Patrick

Hi,

I mentioned on another thread about how I brought in a cat from the UK to the US because of the amount of questions I got back I thought I would write the whole experience down for future reference.

It was really easy to bring a cat from the UK to America, mainly because there is no quarentine for the cat, he got off the plane with us and came straight home. Before you bring the cat you do have to do some things.

Rabies: The cat has to have a rabies shot, the rule is 90/30 - he has to have the shot within 90 days of travel but at least 30 days before he travels.

Health Certificate: The cat has to have a health certificate from the vet, this has to be done within 7 days of travel. We also photocopied all his records in case they asked.

The rabies and Health Certificate are very important and the cat won't be allowed to travel without both of those things.

The cat has to be transported in an airline approved carrier. The best place to buy these are the US - they are £60 in the UK and $25 in the US.

Booking the cat. When we booked our flights we immediatly rang up the airline and booked a PNR for the cat. This reserves (but not guarentees) a place in the hold for the cat. When you get to the airport you pay the money for the cat - in the case of AA it was $110. If you want it in the cabin with you it will cost you price of a seat (no shoving it in the overhead locker).

Because we had booked it the duty manager was waiting for us at the AA desk and she brought us straight to the front (how to piss off 150 people in one go). When we got to the departure lounge the crew bing-bonged us and told us that the cat had been loaded.

When we got on the plane we where bing-bonged again and the air stewardess found us and told us the captain was aware that there a cat in the hold and he had heated the hold to 70 degrees and the light was on.

When we landed at RDU we went to the AA baggage office and had to wait only about 10 minutes before a guy in with Harry. Harry was curled up at the back of the box but as soon as he saw us he gave us a mouthful but he was fine.

We did not sedate him, this is a personal thing to the owner, but our cat is afraid of noises so we didn't want to sedate him in case he got scared and hurt himself whilst disorientated under the drugs.

Food: We had to go through 3 cat foods before we found one he would eat. We also had to try two hard foods before he like cat chow - fussy bugger.

Anything I haven't answered please ask. The cat has now settled in and is fine, it took him almost a week to get over jetlag, he was waking us up at 2am wanting his breakfast.

Good Luck to everyone

Patrick

robclews

How did the Cat get the tin foil off the in flight meal , did you help him ?, and did he get free wine with his meal.

thing2

roflmao to both comments

Thanks for that Patrick, a nice clarification of everything. One other question - is your cat micro-chipped ? If so, is the chip readable with US scanners ?

Useful links regarding pets and flying :

http://www.i-love-cats.com/meow/ramb.../airlines.html
http://www.i-love-cats.com/meow/ramblincat/flying.html
http://www.foreignborn.com/visas_imm...ingyourpet.htm

207lonsdale

Hi Patrick

LAX confirmed that because the UK is free of rabies I would not need to get my dog vaccinated against this and would just need the health certificate! Maybe there are different requirements for different states???

Also, do you know whether AA would allow a small dog in a carrier if you pay for an extra seat? I really do not like the idea of my dog being locked in the hold for an 11 hour flight but that is all Virgin and BA seem to offer!! Virgin and BA also make this big deal about your pet being kept in the pitch dark for the duration of the flight, as though that will make the owner feel happier!!!! I had not thought of checking AA, but from your experience they seem to be more caring when it comes to dealing with animals!

Julie.

cindyabs

My understanding that the dog PLUS the carrier (could even be a little bag thingie) can't exceed 10 pounds in weight and must fit under the seat?

dbark

Thanks Patrick,

You answered a lot of my questions there (without knowing what they all are!!!) but I have another couple. Did you put food and water in with Harry? And did he seem very traumatized by it all? I believe you have said that he is a fairly young cat. The one my daughter wants to take is 10 years old and I am rather apprehensive .....

Thanks,

Debbie

Rete

Not sure I would trust that. Rabies is present in ALL of the US and I would think that they and you as well would want your animal not only vaccinated against disease inherent in your country but also in the country you are taking the animal to.

For instance, my daugther took her cat with her to live in Vegas. Nevada has a type of tick that is harmful to cats. That tick is not in New York. The cat had to receive the vaccination for that tick before the airline would take the cat from New York to Nevada.

When my daughter took the cat to Vegas and when I brought her back to live again in New York, both times she was allowed in a carrier and under the seat. But then she was a small cat ;-)

207lonsdale

Hi Rete

I had read that there were risks with the vaccination, so I was going to avoid it if possible. However, I had not thought about the possible risk of my dog contracting rabies in the US!!

Anyway, some links were posted on this thread, and after reading them I am now terrified of having my dog travel to LA, which is an 11 hour flight, in the cargo hold!!

She weighs 11.5kg, and this together with the weight of a carrier, would seem to be over the weight allowance for travelling with me. Does anyone know how I can get my dog to the US without having to take the risk of her being treated like a piece of baggage?? I really do not have a problem with cost, what I cannot deal with is the possibility of her not arriving safe and sound at the destination.

Julie.

Caro

I travelled from Michigan to California with my cat. I believe that the allowed weight for taking the cat as a carry-on was 15lbs (pet+carrier). I travelled with United and the service was deplorable. They told us first that they would let us board with the babies and strollers, which we asked for because the cat was getting balistic after the first flight (Detroit-Chicago). We just wanted to sit down put the cat under the seat and make her feel comfortable hoping that she would be quiet. So much for that plan... They refused to board us as scheduled and told us to wait by the check-in machine. They boarded everybody (I am not kidding!) before us while the cat was getting even more stressed out with the noise and all the people going by and was literally screaming. Everytime I asked about boarding us or moving back to a quiet area, they told me to stay there. Of course, we boarded the plane and the cat didn't chill out at all. She screamed (and I have never heard her scream like this) non-stop from Chicago to San Francisco. We tried to make her chill, but there was nothing to be done. We didn't make many friends, but we didn't feel like it was our fault after how beautifully United handled our boarding.

For your dog, I do not think that you will be able to bring it on-board as a carry-on (weight restriction varies from airline to airline but remains aroung 10-15lbs). Its carrier also has to fit under the seat in front of you. We have a fairly small cat (or at least we used to be before I found this new food she loves...), and she was really restricted in her movements. I wouldn't think about letting her in there for a 11hours flight. You can always ask the airline if you can buy a full seat since cost is not a problem. I do not see why they would not let you do that if you pay the price for the seat. Your dog might even qualify for a child's ticket Just kidding!

Caroline

Patrick

Harry is 8, he has no teeth, weighs 7kg and is frightened by noise! We feared for him because he is such a scaredy-cat but he came out the other end perfectly fine, he doesn't seem traumatised at all.

We did not have to put food in with him but we did have to supply something to put water in, see if you can get your cat to drink from a bottle (like gerbil cage ones) as when we got him back his blanket was soaked. They give him the water by the way.

Good Luck

Patrick

Writing the cats weight reminded me of another thing I will have to get used to in america - using imperial measurements. They asked me what height was in the DMV and I told them, they had no idea about metric and I have no idea about imperial. In the end I stood up and the girl guessed I was 5"9. I am officially 5"9 on my driving license, everyone I have asked since thinks I am 5"11 -> 6". Oh well!

Haldaman

When I get my CR-1 (hopefully!) I will be moving Rosie, the 3-legged and one cauliflower ear Maine Coon rescued from the cats home, to NC. Wonderful to find this thread and so glad to find how good AA seem to be, as we only travel AA from Gatwick to Raleigh-Durham. Sounds good that Rosie should not have any problem, she is a great survivor after losing a hind leg in her past! I hope she will not set off any alarms in the hold though.....for every journey we have ever taken her so far, she has made a continuous "Lemmeout" miaow! She doesn't stop and I am thinking about 2 hours waiting to be loaded, 8 hours in the 777 hold, and the dreaded 2 carousels at RDU!!
But it's good to know AA are caring, and by now with my Gold status and God knows how many Aadvantage airmiles they know me well at LGW and RDU - and I was upgraded for free on two flights due to my oxygen tank - perhaps Rosie will get upgraded as well! Are there any decibel limits for the cargo hold?

Haldaman

On AA you now only get free wine in business class, so what credit card did he use in the hold?

Patrick

The cat doesn't have to suffer the dreaded two carosels at RDU. At the second carosel there is a room (just behind the information desk) thats where you pick your cat up from!

Patrick

Haldaman

Thanks Patrick.
Rosie

lairdside

What's metric?

I still do not know my height/weight in metric measurements and never have, not very European of me is it?


What threw me a little is that American Imperial and british Imperial measurements are often different.

A gallon for instance is 4 quarts in the US and 6 quarts in the UK.

Almost all of my American friends now know what a stone is

Dont get me started on long and short tons...........