Shipping pets

jctheimpaler

Hi. I'm looking for advice and I thought maybe some of you guys could help me out. It's a bit of a long post. Sorry!
My sister recently moved to the states, leaving her two cats in my care. She wants them sent out to her, and I'm wondering what is the best way of doing it. The options I can see are as follows:
1) Send them with a pet shipping company. This seems like the obvious and easy option, but it will probably cost 700-900 euros (for both cats). This seems quite expensive. Call me heartless, but I don't think it's worth paying that much for a couple of cats that she's had for a couple of years (she's had about 7 cats to date and she got over losing all of them...).
2) Bring them myself. I'll be travelling over to see her in January. I'll be flying with American Airlines and, apparently, they carry pets for an extra €110 per animal. The problem with this option is that AA reserve the right to refuse carrying the cats on the day, so we could arrive at the airport, have them refuse us and then have to pay a cattery to look after them for a couple of weeks AND still have the cats to deal with when we return...

Obviously, I'd prefer to do the second option because it's significantly cheaper. Does anybody have any sort of experience with this kind of thing? Or anybody with no experience who still likes to offer their two cents anyway?

One other thing, just as an afterthought. Will the climate change from Ireland to Arizona have an adverse effect on the cats? They're quite hairy and I'd imagine they wouldn't like the heat, but I know nothing about cats!

Nala

****ing hell, that would be one hell of a climate change

You'll also need to get them pet passports sorted out, otherwise they're going to have to spend 6 months in quarantine. The requirements for a pet passport include a microchip & all relevant vaccinations & a health cert, all that will cost money too.

Is your sister not paying for this or did she leave that to you?

nando

Apparently cats are very good at adapting to climate change and tend to prefer warmer weather anyway.

I'm not up to date about bringing pets from the USA to Ireland (but I'm sure if you get a health cert and follow the vaccination/microchipping rules there's no quarantine), but there is no quarantine requirement from Ireland to the USA and very few, if any, requirements at all. I think only a few states require rabies vaccination. So if the cats are permanently moving abroad I don't think there's a problem. Passports only apply to EU countries.

I don't know about the travel options - is it actually likely the airline will refuse to carry the cats on the day? If not I'd rather take them with me myself. Surely your sister is covering the cost anyway!

Sigma Force

I would go with bringing them yourself, at least you can keep an eye on them when they come off the plane etc.

If the climate is too warm at first they could always have their fur clipped a wee bit until they adjust. They will love the warm weather lucky sods lol.

jctheimpaler

I think my sister will be paying for it eventually... I hope!
I don't know how likely it is that they would get refused, that's why I'm asking. I was just thinking that we might arrive at the airport and the person in front of us in the queue might decide to check in 5 dogs or something crazy like that and they might then decide that adding a couple of cats to the mix is a mistake.

Nala

nando wrote:

but there is no quarantine requirement from Ireland to the USA and very few, if any, requirements at all. I think only a few states require rabies vaccination. So if the cats are permanently moving abroad I don't think there's a problem. Passports only apply to EU countries

are you sure?

Coonagh Cowboy

Hiyas,
I had recently moved to the states and brought along my two dogs,all i had to do was get their vaccinations up to date including a rabies shot and a cert from the vet.Now I flew with Aer Lingus and it is considerably cheaper to fly on the same flight as the pets,and as for the chance of refusal,as long as you have all the paperwork and shots,there should be no worries.As my experience was pretty straight forward and smooth and we've all settled in nicely.Also the airlines should have a guideline list as to shipping pets and as long as you meet every one of them you should have no bother.

nando

Nala wrote:

are you sure?

No, I said I wasn't sure. But this link gives info on bringing animals to the USA and says the government have no real requirements for cats but they
will be examined and some states do require a rabies vaccine.

From http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dq/animal.htm:

A general certificate of health is not required by CDC for entry of pet cats into the United States, although some airlines or states may require them. However, pet cats are subject to inspection at ports of entry and may be denied entry into the United States if they have evidence of an infectious disease that can be transmitted to humans. If a cat appears to be ill, further examination by a licensed veterinarian at the owner's expense might be required at the port of entry.

Cats are not required to have proof of rabies vaccination for importation into the United States. However, some states require vaccination of cats for rabies, so it is a good idea to check with state and local health authorities at your final destination.

All pet cats arriving in the state of Hawaii and the territory of Guam, even from the U.S. mainland, are subject to locally imposed quarantine requirements.