Compeltely Terrified of Moving My Cat

No, it's not.  The cargo hold is heated and the airlines take transporting animals very seriously.  Our cat has travelled all over kingdom come and has always come out just fine. 

I second that!

When I moved over, the airline staff were all so lovely and concerned about my cat! It was really touching. 

I must say...I'm not as much terrified about moving my cats as I am leaving them in the US at a boarding facility (privately owned by a cooky, but nice older lady). None of my friends are "cat people" and I am so afraid my cats will resent me or that this lady won't give them enough attention...or the same that I do. :\\\'(

You know, I didn't think about how awful that sounded until I re-read it right now. I hope I didn't terrify anyone! My apologies everyone  Thanks Pink for clarifying that for me (and others!), we have two cats and it's a been a personal fear of mine as well.
E. Rhiannon

I must say...I'm not as much terrified about moving my cats as I am leaving them in the US at a boarding facility (privately owned by a cooky, but nice older lady). None of my friends are "cat people" and I am so afraid my cats will resent me or that this lady won't give them enough attention...or the same that I do. :\\\'(

My family couldn't take my cats & my friends weren't cat people so my 2 fury children were in a cat & dog kennel / grooming center for 6 months they were well looked after. they were the only 2 cats there they had a huge room to themselves with a big window to look outside they were away from the dogs so they were really spoiled by the owners & the owners best friend. everytime she was at the kennel she would tell her friend if by some chance I didn't want my kids she would gladly take them off her hands if need be lol. The owner told her that wouldn't be necessary cause she knew all the hassle Dh & I went through to make sure that they were able to come to the UK legally. the kennel my cats were at I was able to call an check on them every week & my sister only lived 15 min drive time away from where my babies were at. but I do have to say once my cats were here in the UK the first couple days they were stuck to me like glue then after that phase was over I was given the silent treatment from both of them for about a week lol.   

The one thing I can suggest maybe you have already done this is to leave something at the kennel with each of your pets with your scent on it so they aren't so scared thats what I did.      leaving my cats behind was as difficult if not worse than leaving my family at the airport gate.    :\\\'(

Dh told my sister that when my cats were delivered to our house here in the UK my face was priceless. because when I got to see & hold my babies for the first time in nearly 4 months I had such a huge smile on my face it was like a enormous weight was lifted off my shoulders. he told her that he would go through all the hassle again that we went through with getting my kids here the correct way just to see that look on my face again.      Goodluck with your fury children.    

Just wanted to post that I've just successfully had my kitty released to me at Gatwick -- I had been terrified of getting any of his paperwork wrong, but in the end apparently everything was perfect and he came through UK regulations with flying colors.

Continental Airlines Houston to Gatwick were great, my kitty was fine if a little freaked out by the strange new events he was caught up in, but he bounced right back within a couple of days and is his old self.

The process of finding out exactly what is required is scary because there is conflicting and missing information, and I have to say, even my local USDA office did not know something vital about UK entry for an animal and I had to fight them on it.

But I just wanted to let anyone know, especially those who are as scared of this process as I was before now, just get the key steps right and there should be no problems. I had to have my vet fill out form 998 four times until we had minor goofs corrected (black ink being one of them), but in the end we had everything perfected. Cargo at Houston were very conscientious with my checking my cat in, and PBS at the other end were very nice.

I have been told that the cargo area live animals travel is not the luggage cargo at all, but a separate part of the hold altogether, which is given the same heating or airconditioning as the cabin, and is kept peacefully dark to quiet the animals. They are as comfortable as we are in the cabin, so don't worry about 'cargo' sounding like they are slung in with the suitcases -- this is not the case at all (pardon the pun, lol) [smile]

Don't be afraid to go through all this -- while I was trying to get the right information, prepare, and get the cat through every step, it was indeed very worrying because, as I say, information is very varied and confusing. But it can be done right in the end, and my cat and I had a happy ending with the PETS scheme; no quarantine, no problems, kitty was healthy and happy and is with me as I type this.

Great news, Midnights_mom - welcome to the UK!

Thank you so much midnights mom!  that really reassures me.  I just need to get started on getting Will microchipped so that I can move him with me.

...so then my only problem will become having Will and Pru (Tim's cat) get along if I live with Tim!

Thank you Meg. My kitty is adjusting to being here faster than I am, in fact...

And AnnaOntheMoon, yes, start with the microchipping first, and just make sure the date of chipping is definitely recorded somewhere that can be referred to, as it will be important when having to be written into the form 998 further down the line. The UK wants to know the chip preceded everything else (rabies vaccine, blood titer test, etc).

I'm glad my post helped you feel a bit more comfortable about this whole thing, because while I was embarking upon it all, I too was worried sick about the entire thing. It's worrying during the process because the rules are confusing and one keeps thinking of how the consequences of a slip-up could be awful/costly, etc, but please know it can and does all go right in the end. I was laying eggs thinking that despite all my efforts something would still be wrong, but everything was fine, he and his paperwork met all requirements, and my cat got over the journey within hours of being in his new home.
I'm just glad the somewhat confusing rules and system actually works in the end!