Moving 2 cats from London to San Francisco
 

Hi,

We're preparing to move to SF in the Summer and was hoping some people can give me some experience they've had of moving cats. I've been told that using British airways or Virgin are the best options as they have high standards and years of experience.

Either way, its going to be a traumatic experience for the cats. They hate being taken to the vet let alone stuck in a cage inside an aircraft for 12+ hours.

I bought their airline approved crates already and have them open in the house with the hope of they'll get used to them.

Any hints or tips would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Re: Moving 2 cats from London to San Francisco
 

Owners usually seem to be more traumatized by the process than their pets are.

Re: Moving 2 cats from London to San Francisco
 

You may wish to take a look at this thread from just a couple of days ago:

http://britishexpats.com/forum/usa-5...settle-878129/

Re: Moving 2 cats from London to San Francisco
 

We moved our cat and two dogs from Leicester UK to Atlanta. They had to make an overnight stop in Amsterdam but all went well. We used "Airpets" which is based near heathrow they were fantastic. They build a carrier for your pet and they pick them up from your home the day before the flight so they are kept calm and comfortable and their vets check them before they board. Make sure you don't forget the rabies shot (very important) they flew with Delta.

Re: Moving 2 cats from London to San Francisco
 

Which airport will you be coming from? LHR to SFO direct is the only way to go in my opinion. Don't change plane if you can possibly avoid it, I've done that trip many times. BA or Virgin are the best bet, I've never done that trip with United. Whatever you do avoid going through Atlanta, remember the first place you land, you will have to go through immigration and I don't know how they will deal with the cats. Best do all that at your destination.

oops missed the bit coming from London. Applies even more so

Re: Moving 2 cats from London to San Francisco
 

https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/fi...isions_1_0.pdf

Main thing is to have proof of the rabies shot, that's all CBP really cares about.

Re: Moving 2 cats from London to San Francisco
 

There have been a few threds on this subject. Here is another

http://britishexpats.com/forum/usa-5...thansa-873305/

For a 12 hour trip I would recommend putting puppy pads and vet bad in the carrier. My cat didn't go to the toilet until he got home after 14 hours. But not all cats are the same.

Re: Moving 2 cats from London to San Francisco
 

I didn't get asked for any paper work when I arrived in Chicago from LHR 8 years ago. They just asked me if my cat looked OK. I took my cat in the cabin, maybe that makes a difference.