We have a 5 yr old cat called Dennis (kids did it,not me), he's a friendly enough wee fella,kids adore him,wife puts up with him. Rumour has it it's £1000 to ship a pussy.
Is it worth it? Has anyone taken their pets? Do they need to be steam cleaned/machine washed? Do they need pussy passports? Do they smile or not on their picture? I'm lol here,but it's a serious question.

SarahB

Awww bless .... I suppose if you got the money then bring him with you... hes young and your kids love him.... why leave him at home.... he'll be happy enough here. I actually left my horse in the UK but I reckon that wouldve cost us an arm and a leg to bring him and anyway he wouldve never survived in this Auckland climate as he was photosensitive and allergic to rain. But I'm sure your pussy would be ok here.

Afraid i know nothing about how they travel or what you need to do to make them smile for the picture but loads of people on here have brought their cats and dogs and will be able to advise you.

Nothing wrong with his name btw.... we have 2 cats here now (inherited them with the rental house) and they are called White Cat and Grey Cat.

danny.f

Love the simplicity of the names.Excellent. That's one unlucky horse-there's no weather to suit him at all!! Mr Ed must've just lived indoors. Everytime I've gone horse riding (3 in total) I've had to have the biggest horse,and they've all been called George.

SarahB

LOL.... they do actually have names but are never called by their proper names.... if you asked my OH what our cats names are he wouldnt have a clue!! My 2 year old son calls them White Cat and Grey Cat too.... he bosses them about and they are so laid back... wish theyd tell him off sometimes!! The previous tenent was desperate to get shot of them so we offered to take them on.... they are both lovely and are coming with us when we move to our own property on the 24th of this month. Trouble is we are only moving round the corner and I dont know that much about cats.... will they try to keep coming back to this house?? Ive spoken to a catty friend (she breeds cats, not that shes bitchy) and she says they might wander off back home so I have to keep them in for a few days.... well they hate each other so thats 2 separate rooms we need.... its gonna be hard. They are both afraid of traffic so Im hoping they wont even go near the busier road we are moving too.

My old horse is OK in the UK.... in the summer he has factor 50 on his pink bits and in autumn, winter and spring he wears a rain sheet.... but he'd hate it here as it can be pretty wet and the sun is very intense.

I've managed to get hold of another horse here...... he was rescued from dogfood fate.... I think we are too soft! Maybe when we win the lottery we'll open a shelter for unwanted pets.

pixi-dust

Danny,
we used golden arrow for our pets - call them for a quote and see what they say.
They dont need a passport - just some poo samples ( its a lovely job collecting them!) and I think a blood test - but we were taking our dog too so maybe Im getting that muddled up - but definitely poo stuff - its forever ingrained in my mind - yug.

They also have to stay at the shippers for 5 ? my memory is fading - days before they fly and they do some more tests.

Our cats came over and were completely ok on arrival and one of them is 19 now.Hope this helps a wee bit.

danny.f

Thank you so much pixie dust and of course Sarah. Looks like the cat gonna get jet lag then. A grand for a cat? Jesus. Tugs me heart-the money-not the cat. Its only £5 for a spade for a hole!! lol. Kidding animal lovers. He's coming.

waynepfry

you will get skinned alive!!!!!!

danny.f

Was hoping that might happen to Dennis-he he he. Local chippy sounded interested when I asked. He's a big fella-a good 3 or 4 kebabs there!!

pangor

We used airpets for our two cats Buffy and Rana. http://www.airpets.com/

They were good, cats arrived happily after two days travelling. Did cost a couple of grand though.

We were moving into a rental in the UK for a month before the big flight and then coming to a motel at first so moved the cats to Nicola,s mum and dad while we left and they sent the cats on later. ( so we avoided the poo collecting ).

Our cats were already chipped but apart from the poo samples the pet shippers did all the rest, paperwork etc. Nicola just had to go to the airport and collect two loudly yowling boxes from a confused looking man !

Well worth bringing them I think - I certainly felt moch more at home once they had arrived ( sad really, I know ).

Cats did come from a Northumberland autumn to a 30 degree summer so had the wrong amount of fur on ! - so they spent the first few weeks lying around in any shade they could find. Alright for some.

peter

danny.f

Good point that,Peter. I hadn't thought how much of normality the cat can bring-for the kids.Nice 1.Gotta be worth a grand if it helps the kids settle easier.

pangor

And if the kids do not settle you will have a left over dinky little travelling crate to send them back in

peter

danny.f

They'll have to top and tail. Might be cheaper to buy kids seats and chuck the wife in instead.

Am Loolah

We are moving out to New Zealand December time - you know when they charge "Granny Rates" for the flights - coz that's a really good time to emmigrate with 4 kids and 2 dogs!! As far as we've found out for the dogs - there's a cattery/kennels just outside Heathrow airport where this is all they do - have info lurking somewhere from Expo if you want a link? For dogs they need to be checked over by vet, measured for crate, given all clear and must be micro-chipped. We are leavinf/selling horse and hamster as hamster is a waste of space and horse too old and expensive to chip. Like your cats, dogs are family pets, kids grown up with them, and I would rather stay here if shit came to shove - maybe. Probably not!!

Caroline

danny.f

Keep hearing chipped,guess I'll have to sort that then. Explain your name,it's superb!! Wassit mean?

Am Loolah

I am Loolah?! In a fairy stylie. Slightly blond/dippy/vague! That's all - quite simple when you know how! Favourite colour pink? Don't have downstairs loo - have fuschia pink Fairy Grotto - complete with pink feathers and gold seat and loo roll holder - don't you?