Russell707

Hi

We'll be moving to the Silver Coast on a permanent basis next year.

One detail my wife and I disagree on is how we should transport out two cats. My preference is to fly them (assuming airlines cater for this) but my wife wants to take them by road including ferry to Santander. We'd prefer to put them under as least stress as possible as they are a little timid.

Has anyone got experience of either way? Comments much appreciated.

Russell

Nikki _ Sam

We came down in May with a cat and dog and were in the same dilemma. The trouble with flying is: I think only British airways did it at the time , although I could be wrong and it may have changed. They wanted about £600 or something ridiculous like that. There are companies that do a complete "door to door" service. The main reason that we didn't fly is that our cat is nervous and we couldn't bear to be separated. The Santander ferry takes over a day, there are only a limited number of spaces available and you have to book in advance. I would check the details of conditions and access to your cat with Brittany ferries. There is an alternative ferry to Bilbao that is considerably shorter but doesn't get you as far. We chose the shorter two hour crossing from Portsmouth to Cherbourg and drove down. It took four days and although he was in a big cage in a van he did meow a lot.
We gave him a herbal sedative called "skullcap and valerian" it worked very well and calmed him a lot. We let him out when we stopped at camp sites and he didn't stray far, much to our relief, he saw the van as a second home and ran back if he got scared. Hope this helps,I know it is the biggest worry but our cat is fine and loves the weather here.

Titleist

B a will cater for your cats it will cost you around £1000 for both you will need to leave them at Gatwick for three days before you fly. Will need custom made cages for them so it will be very expensive.
Where as P&o ferries will charge you £15 but will not allow you to travel on spanish route with animals as it is a 2 day crossing.
With vet fees you only need to pay for one way for jabs and passport, and microchips and bloodtest, unless you decide to bring them back to UK then you will have to pay for the treatment in PT before you return.

Nikki _ Sam

Check with the ferry companies about Spanish routes. I think they are o.k about Bilbao, not too sure about Santander. The French crossings are fine and the pets get to stay in the car. No problem with borders either, you just drive straight through, no checks or anything. P.M us if you want.

derbyflan

I think Nomad drove down from the UK with his 2 cats in his motor

He might be able to give his version of the trip.

Sibs

I agonised over this and decided to do it the quickest way possible. We went with Monarch airlines from Birmingham to Faro, it cost about £350 for one cat and we went on the same flight as I wanted to make sure she wasn't apart from us for too long. Everything went pretty smoothly and she was fine.

Sarah

Nomad_H

Hi Russell. Flying them was never an option for me so I took them with me in the car. One was extremely highly strung and that made my mind up. I dont regret it because as far as the trip went they settled down after the initial moaning and slept. It was also comforting to be there on hand to see that they were ok. I stayed at a pet friendly hotel in France for 1 night and it all went ok.
Sadly I lost them both to a deadly virus this year 1 in Feb and the other in June and I still havent got over it. They were my pals for 13 years.
If you need any more info pm me.
Good luck with it

anna58

I heard a horror story the other day. People had their cat in the plane and when they got to Faro they heard their name being paged. Went to the desk and were told that on landing the cat crate had shot forward and broken and when they opened the hold doors the cat had escaped. The boundary of the airport was fenced, so would they go with somone round the boundary and call the cat, after some hours they found it.
Urban myth? I don't know, the people who told us said they knew the person well and believed the story.
We took our dog on to Santander no problem, a special deck, but she wouldn't pee on it, had the longest pee I've ever seen when we got to Spain, we had access to her, that would be my choice, cats complain in the car, but I'm b..... sure they hate it in the hold of a plane and complain a lot more, only we don't hear them.

anna58

Nomad, I'm so sorry, I lost my beloved cat two years ago in October, I still see her everywhere, when a cat really loves you it's a more precious love than a dog. I got her here and she was only nine and I had no thought of her dying but her kidneys failed.

Nomad_H

Thanks Anna. It takes an animal lover to understand how we feel doesnt it?
Hope you have a new pal now though. I am trying to get hold of a couple of siamese at the moment (I am siamese mad) but Portugal is not exactly a pet loving country I'm afraid, in fact far from it. Whatever qualities the Portuguese have the treatment of animals isnt one of them.
My 2 were pedigreed but I dont think there are any breeders here so I'm stymied in that regard.

anna58

There's a lovely Siamese male, vaccinated, "done", called something like Balthazar, I think, desperately needing a home, in the rescue through no fault of his own, I think 18 months old. He was in the News last week if you want me to find more info I can.

Nomad_H

Thanks but I'm set on getting a couple of kittens. I'll just bide my time for a bit.
Thanks for the thought.

Mattiespeople

Hi Nomad so sorry to hear about your cats. I know how you must feel I have lost dogs and if/when anything happens to Mattie I will be totally gutted.
Glad you are now finding space in your home and heart for new kittens - sure the 3 of you will be very happy.

anna58

I had 2 sister kittens and still have mental pictures of them running up and down trees in their mad half hour before dark. I still have one sister who is sitting with one foot on the keyboard as I write. It's an awful thing to say but the other one was my familiar, slept on top of my head, kneaded you but never put her claws out, I miss her so much.
OH AWFUL!! Sat on the table.

Nomad_H

Thanks Matts. Yeah, the house is pretty dead at the moment...talking to myself these days.
Keep Well.