KK85

Hello!

I have a few questions relating to pet relocation (cat-specific), which I cannot seem to find answered on any previous threads on the subject. I wonder if anyone might be able to share their experiences with me? My questions relate more to the whens than the hows.

I am in the throes of petitioning for a CR-1 visa, to join my husband in PA. If all goes without complication and to suggested timescales, this should happen sometime between July and October this year. I have a cat, Ted, who is very beloved and cherished and will be moving with me. I'm a worrier and a planner, so please forgive me if it seems I'm being needlessly or overly frantic.

Some facts from the off:

1. I would prefer not to have Ted travel in the cabin, for his, my, and other passengers' sake
2. I would, however, prefer for him to travel on the same plane (I understand only certain airlines will accommodate pets) so that our overall transatlantic move be as smooth-sailing and quick as possible
3. I will most likely travel out of Heathrow and into either Newark or JFK (not sure if this makes a difference to any of my questions), then Husband will collect us and drive us the 3-4 hours home.


I have received several quotes from several pet shipping companies, ranging between £600 to £1,000+ to cover all costs. These quotes are approximate, given that it's impossible for me to provide them with a specific date of travel at this stage in my CR-1 petition. My first question, therefore, is this: at what point - should I decide to work with a pet shipping company - is it appropriate, or even possible, to start putting solid, confirmed wheels into motion? This seems an impossible feat to me at the moment because I don't even know when I'm moving, so how can I know when to book flights for my cat?! Am I trying to organise this a bit prematurely?

I have spoken to Ted's vet, who recommends starting the passport/vaccination process eight months prior to the move (i.e. now), to allow for any timescale complications relating to potential problems with blood tests etc. (unlikely event - he's a healthy cat, up-to-date on vacs - but best safe than sorry). She also tells me that I need to keep a check on state-specific regulations, which can "change from day to day" (like what? From what I've researched, moving a cat to PA has pretty solid legislation). She seemed surprisingly clued-up on these processes, though, which leads me to wonder the following: is it worth me considering doing all this without using a professional company, and just working with the vet and saving myself a bunch of money, or is the customs process a total nightmare? Bearing in mind I'm going through my own paperwork and moving stresses, I think I'd rather pay a bit more money for the reassurance of knowing Ted's complicated paperwork is handled, but if the price difference is considerable, surely it's worth me trying to better understand the process of moving him myself. If I do attempt to do everything myself, when can I possibly start thinking about organising everything, when my own move date is still unconfirmed? Is that something I merely need to discuss with an airline? (But again - the question is which airline, since I will not know until at least July who I will be travelling with myself.)

Did anyone have their pet travel over separately to them, on a different date? Another option I need to put on the table, due to the potential for airlines not allowing pet-travel in the heat of summer, is me moving over first, then having Ted join me later. I have family he can stay with for a week or two, but would be cautious to leave the responsibility in their hands. Still, this is something I need to consider due to the window in which my CR-1 will likely see me travel, and I wonder if this makes matters easier or harder, either on a practical or emotional level?

I have a million questions about this process but am trying to keep them to a minimum to start with, in the hope that having these ones answered might enable me to better consider the others. I have read lots of your experiences on other threads (though most seem to be about dogs), but I'm keen to understand when you started the processes, and how you made decisions relating to your pets' moves if your own moves were so up in the air ('scuse the pun). Mostly I'm just after some reassurance that this whole process isn't going to be a complete nightmare, I think!

Thank you hugely to any advice or stories you can share.

Just_Joy

The CDC (Center for disease control) does not have any requirements for bringing domesticated cats into the US as long as they do not show signs of disease. I would have your husband check with a local vet in PA. If your cat is up to date on all vaccines including a current rabies vaccination there shouldn't be a problem. I'd also check with the airlines directly about transporting pets.
https://www.cdc.gov/importation/brin...ates/cats.html

steveq

Lizzyq brought both of ours over in my first year here. She's trying to find the details we used. Sadly we lost one a little over a year later, but the other is going strong.

KK85

That is incredibly kind of you and Lizzyq - thank you so much for looking (and for getting through all the above drivel).

I'm so sorry to hear you lost one of your furry housemates. It is always so devastating. How is your other doing? Did he/she settle in well?

H Bomb

We used www.petairuk.com and they were excellent.

We flew over on American Airlines but apparently they are 'unreliable' when it comes to pets so our cats followed us the next day on a BA flight (Heathrow to JFK). They wouldn't put them on a flight until they knew we had landed as there would be nobody to collect them at the other end.

This was good as it allowed us a day to get settled and things ready for them arriving - but heading back to JFK the following day and awaiting them to be cleared through cargo took a lot longer than we anticipated and we lost most of the day.

PetAir picked up our cats about 4 days before we left so they were out of the way as we were getting final things ready for the move - I believe you can board the cats with them for a few weeks if needed.

Your vets estimation of 8 months seems somewhat long. We didn't start our vet work til our visas were almost approved - so I am sure max it could have been was 2-3 months before we left the UK.

KK85

Thank you so much, H Bomb. I'm so pleased to hear you had a positive experience! I think I'm more anxious about the cat's move than my own.

Pet Air UK are at the top of my list so far - I've only ever heard good things. I'm intrigued to hear some more solid quotes from their competitors once I can provide a bit more information, but in the meantime I'm confident that there's a company who will take good care of Ted. I do think I'm leaning more toward using a company than doing it all myself (even just writing that massive post helped clear my head and see things a little clearer on that point. Phew!).

Eight months did seem excessive, though she said she was airing on the side of caution, which I appreciate. I think I'm going to wait until Husband and I have passed the next step in our visa process before I panic, and that buys me a bit of time to do more research.

For some stupid reason, it hadn't even occurred to me that perhaps some of these companies will pick the animal up a day or two in advance, or that they can put them on a flight the following day - did you have to pay a significant amount for boarding? I hate the idea of him being caged up for longer than is necessary, but it is certainly an option that I ought to consider. I've had all these nightmares about trying to ship my cat, my stuff and myself all in the same day, with couriers coming and going all over the place, and the very thought of it sends my brain into a frazzle. The less I need to do on the day of the Big Move, the better!

H Bomb

We were very anxious too - but all went well.

We never considered trying to do it ourselves. I am sure it would have saved a lot of money - but with everything else going on we just wanted the easiest option.

I just checked my email but cannot see the invoice broken down - just the total. I don't recall the boarding fee being too crazy - possibly around 12-15 GBP/cat/day?

KK85

That's incredibly reassuring, and some food for thought. Thank you!

mrken30

I brought my cat over in the cabin almost 10 years ago now. My experience on landing was that I was asked if the cat was doing well, I replied yes. That was it. I did have to take him to a local vet to get rabies vaccine and a tag. Also I think there may have been a requirement to have a physical examination.

catlover3

Did s/he not miaow the whole way? Colin Feral would send everyone mad if she was in the cabin all that way!

mrken30

Not at all, but he had a really chill personality. Not all cats are the same. He slept a lot of the time

steveq

He's cool.

KK85

What a gorgeous boy!

Here's Ted, completely oblivious to his looming life upheaval.

Thank you for sharing your experience, too, Mrken30! I'm glad to know it isn't necessarily a scary cat-related interrogation on the other side.

WhyteBoar

We used PetAirUK back in 2014 when both our our cats moved with us to Arizona.

They were good at keeping in touch; we had them organise all the paperwork, the crates and they collected them from our house the day before my flight. I think it was £1200ish, which is alot of money, but I couldn't put a price on my peace of mind, at the time.

They had two nights of boarding before they flew out, which enabled me to be at the other end to collect them, having pre-cleared them through customs. The customs process was very easy - was essentially just taking a piece of paper from cargo to customs to get it signed and then hand it back to cargo.

We had to call the cargo facility in Phoenix to confirm we would be there to collect them before BA would put them on the flight, but my husband was able to do that a few weeks in advance.

Both cats were fine. They spent the first night being a little skittish, but settled in very quickly.

We had the cats vaccinated for rabies before we left the UK in June and they flew out in August. We didn't do anything else.

I was totally stressed out (unnecessarily) because I didn't know when I would fly, my husband was already in the US as he had started his job and I was panicking about the cats not being able to fly into Phoenix in August because of the heat. As it turned out the cargo people here in Phoenix have air-con vans for animals, unload them first and take them straight the the cargo offices. The cats were waiting for us when we arrived at the office less than 30 mins after the flight landed.

Phoodilicious

we used Airpets from UK (LHR) in 2011 to TX, then PetExpress from US to Australia in 2014. Both companies offered very similar services and I found it a god send not to have to worry about my 2 cats when I had so many other things to think about. Airpets even collected my cats from the US airport and brought them to my hotel where we were staying temporarily, so that I didn't have to wrestle with immigration and customs for us and worry about the cats too and collecting them.

I ordered some essentials for them like litter trays, litter, food bowls, food to be delivered to the hotel ahead of time (and got permission from the hotel to do so) so by the time the cats were delivered to the hotel I had set up their necessities.

I too, like others, had them board a night with the pet travel agent before the flight so that I could stop worrying about them. This worked very well for me!

Your vet might be saying 8 months prep because some countries require a titre test for rabies antibodies to be over a certain level and because of this you need to allow time for the rabies injection, a booster if needed and blood tests and lab results etc. However USA does not require a titre test so you don't need to start preparing so far ahead. I had my cats vaccinated, rabies & standard other e.g. cat flu, leukemia etc, micro-chipped, internal and external parasite treatments (they are indoor cats so was just precautionary for external).