Is it dangersous to ship pets?

Kids have it so easy these days!  

The titre test is no longer necessary. Smiley You just have to prove that you did the microchip, then the rabies vaccine, then waited at least 21 days pre-travel.

I was under the impression that there was a 6 month wait after the rabies vaccine before travel? Is that incorrect?

I was under the impression that there was a 6 month wait after the rabies vaccine before travel? Is that incorrect?

As of 01/01/2012, a 6month wait after the rabies vacc is no longer necessary. I believe there's a wiki that explains the new process. Basically, from the date of vaccination, you can fly your pets 21 days later.

As of 01/01/2012, a 6month wait after the rabies vacc is no longer necessary. I believe there's a wiki that explains the new process. Basically, from the date of vaccination, you can fly your pets 21 days later.

Great, thank you!

I wouldn't say that it's dangerous, just they don't really like being couped up in the hold of a plane or boat very much!

My cat has never forgiven me and I believe he has developed some sort of nervous neurotic tenancies. But physically he made it through absolutely fine and it's nice to have him with us as he becomes a grumpy old man.

I'd like to note...the process for getting married is way easier than shipping your pet over. With that being said, the new guidelines allow the old rules to go by the wayside! Hooray for that! No titre..no quarantine. Wahoo! One of the positive things by the EU forming....

Shipped my dog over a few weeks ago...he has recovered fine. In fact, he probably traveled better than I did above him in Club! I was so nervous the whole time until his cute self came out to greet me at ARC!

That's good to hear, once my visa is approved, I will have my pet transport service make the final arrangements before I book mine.  I've got 2 pugs, one young, and one old.  I'm worried, but I know that they'll be flying United Airlines who uses pressurized cabins for pet transport and they have pretty impressive policy for traveling pets.

Hi Guys,

Been a while since I posted. I am getting ready for my move to England. I have a cat who I love so so much, and he loves me so much! He doesn't feel as comfortable with my mum and sisters as he does with me. My cat is a true scardy cat and is very scared of strangers.

I've had him for 7 years now, he's 7 years old. My plan was to bring him to England after a few months. Mum is worried that it might kill him. Does anyone know on which part of the plane the animal goes in? I've heard stories of pets dying on the planes before. Has this happened to anyone? Mum is really afraid for him, since she knows he's a scardy cat. But at the same time, she knows that Dobby loves me so much and he feels the most comfortable and happy around me. I mean if he lives with my mum in the states, I have no doubt he'll be well taken care of, but he'll just never be as happy as he was when he was with me. But I also don't want to risk his life. So I am not sure what to do... I personally also feel I cannot live without Dobby. He's such a huge part of my life and I just love him so much, but I want to do what is best for him. Sometimes I think what is best for him is to be with me, since he's so dependent on me and isn't really affectionate with anyone else really.

Advice please?? Just want to know how safe it would be to fly him over if I did decide to bring him over, and has anyone else had a very scared cat come to England before? Where in the plane do they put them? How loud and dangerous is it?

Thanks!

I don't have pets so others will be better for advice, but someone on here recently posted about going by ship from the US to UK.  The prices were somewhat reasonable and I think it took about a week (although you need to book quite far in advance).... obviously it's longer than a flight, but might be better for your kitty if you're really worried him.    That said, I think most animals are fine after their flight (after a few days of adjusting). 

Good luck with your kitty! 

Good question, Jupie.  I have heard that on some airlines they will allow a small pet as cabin baggage.  Suspect this is not true -- wishful thinking on my part??

Does anyone know on which part of the plane the animal goes in?

Pets travel in a dedicated, climate- and pressure-controlled section of the cargo hold.

Just want to know how safe it would be to fly him over if I did decide to bring him over, and has anyone else had a very scared cat come to England before? Where in the plane do they put them? How loud and dangerous is it?

Your vet is most qualified to tell you if he's healthy enough to fly. If he is, then the risk is minimal. If not, then you should consider waiting till he can be booked on the Queen Mary 2. You can also fly Air France, which lets you bring a small pet as an under-seat carry-on, into Paris first, then proceed by land for the rest of your journey (although given his anxiety issues, that might actually make things worse).

I moved with two cats, let's call them Good Cat and Bad Cat. Bad Cat is a prick who thinks everything that happens is in service of her. She believes nothing bad can happen to her (and she has much evidence to back this philosophy). Bad Cat loves rides in the car and took everything in stride; she's about 6 months younger than your cat and, when she arrived home from LHR, she strutted into the flat like nothing had happened. So, although she doesn't have anxiety issues, she is slightly older, and still that didn't stop her being happy as Larry.

Good Cat was only 2, and is the sweetest, most earnest, most anxious cat I've ever owned. She cried all the way to the airport, until she couldn't cry anymore at the IA Cargo office. Broke my otherwise non-existent heart. But I remembered what my vet had told me: Once they're in the hold, and it's dark and basically quiet (the engine noise is a constant hum, like it is for you in the cabin), without stimuli, they just curl up and go to sleep. Particularly cats, because napping is pretty much their best talent.

Good Cat apparently did a lot of crying all the way home from LHR (we opted to pay for JCS's delivery service -- which I highly, HIGHLY recommend, as they're much better equipped to transport your pet into London than you would be with a cab after a 4-to-6-hour wait after a red-eye). But she was fine health-wise. She did a bit of hiding under the wardrobe, because that's her reaction to a new situation (unlike Bad Cat, who took over the couch, bed and cat condo within a half-hour), and it took her about three days to get more comfortable.

Just don't act as if anything's wrong or different. Maintain as much normalcy as possible, and normalcy will be restored quickly in kittenland. When I moved them over, I brought their toys and favourite blankets from home, and that seemed to help the transition. Oh, and my husband had treats at the ready, which of course Bad Cat ate all of because she is a fat (beautiful, fluffy) jerk. Worst-case, just buy his love with treats. Whatever you do, minimise your stress (it's impossible to eliminate), and all will go fine.

I brought my cats with me when they were both 10 years old.  Both did great and have been here for 3 years now.  I am SO GLAD I made the choice to bring them as my quality of life would be lower without them.   

As HMS Seahorse said, they fly in their own space in the plane designated for pets.  It's heated and pressurized and dark and quiet (for a plane).  I had always flown with my kitties in the cabin and was SO NERVOUS about them flying in the hold.  My vet made me feel so much better about it.  She explained that the area they are in is warm and dark and it is much more soothing and calming for the cat than being in the loud, action filled cabin, which is often quite cold.

Your vet will advise if your pet is fit for travel and most are and do just fine.  I think the humans stress more than the animals.

I came here back when it was harder to bring the animals over, so I moved about 6 weeks before my cats.  My animals stayed at my parents house during this time and my kitties LOVE my dad.  So for those 6 weeks, when my dad got home from work, he put on one of two shirts and wore it around to get it good and smelly (yuck, I know).  When it was time for the kitties to move, he put a shirt in each crate so that they had something that smelled familiar (plus it was soft and snuggly).  Both kitties seemed to lay on the shirts the whole time (covered in fur).

I booked direct flights, which I would recommend doing.

Stephanie303 is moving over soon and she is flying into Paris so that her kitty can fly with her in the cabin, then taking the train to the UK.  Unfortunately to enter the UK, the cat MUST travel in the hold.  But France is different and you can have kitty in the cabin with you.

Sometimes when they see the suitcases down by the front door they hide under the bed.  I joke that they fear they are getting on another plane.  That's the only side effect they seem to have.   

Yes, I am flying into Paris next month on Delta, checking the dog as excess baggage and carrying on the cat, as she is half persian (snubnose) they won't accept her as excess baggage.
I am getting her used to the carrier and am going to get calming treats for take off and landing and anywhere in between & hoping for the best!
It really is quite safe for them to travel, almost all the "horror stories" I read about pets and planes involved the crates not being secured properly by the owners and the pets escaping. I have been a googling fanatic looking for information on traveling to the UK with pets, the more I read, the more knowledge I get about this process, the better I feel about the journey and making sure the paperwork is completed properly. 
So I suggest the same to you, google, google, google as much as you can about this process until you feel comfortable about it, go into your vet with the correct paperwork and the knowledge on how to fill it out correctly and all the steps you need to take and learn what you need to do to make sure your cat will have a safe and comfortable journey and you both will have a better time of it 
We are off to the vet today actually for their rabies shots, but taking the cat in the hardsided carrier, not in the softsided one for the plane, don't want her to associate the soft carrier that will be for the plane with the evil vet!   

Sometimes when they see the suitcases down by the front door they hide under the bed.  I joke that they fear they are getting on another plane.  That's the only side effect they seem to have.   

 

Stephanie - one thing I found when I traveled with my kitties in the cabin that helped a lot was a baby blanket!  I got baby blankets and would cover the carriers while in the airport.  This worked in two ways.  The kitties seemed less aggitated when they couldn't see the commotion around them.  And it also kept strangers (and kids) from getting all "oooo, kitty, let me see!".