Chrissywissy100

might well be worth it when you take into account the cost of putting the cat in the right size special container with access to food and water, and then the cost of placing it in the hold plus the cost of your economy flight anyway.

Business class to Chicago with your kitty, and peace of mind - Priceless.

chartreuse

Precisely. NB: United may have a direct flight, but they only allow pets in coach. So if you're looking at business, Delta is your only option, as of now.

PepsiChic

i understand what your saying chrissy, but if you dont have £2000+ to spend on flights then you dont have it.

money is tight enough as it is for me right now, so id have to take out a loan just to go business class but then i cant afford to pay it back because i cant work when i move over straight away.

it may have to be coach for us. tbh, im not too bothered about how much comfort i travel in, as long as i got my cat and hes ok then im happy even if i cant put my feet on the floor!

Elvira

If you fly United, you can buy 6" extra legroom by purchasing an Economy Plus ticket - which is a lot cheaper than business class.

PepsiChic

Thanks Elvira! i'll have a look into that

rudd

We moved with our cat from London to Jersey city in January. The process was pretty painless. We flew with Virgin Atlantic.

Paperwork and vaccination requirements vary from state to state. New Jersey requires nothing. Virging require a "fit to fly" letter from your vet and an appropriately sized cage. Rabies shots are optional but advised. A Pet Passport is not required. The US is much more lenient that the UK when it comes to importing pets.

The cost for carrying the pet depends on the cage size. Our was roughly £500 plus maybe another £200 for pet fees, cage, admin fee in Newark and additional taxi expences.

We flew on the same flight as our cat. Virgin only carry pets on certain flights and a limited number per flight. The also will not carry cats and doing in the same hold space. Again the airline will inform you.

We needed to check the cat in 4 hours beforehand. The animal is examined by a vet and then checked through. This was all done at the cargo building which is separate from the mail terminals.

After we landed in Newark we needed to wait for an hour while Virgin completed the paperwork. We then took the paperwork to customs who stamped and brought it back to the Virgin office who charged a small admin fee. We then collected the cat. Total time was about 2 hour from when we landed. Again the cargo and custom buildings were a couple of miles from the main terminal.

Our cat was an outdoor cat with access to a garden but has adjusted well to living on in a 17th floor apartment. On her first Vet visit we'll get her rabies shots and start organizing a pet passport in case we decide to move back to the UK.

Maggs

Hi

I brought my cat over here to Chicago in 2004 (the dog came in 2003). She was 11 yrs old then and travelled on the same flight as me but in the hold. She settled in to life in Northwest Chicago really well. She is still an outdoor cat and has a great time in the garden. She hasn't ever wandered far from home, even in the UK. She loves the summers here and lounges on the deck soaking up the sun or climbs up the tree, specifically to give me a heart attack!

She is almost 16 now and doesn't go out much in the winter and I can't blame her given the bloody awful cold temps but she has started to go out on to the deck in the last few days. The vet says that she is in great condition and doesn't look her age and puts it down to the fact that she is an outdoor cat and has retained a lot of muscle mass and joint movement. We do have the occasional coyote around here and raccoons that I worry about, but we haven't had any problems in the 5 years she has been here.

Good luck bringing your cat.

Maggie

PepsiChic

thanks everyone! hes gonna have an update rabies shot (its 12 months since his first) and im going to follow it up with a blood test and get his rabies certificate and a health certificate (maybe a letter fromt he vet saying "fit to fly" just incase!)

ive looked into UA and i'll probably fly with him in the cargo, im flying to chicago, and then we're driving down to Missouri.

thankyou so much everyone for the info its really great to hear from other peoples experiances it makes me feel a bit better and less stressed!

Maggs - what did you have to do in chicago to pick up your pet and in london in fact? did the vet do a check over or anything?

Maggs

Hello

I flew with the cat out of Manchester with BMI. BMI don't do anything but they use a company called World Cargo (if I remember). I took care of all the shots, blood, microchip and paperwork but I had to take the cat to the cargo terminal to drop her off, then I headed to the passenger terminals for me. It cost around 275 GBP. When I boarded the plane I asked the cabin crew to tell me if/when Kitty had been put on the plane. 3 cabin crew came to tell me she ws on board safely.

When we arrived in Chicago I went through passport control and then I was directed to an office where Kitty was waiting for me to pick her up. I can't remember which office but I think it was a public health dept. She was doing fine and if she had been examined by a vet, it was before I picked her up and I didn't know about it.

It's a few years ago since my cat arrived and she had no problems adjusting to her life here even as an older cat.

Maggie

PepsiChic

thankyou

Octang Frye

PepsiChic, I want to respond and help you but I feel that I cannot do so in good conscience _______________________________

PepsiChic

if you didnt want to comment - why did you?

This is not an English lesson.

so go elsewhere to post insults.

Octang Frye

because I found the style of your posts <snipped>

PepsiChic

comments like that are really not needed, so why dont you take yourself and your spiteful, hurtful tongue elsewhere now. thankyou.

Octang Frye

Au contraire, my rustic rube. Someone has to uphold standards.