andie&jase

Thanks everyone for your responses, all the advice is very helpful. I've had a similar experience already with DEFRA who told me to see my vet, who told me to talk to DEFRA. Anyway, I live in Liverpool so I'll check out that pets on the move, thanks! I'll have a little look around in the UK forum too.

Gruff you're hilarious! I've just woke up with a headache, logged on here, now it's gone! You make me laugh

Cheers everyone!

Oh, news flash.......we just got our NOA1 for K3 yay!!

Paul S

We used this lot http://www.passportforpets.co.uk/ when we brought our 4 cats over last year. Absolutely no hassles, really good to work with. I contacted the crowd at petsonthemove but their prices were a bit higher and their response time wasn't that impressive.

I went through the defra/vet/defra debacle and ended up getting the best info from Continental (who the cats flew with) and the agriculture dept of Ohio.

dan_alford

We did it ourselves when we moved and brought my Cat over. The vet advised against sedation for the reasons already mentioned. I think there are strict temperature limits at airports that control when pets can fly. IIRC even though you can have pets in cabin on domestic flights on international they all ride in the cargo hold. Also IIRC some airlines have flat fees so we got the biggest pet carrier we could handle ( one that would hold a medium sized dog!).

USCIS advise line were of no ()&(*)&) help. They told my wife that if my Cat arrived in the US with no documentation or sick that they would put it down. After frantically calling US Customs for 3 days we finally got through to someone in the know about pets and he said that the USCIS lady was speaking out of her ass, that if the pet was ill they would have a vet look at it and we would probably have to pay for it but they don't just go around putting animals down.

The one thing you will need to be aware of is that your pet could very easily die on the trip. Cat's don't take stress too well. Make sure you are prepared for the worst and pray for the best.

Tbag

A friend of mine (going in opposite direction!) took care of the vaccinations, paperwork etc herself with her own vet and flew with Delta. They allowed the cat in the cabin with her. Not sure on dogs, depends on size and weight I believe I have also read that British Airways will do the same. She left just last week and the vet recommended not sedating as it was more confusing to the animal. She did give her some homeopathic animal jet lag pills? and the kitty had a very good flight!

blaze

I seem to remember that it also lowers their body temperature when it's already pretty cold in the hold (I'm a poet and didin't know it! ). Therefore, the pets are in danger of never making it to their destination.

AmerLisa

We used Ladyhaye, 2 years ago. Our dog was a bit older and we were worried that she would have a problem with the trip, but she did fine and they were very helpful (Gatwick to Seattle.) I'd recommend them. I can't remember exactly how much we paid, it was a bit more because she was in their kennel for about a week before she flew.

http://www.ladyhaye.co.uk/index.htm

jumping doris

Our cat was 15 years old when she flew here last year. The dog was only 2. I was worried sick about the heat as they flew in late september. They were flying to Pittsburgh and there are no direct flights from Manchester so they needed to change planes. Several companies we contacted couldn't say for sure if our animals would be put into an airconditioned area during that change over and were very unhelpful about flight times.
Pets on the move arranged for them to fly into Atlanta arriving early evening. They were then kenneled for the night and flew onto Pittsburgh very early in the morning. Gail from Pets on the Move monitored their whole journey and kept us informed constantly regardless of the time of day.
They were fine. I expected them both to be dead in their crates when they arrived but they had no ill effects at all.
We didn't have to sort out the crates, Pets on the Move did all that. They are wooden crates which we have kept just in case.

Pony

Sadly thats only within the US. I brought my cat from England. She had to go in the hold until we landed in Newark. she was able to go in the cab on the portion of the flight from Newark to Dallas. It appeared very little had to be done, even though we did all we found out for ourselves (nobody actually checked any of this).

1) get the vaccinations up to date, including rabies
2) have the animal certified fit to travel by your vet prior to travel (we arranged an appointment 2 days before we flew
3) offer the animal food and water 4 hours prior to travel and attach a note to the travel case saying you have done so - this is very important and a flight requirement.
4) have your pet micro-chipped - MAKE SURE ITS THE US COMPATIBLE VERSION, two microchip number sequences exist, your vet will be able to tell you which is used here (they have a different amount of numbers per chip.
5) do not stick bedding to the travel case in any way. Your pet will be removed from the case, which will be examined seperately (so have a leash handy!)
6) when thinking of keeping your animal comfortable remember aircraft cargo compartments are pressurized and are normally maintained at a temperature range of 50-70 degrees Fahrenheit.
7) pets over 100lb have to go air cargo
8) get the right size carrier -The maximum size for checked kennels is 40" long x 27" wide x 30" high (Animals must have room to stand/turn around, sit and lie down in a natural position.)
9)Attach feeding and watering instructions for a 24-hour period. Putting "No food or water" is not acceptable unless directed by an attending veterinarian.
10) the case should be secured with releasable cable ties (most airlines have these)
11) case must have 2 sides with ventilation as well as the door
12) if taking a connecting flight or you have a long car journey from the aiport, remember to take something your pet can drink from - they are very unlikely to want to eat.

We did not sedate our cat prior to travel. She arrived in good health and was not overly traumatized by the trip. Whilst awaiting the connecting flight she was bright, inquisitive and in good health.

Remember to get to the airport in good time for your flight. Its recommended you are there 3 hours before your flight to take in to account the extra time needed. At check-in an attendant will check the pet carrier in with your bags, but will then have to accompany you through airport security. It can take a while to find someone to take you there.

I worried a lot about making sure everything was in place and spent literally weeks trying to find out what had to be done. In the end, it was simple to arrange.

dan_alford

One thing to remember when attaching Food to the kennel is to make sure it's chicken or lamb, as the Dept Of Agriculture will not be happy if it is beef flavoured.

Pony

We did not attach any food. We provided 24 hour feeding instructions, along the lines of:

Feed 50g dry cat food twice a day, with fresh drinking water

BTW - Remember to attach your contact details on the carrier, in case it gets lost. I put my UK cell and US cell and home number, address etc

Ray

Of course the other method is have the animal put down ..then stuffed ..this way thay can travel in your luggage saving a lot of money ..
At the other end ..prop it up in a corner of a room and forever more you have a major conversation piece....

elaineKB

Hahahahahaha Ray thats awful...but funny

I brought my cat over no problem at all...Ba were great...the stewardess even came up to me on the flight before we took off to tell me my cat was alright and not too scared of the two big dogs who were next to him !!...felt a right pratt as i was sobbing from leaving the uk rather than the stress of the cat in the hold !
We were supposed to pay more dollars on arrival but no one asked...my cat was just waiting for me when i collected my bags, sitting with all the over sized luggage...no one even bothered to check he was mine...all very wierd but easy...my cat is now loving the manhattan way of life...NOT...

Lottie

I flew my cat from from London Heathrow to Newark (using Virgin) and it cost 200GBP for 1 medium sized cat - I was on the same flight as her.

Virgn were fantastic. The pet reception centre actually phoned my mobile one hour before the flight to let me know how she was doing - asleep, not bothered at all, unlike me in floods of tears in the Virgin Lounge and too upset to do my duty free shopping!

My cat did have to go in the cargo section of the plane - this is down to UK air regulations (would have been the same for any direct flight from or to the UK). On our return I'm considering flying to another European country so she can be with me in the cabin and then the last leg of the journey doing either by sea or Eurotunnel. That said, our cat was fine in the cargo area - I just didn't/don't like the thought of it!

Let me know if you need/want anymore information.

Lottie

Jerseygirl

You can only take your pet to the UK via an European country if you already have a Pet Passort, even then its illegal.

TruBrit

hi guys, we brought our two then 7 yr old persian cats over from gatwick to houston 4 yrs ago with continental and we used a company in surrey to organise it all, no probs...if you are still in need of a good recommendation then contact me and i can dig out the info for you....welcome to BE and good luck