Flying Cats to UK..do it myself vs. use agency, etc?

I have been battling back and forth on the best way to get my two cats here to the UK with me. They've been in the US since August 08 with a woman who boards pets as a side-job. I lucked out that she's only charging $60/month for the two of them. I was planning on using PetRelocation.com to have them sent over here this month, except 1) at the time I was quoted roughly $2500 USD and that has skyrocketed to $4800 USD, and 2) my husband has been out of work and I haven't been able to save nearly that amount.

My other option has been to fly back to the states (into Charlotte, NC - 2 hours from where they are being kept) and fly them back with me accompanied either to Heathrow or Manchester. This means, a return flight for me, as well as the costs to fly my two cats in cargo? I guess. I had some notes scribbled from before that to fly my cats international it can be anywhere from $500-700/each depending on the airline.

The frustrating thing is that using a site like Vayama.com, I can get a round trip flight for myself at $500...but if I book it through the airline, which I will have to do in order to book my cats with me, it looks like it will be over $2K for my flight alone, on Continental, for example.

Does anyone have any suggestions for a less expensive way to do this? Either coming back to the US and flying my cats over with me or using a different pet relocation agency? I'm so lost again on what steps to take and any suggestions would be immensly appreciated.

Someone in a recent cat thread suggested the Queen Mary.  I was surprised at how low the fare was for a one-way crossing.  That might be worth checking out.

I came over in Sept on BA with 3 cats.

Didn't have a choice but to fly BA from ATL, so I just camped out online - checking each and every possible travel site - and waited for the lowest possible fair.  I think I paid just under $700 for a round trip ticket, that I obviously did not use the return journey for.  It was one of those things where I watched the fares rise and fall for a few weeks, and when I saw one I could live with I jumped. 

Fourteen days before the flight I called the airline and booked my cats.  At that time they needed the crate size etc.  It cost me $1600 inclusive for my 3 cats in 28x18x18 crates (seriously exceeded the size requirements, but the way they make them you sort of have to).  I might have been able to squeeze through with smaller crates (therefore save money) but it wasn't worth taking the chance for me.

So have you completed the other bits of paperwork?  Is it USDA verified?  Don't forget you have to do the tick and tapeworm treatments 24-48 hours prior to departure.  And depending on the airline you fly, you'll need a vet to verify fitness to fly which may or may not require a USDA stamp within 10 days of departure.

If I were you I'd figure out total costs both ways, and based on the difference what it's worth for you not to have to travel to the US.

 
   

So hollyberry, you booked a roundtrip and just took it one way?

I've gotten as far as to have them chipped and their titre test came back in July cleared. I have to re-vaccinate the one cat because her 12 month runs out 4th of Feb. (and I was told if I re-vaccinated her she would still be okay as long as it didn't lapse).

So have you completed the other bits of paperwork?  Is it USDA verified?  Don't forget you have to do the tick and tapeworm treatments 24-48 hours prior to departure.  And depending on the airline you fly, you'll need a vet to verify fitness to fly which may or may not require a USDA stamp within 10 days of departure.  

I spoke with the vet today so I can start getting things in line. I won't be able to bring them until March or April. The vet didn't even know what paperwork needed to be completed. Also, I was reading on here somewhere that it needed to be a USDA vet or something like that (confused there).

The notes I had from the return of the titre test results (where I am in the process) were...

1. Call vet, USDA, and airline to determine what forms are necessary.

2. Fill out EC98/2003 form (aka 3rd country certificate) and take to vet for date stamp & signature.

3. When there are less than 4 months prior to travel: send EC98/2003, titre test results (original sent from Kansas State Lab), date cats microchipped (certificate or original receipt) to the USDA via priority mail.

4. Call airline to book cats 14 days prior to travel.

5. 10 days prior to travel obtain a vet certified "fit to fly" statement.

6. 48-->24 hours prior to check-in (roughly 2.5 hours prior to departure) obtain tick/tapeworm treatment, and take EC98/2003 to have vet sign, date, and stamp it.

Anyone know if those steps are correct/incorrect?

It all sounds tedious, but simple enough if it can all be kept organized. I'm just going back and forth with how I get them over here. Can I book my own flight online and then call to add them to the flight later...or do I have to book all of our flights together if I plan to accompany them?

Do any airlines allow unaccompanied pets anymore?

So hollyberry, you booked a roundtrip and just took it one way?

I've gotten as far as to have them chipped and their titre test came back in July cleared. I have to re-vaccinate the one cat because her 12 month runs out 4th of Feb. (and I was told if I re-vaccinated her she would still be okay as long as it didn't lapse).

I spoke with the vet today so I can start getting things in line. I won't be able to bring them until March or April. The vet didn't even know what paperwork needed to be completed. Also, I was reading on here somewhere that it needed to be a USDA vet or something like that (confused there).

The notes I had from the return of the titre test results (where I am in the process) were...

1. Call vet, USDA, and airline to determine what forms are necessary.

2. Fill out EC98/2003 form (aka 3rd country certificate) and take to vet for date stamp & signature.

3. When there are less than 4 months prior to travel: send EC98/2003, titre test results (original sent from Kansas State Lab), date cats microchipped (certificate or original receipt) to the USDA via priority mail.

4. Call airline to book cats 14 days prior to travel.

5. 10 days prior to travel obtain a vet certified "fit to fly" statement.

6. 48-->24 hours prior to check-in (roughly 2.5 hours prior to departure) obtain tick/tapeworm treatment, and take EC98/2003 to have vet sign, date, and stamp it.

Anyone know if those steps are correct/incorrect?

It all sounds tedious, but simple enough if it can all be kept organized. I'm just going back and forth with how I get them over here. Can I book my own flight online and then call to add them to the flight later...or do I have to book all of our flights together if I plan to accompany them?

Do any airlines allow unaccompanied pets anymore?

Yes, a return ticket was cheaper than a one way for me.  But you are going back and forth, so it is likely in your best interest to use both sides?

1.  Call USDA and airline to determine the necessary forms.  Most vets aren't familiar with the process and seriously it is so time consuming, you have to be the expert (IMO).

2.  Yes, their office stamp (mine was a return address stamp) and the vet signature in BLUE INK.  Make sure to use the DD/MM/YY date format. 

3.  Yup.

5.  Your airline might want the APHIS 7001 form which MIGHT need to be stamped by the USDA?  This part is airline dependant.  BA was fine with a "fit to fly" letter from my regular vet.  I do recall someone else on here saying they needed the 7001 with a USDA stamp.  So there it makes sense to do part 2 and this part at the same time.

6.  Yep!  Blue ink and a ink stamp (not embossed like the USDA will be).

You need to check the spreadsheet on the DEFRA site to determine what airlines are approved from your departure city to determine whether your animals can be flown unaccompanied.

I was in the ATL and had no choice to but to go with BA accompanied (unless I wanted to drive to another city to leave the country.

Truly it is manageable.  You just have to stay on top of it and hang over the shoulder of everyone who processes your paperwork.  I had to deal with some rolled eyes and exasperated sighs in regards to the minute details, but it all worked out OK in the end.   

Truly it is manageable.  You just have to stay on top of it and hang over the shoulder of everyone who processes your paperwork.  I had to deal with some rolled eyes and exasperated sighs in regards to the minute details, but it all worked out OK in the end.   

Agreed!  You definitely need to be on top of the process, but it IS manageable.  I got some eyerolls, too, but since nobody loves my pets as much as I do, I just ignored it. 

Also, on the APHIS 7001 form, I flew Virgin and they provided their own "fit to fly" form that was filled out by our vet no more than 10 days in advance.  Definitely check with your airline!

You can book your flight and your cat's place on it separately, at separate times if need be. My flight was booked and bought by itself before my cat was booked by VIP Pet Transport, a service which is very affordable but only because they don't actually do all of the footwork, you still have to; they just tell you the steps and book the animal on your flight.

In fact my ticket was even booked and bought in the UK at a high street travel agents by my then partner, while my cat and I were still in the US. My then-partner sent me the date and flight details, I told all that to VIP Pet Transport, then they booked the cat onto the same flight. For some reason they said they had to do the pet booking, not me, but I don't know whether that was baloney or not and perhaps I could have just called the airline myself and booked him anyway, but whatever.

Taking your vet through the PETS scheme is manageable but it's a just freaking drag in my personal opinion. You can absolutely do it but it's all about details and, although I was amazed and relieved that in the final result I'd gotten everything right and the cat went through smoothly with not one thing wrong with the paperwork in the end, personally I'd rather have hot needles stuck into my eyes than deal with it again. I found the it stressful, confusing and a minefield of mis and even DIS-information, even the Defra site is crap because they omit to inform you of the minutiae details, although an actual phone call to them was perfectly helpful.

I could do it all again now knowing exactly what to do, but I hated it all and I'm glad it's over adn never coming up again. Meaning, sure it can be done and it's totally do-able by you yourself as long as you do your research, but its not fun, its confusing while you are learning your way through it all, and there are so many things you CAN get wrong that, even if in the end you didn't, it caused stress at the time of the doing of it, if you see what I mean. That was my experience anyway, for what it's worth. But by all means go ahead, it's stressful but CAN be gotten through.

Thanks for the replies and tips, everyone!

I've been prepared for a bit of unneccessary stress from the get-go. I knew this when I was requesting the titre test and my vet had no clue where to send the results. Then, I guess the first time they were sent, the samples were bumped around too much in the packaging and they had to be re-done, but they didn't tell me this until 6 months later, so I've already been delayed 6 mo. longer than I wanted to be.

Needless to say, my eyes are so wide-open on this. I just want to make sure I do everything by the book.  I appreciate your help!!