Chip > Rabies > Bloodwork cost?

Hi all,

I'm not sure how many of you know our situation but as far as the move goes, we have two lovely kitties travelling from Philadelphia to Manchester.

Does anybody have an extimated cost that we'd be looking at for the chips, vaccinations and bloodwork that need to be carried out.

We really need it doing immediately to avoid any future delays....also, what is the usual timescale for the blood to be taken to the approved lab up to the date we'll receive the results of the test?

Also, please let me know if my idea of the procedure is wrong in any way.

Many thanks.

Nope. You've got it the right way around. The cost is entirely dependent on your vet, though. I would imagine it varies a LOT from one place to another.

I had my cats chipped as they were neutered, so I couldn't tell you the isolated cost. But the other things were just straight vet visits. Ummm...plus the fee for Kansas to do the blood work.

Nope. You've got it the right way around. The cost is entirely dependent on your vet, though. I would imagine it varies a LOT from one place to another.

I had my cats chipped as they were neutered, so I couldn't tell you the isolated cost. But the other things were just straight vet visits. Ummm...plus the fee for Kansas to do the blood work.

Thanks a lot...and how much is Bloodwork?? Kansas
Also, the six month rule: Does this start from the date that the vaccinations are given or from the date that the certificate is issued??

Can both cats use a joint certificate or do they require their own individual certificates?

Thanks

It's been a couple of years since I had it done, and my braincells don't last that long. But, ummm...your vet will send the bloodwork to Kansas. I don't remember what it cost, but it wasn't a real lot. Under $100. I forget when the clock starts ticking. And each cat will need totally separate documentation.

I don't mean to be a downer, but the cost of the vaccinations and paperwork and so on are completely dwarfed by the actual cost of the plane ticket and fees on the day you ship your kittehs. Ow!

It's been a couple of years since I had it done, and my braincells don't last that long. But, ummm...your vet will send the bloodwork to Kansas. I don't remember what it cost, but it wasn't a real lot. Under $100. I forget when the clock starts ticking. And each cat will need totally separate documentation.

I don't mean to be a downer, but the cost of the vaccinations and paperwork and so on are completely dwarfed by the actual cost of the plane ticket and fees on the day you ship your kittehs. Ow!

Ha, it's not the actual cost overall that worries us, it's just he immediate cost as we need to get the money together right away to begin the process...every day it takes to get the kittys sorted is another day apart.

Any further information that people can provide us with, would be great.

Thanks for the information thus far!!

I just took my boys (1 large dog, 1 cat) in to start the process.

Total vet bill: $134

That included:
- $20 fee to even look at the animal (each)
- $48 microchip for the kitty (he'd been chipped before but it couldn't be read so he got a new one)
- $18 each for rabies vaccine (they were current and won't expire until 2011, but just in case...had to do the kitty anyway since you have to do the chip and then the vaccine, so he needed a new vaccine post-chip.  Figured the pup may as well get one, too)
- $5 each for "biomedical waste disposal" (the needles for the shots, I guess)

I'm going in next week to do the blood draw for the KS test...I'm estimating it'll be ~$150 or so for both pets, depending on how much they want to charge me for overnight shipment to KS.

Turnaround time on the titer from KS is around 3-5 weeks, apparently, with 4 weeks being the most common.  The clock, as you say, starts ticking the date of the blood draw, unless the titer test fails, in which case you have to re-do the vaccine/test.  (So my appointment next week is on 6/11, so my boys should be good to fly on 12/11 if all goes well, though I'd play it safe and not book them before 12/12.)

Also note that on DEFRA's site it specifically says 6 calendar months, so you can't just cheat a few days off and do 180 days.

I don't think there'll be any fees after next week for a while.  I'm sure the USDA vet will charge something to fill out the EC 998 form that's valid for travel for 4mos., and there'll be one more vet visit to pay for to get their flea/tick/tapeworm stuff done right before they fly.  That should be it, though.  (Besides, as Stoatula pointed out, the rather insane cost to get them on the plane itself.)

Hope that helps!

PS - in case it matters, this is a "normal" vet (I do all my regular/routine stuff at a low-cost mobile vet) in a suburb of Raleigh, for cost comparison.

equestrianerd: That's great, thankyou so much!

My wife is going to call around to some vets today to get qutes also.

We have one further question...Will we be able to transport the Kitties on a passenger plane or will they have to go with a pet transporter company?

Thanks again!

The information I got from Virgin is that they would go in the cargo area of a regular passenger plane, and I have the option of buying a ticket for myself on the same plane (or not).  Virgin doesn't care if they're unaccompanied or accompanied, but if unaccompanied, the UK charges extra (£295 according to VA, though I'm not sure if that's one-time or per-pet).

Each airline seems to have its own policies for how to handle things.  I don't believe any airline approves pets traveling in the cabin if they're on the PETS scheme, so they would all be in cargo.  In all honesty, I'm not sure how beneficial pet transport companies are, provided you can coordinate getting the animals to/from the airports on each end (obviously if you need help in getting that done they'd be invaluable).  But from what I've read, it seems like they charge a lot of money for hand-holding, and don't really have an impact on your pet's travel experience (which would be what I'd be willing to pay extra for).

Virgin told me I'd need to check in with the airline 4 hours before the flight in order for them to have time to process my animals on board.  From reading other threads, it seems like there's likely another 2-4 hour wait post-flight to get the animals off the plane as well.  Other than that, it seems pretty straightforward as far as travel goes.

Do you have to buy the carrier for the plane?  I would think they need something bigger than just what is used to take to/from vet?

...and that's just the view/policy of VA?

Surely that's not going to be safe (temperature-wise) for two cats to be stuck in a cargo area for ten hours in December?? Do you know of an other companies that woud allow them to be in the passenger area??

Thanks as always

...and that's just the view/policy of VA?

Surely that's not going to be safe (temperature-wise) for two cats to be stuck in a cargo area for ten hours in December?? Do you know of an other companies that woud allow them to be in the passenger area??

Thanks as always

The pets have a special area of the cargo that is temperature and pressure controlled to be the same as the cabin.

AFAIK, there aren't any airlines that will allow pets to travel in the cabin.

Do you have to buy the carrier for the plane?  I would think they need something bigger than just what is used to take to/from vet?

Yes, it's got to be a bigger carrier than the usual one you'd use for the vet; the info packet that Virgin sent me had specific measurements (as in, so many inches higher than the head of a seated cat; that sort of thing). I heard there were swingeing fees on the other end if Defra decided you'd shipped your animal in an inhumanely small carrier.

So I panicked at the last minute, ran out to PetCo and bought a carrier fit for a medium dog. The cargo lady at the terminal peered in the box, saw my small cat in the middle of this cathedral vault of a carrier and laughed at me.

Fortunately, there are no fees associated with shipping your animal in a box too large 

Yes, it's got to be a bigger carrier than the usual one you'd use for the vet; the info packet that Virgin sent me had specific measurements (as in, so many inches higher than the head of a seated cat; that sort of thing). I heard there were swingeing fees on the other end if Defra decided you'd shipped your animal in an inhumanely small carrier.

So I panicked at the last minute, ran out to PetCo and bought a carrier fit for a medium dog. The cargo lady at the terminal peered in the box, saw my small cat in the middle of this cathedral vault of a carrier and laughed at me.

Fortunately, there are no fees associated with shipping your animal in a box too large 

LOL

I'd probably do that too, though. Will's a very long kitty, so I'd immagine he'd NEED a dog cage!

Do you have to buy the carrier for the plane?  I would think they need something bigger than just what is used to take to/from vet?

Yes, I just took my dog to Petsmart today to "try out" carriers.  Technically he "fit" in the XL one, but he wasn't too happy about going in (and very happy to come out!).  We tried the XXL one, and he was still a bit confused about going in (but then, he's a bit daft in general), but he happily hung out in there for about 5min.  There was also no question with the larger one whether he'd have room to stand/sit/lie down/turn around, which is what the airlines require space-wise.  (Technically, based on pure measurements, it should be too small, as he's about 40in long nose-to-tail and the carrier is also 40in long, but he fit just fine.)

I am also planning on investing in at least something for my cat.  I have 3 carriers here, but VA recommends metal screws for hardware instead of the plastic clips that most carriers have.  I'll probably look into just getting screws, but if that doesn't work, I'll aim to sell the 3 carriers I have and buy an official "airline approved" carrier for him.

...and that's just the view/policy of VA?

Surely that's not going to be safe (temperature-wise) for two cats to be stuck in a cargo area for ten hours in December?? Do you know of an other companies that woud allow them to be in the passenger area??

From what I can tell, they have special rooms at the airport set aside at both ends for the animals to be in (so obviously that's all climate-controlled).  They aim to take the animals out to the plane at the last minute, and then, as Becca said, they're in a climate-controlled area of cargo for the entire flight.  So, worst case, they'd spend about 10min exposed to the outdoors while being loaded onto the plane and unloaded off it.  Apparently the cargo area is purposefully kept dark, as well, to encourage the animals on board to sleep/chill out, as they used to use fluorescent lighting so they could monitor them* and that seemed to freak out the animals quite a bit.

*Note: I don't know if/how they monitor the animals on board now, but I've seen on other threads that people have successfully gotten updates on their pets while in the air from the flight crew.  Granted, they could just be making the info up about how Fluffy is doing, but I would hope they would be nicer/more honest than that!

This is Virgin Atlantic's rules for kennel size, taken from their Pet Travel FAQ

What travel kennel should I purchase for my pet?
You must obtain an IATA approved crate in order to fly your pet on an aircraft. It needs to meet the following specifications:
* The crate must be made of wood or hard plastic.
* It must be rigid on all sides (non-collapsible) and not have a roof with a grill that opens.
* It must be equipped with an adequate sized water dish, attached to the inside door of the kennel.
* It must be ventilated around all 4 sides.
* The base must be leak-proof.
* It must have absorbent material in the bottom of the pet kennel (i.e. shredded newspaper) for the comfort of your pet.
* A door must form the whole of one side of the container and be either hinged or sliding.

How do I ensure that I purchase the correct sized kennel for my pet?
The size of the kennel should follow the guidelines below:   
A.  Length in cm = Nose to root of tail – tail excluded
B.  Height in cm = Floor to top of head while standing
C.  Width in cm = At the widest point
These measurements will ensure that your pet will have sufficient space to stand up and lie down comfortably.
Kennels must be large enough to comfortably accommodate your pet to stand up and turn around freely, leaving at least 2” headroom space between the top
of your pets head and the roof top of the kennel.  Please note failure to have your kennel and pet checked for this very important detail could result in your 
pet being refused for transport on the day of your departure.

So I guess technically your pet doesn't need to be able to sit in its carrier, which is good (as that generally makes most "long" pets taller).  Luckily, my dog/cat are the "yay we're excited so we're standing up" or "we're not excited so we're passed out" variety, not much sitting goes on in their day-to-day lives.