to the UK through France? (Persian cat worries...)

I've found the info on the option of flying to Paris and then either renting a car or doing train/ferry/train, but has anyone ever actually done this?  We're moving to Surrey from the Washington, DC area this summer.

I have a Persian cat and I'm scared to put her through cargo... Virgin won't fly pugs or persians, and BA won't fly pugs but they don't have any cat restrictions.  My persian has a really flat face and breathes pretty heavily.  She's only 7 lbs, so I think she can go as a carry-on if we fly on Air France to Paris...  (QM2 is booked for pets through 2011!)

I'm just hoping someone has actually done the France transfer.  Thanks for your help!

Only thing I can think of is you would have to cross customs/immigration twice, once in France and once entering the UK.

I moved from Switzerland to the UK with two cats, by road. We took the train - you can only do this if you're in a vehicle, though!

It was straightforward at customs for the cats. I took them into the building for animal checks, they checked their pet passports and their chips. One of the cats was so terrified that he was hunched over and stiff, they asked if he was drugged so I had to show them his terrified face. That was it - very straightforward, no issues. As long as your PETS paperwork is in order, then you're fine.

One thing, though. If your vet makes a mistake in the pet passport, do not let him just scratch it out and continue on the same page as they may make you have the animal re-treated for fleas/ticks and wait 24 hours before entering the UK.

I was told as I was planning the move from UK people who moved to Switzerland that the train is far better for animals than the ferry. Animals tolerate the train much better (you're in there for about 20 minutes to a half hour), the ferry rocks them a bit too much and with the train you can stay in the car with them, but you can't stay in the car on the ferry.

Yes, someone who used to live here did this.  They wound up renting a car, driving the dog over, then she waited in the UK, while he took the ferry back to return the car because he couldn't return it to the UK and then they travelled by train together to Cambridge.

They sure loved that dog more than I love anything.