Has anyone brought a pet to the US? I would like to bring my cat along with me. I
don't want to leave her behind because it would break my heart if I did. My cat
is healthy.

What permits do I need? Do I need to secure any health certificates/permits when I
get to the US?

What happens to the pet at the POE? I would most probably enter at Detroit and then
take a connecting flight to Baltimore. Does the cat stay behind for
quarantine/additional tests or can I take her with me to Baltimore?

Thank you in advance for your help.

Pearl

We brought our cat to the US. IIRC, all she needed was a fit to travel permit.

Procedures at the arrival in the US airport will be dependent on local procedures, but there is no quarantine of any kind. It's not that much different from your other baggage.

The US customs website has info on this.

What country are you coming from?....1 thing i can tell you is the cat will need to
be certified (in writing) healthy by a vet no later than 60 days before entering the
US., the permit part Im not sure of but will look....need to know your country tho :)

Here is a website for bringing your pet to the US.
http://www.foreignborn.com/visas_imm...ingyourpet.htm

We have it listed under our immigration section on Brits In The US. =o)

Lisa www.britsintheus.com

Entering the US with an animal is not difficult. You will need a current vet certificate and an immunization record showing they are current on all required shots. One piece of advice I can give is have your US fiancee call their local vet and explain the situation. There are some shots that are mandatory in some areas and not in others. For example, moving Cheyenne from NY to NV meant having to get a vaccination not required in NY because of a different type of insect bite that might occur in NV that is harmful to a cat. Also some airlines require that the vet certificate not be more than 5 to 10 days old. Call the airline you will be using to determine what their policy is. If at all possible, try to have the animal travel with you in a special carrier designed to fit under your seat. This means you will go through the custom's and INS procedure with them in tow but will give you peace of mind knowing they are safe.

Some people will tranquilize a pet when traveling. Because Cheyenne was so timid and skittish, we spoke with the vet and experimented with dosages before actually traveling and found that 1/2 of a normal pill was adequate to calm her for "boxing" without leaving her sluggish and out of it upon arrival in her new home.

Rita

Actually, there is no need for a cat to be seen by a vet before travelling (ours didn't). It just needs to arrive in good health. Nor does it need vaccinations to enter the US (it may need them at state/county/municipal level).

Fitness to travel permits/certification is a requirement of the airline, not the US Customs. It can be granted by the airport's animal handling staff, transportation agent, or a vet.

I've never heard of an animal travelling in the passenger cabin, but I know that any originating from the UK would not be allowed in a pet carrier so small that it could fit under the seat in front.

Well in the case of bringing two cats from Canada to the US, via auto, vet certificates were needed before they were allowed into the US. They were asked for at the POE.

I can't tell you about international cat traveling (the air time is obviously much longer than that of domestic flights) but in the US on TWA Cheyenne was allowed, with the proper carrier size, to travel under my seat from Nevada to New York and on Tower One from NY to Nevada. TWA required that the vet certificate be no older than 5 days before she was allowed to travel and the fee in 1999 was $25 in addition to my fare for hers.

Regardless of whether the certificate is a requirement of the airline or the US Customs office for international travel is irrelevant as the animal must be certified healthy to travel.

As for vaccinations, if one cares about one's pets, IMOO, they would try to ascertain just what vaccinations are required in the part of the country they are going to and be sure that they are vaccinated in advance if at all possible.

These are just my personal experiences in air travel with cats and with importing a fiancee and two cats from Canada. The experiences of others will, of course, vary as it appears all things do in life.

Rita

We just got our cats up-to-date on their shots, and a health certificate from the
vet. They didn't even want to see the papers at the border.

[email protected] (Bea)
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I moved mine from Alberta to Texas. Got a vet certificate and updated her shots.
Sedated her (she is fat, so she needed the full dose!), paid the 70$ Canadian to fly
her in the cargo hold on Air Canada (pressure controlled and temperature
controlled!). She endured the 4 hour flight, was pissed at me for a while, and soon
made herself a little niche and rules our house in Texas. :)

Everyone,

Thank you for your replies!

I was very worried about quarantine requirements. Although I've read thoroughly on
information found in the USDA, US Customs, and even the Northwest Airlines websites,
I wanted to read of some actual experiences, especially POE experiences.

Again, thank you for your responses!

Pearl

My then soon to be wife brought her cat from Canada. As we were in the INS office in
Sault Ste. Marie, MI, getting her stamp and such, the cat was in the van. We had all
of the records of immunization and such, just to be sure. They didn't ask anything
about a pet, so after the 45 minutes it took, we proceded to go on our merry way.
But, the cat proceded to urinate on my soon to be wife's lap about 10 miles outside
of the border.

Note to Cat Importers: Do Not Water Before Importation

Pearl wrote:

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LOL - this is why our cat is not allowed in my new car!! Take Care. Shelley

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