Pet Transport from England???

RossN

Hi.

I am thinking of getting a British Blue Kitten for my wife. I found a nice one in England, and am trying to figure the best way to get it home. We are based in Belfast, but I'm in Dublin all the time.
Thinking of Me and a Cat Carrier on a plane or Ferry sounds like the obvious answers.

But wondering if anyone knows of a better option. And transporters etc?

I'm trying to keep the cost down, and also what might be easiest on the kitten.

Thanks,
Ross.

Allgäuerin

Hi!
i brought our dog with the Ferry from Holyhead to Dublin by the car. The dog was traveling for free but has to stay all the time alone in the car . I think they have kennels on board as well.

kazza90210

Driving over is probably the most cost effective way if your in a position to do it, and the easiest on the kitten as it can settle in a carrier in the back of your car for the whole journey

ISDW

Dogs aren't allowed to travel in the passenger area of planes, they have to go in the cargo hold, so cats I would assume are the same, could be very stressful for a kitten I'd say. As others have said, the ferry would be the best, the kitten just stays in its carrier in the car. When we moved back from the UK our cats all stayed in their crates in the car, I left a CD player on in there for them to try and drown out the noise of the ferry engines.

Alun

I've brought a cat over from the UK in the car with no problems. I'm not sure about their exact policy on this, but we took him onto the passenger deck in his pet carrier and nobody said a thing about it (Irish Ferries fast ferry).

RossN

Thanks for the info.
Yes, it looks like the airlines (Ryanair and BMI Baby on this route) don't allow pets other than guide dogs.
So it's a Ferry.
Unless I can find someone bringing a few pets over, like a breeder.
Any ideas?
Thanks.
Ross.

ISDW

RossN wrote: »

Thanks for the info.
Yes, it looks like the airlines (Ryanair and BMI Baby on this route) don't allow pets other than guide dogs.
So it's a Ferry.
Unless I can find someone bringing a few pets over, like a breeder.
Any ideas?
Thanks.
Ross.

It depends where you're based, but if you contact your local rescue, they may send dogs over to the UK for homing, and the van would be coming back empty, if you gave a donation, they may be willing to bring the cat back for you.

sorella

Ryanai.used to allow one cat per flight, but in the hold. We brought one over from Scotland that way; it is a relatively short flight and she was fine.

Sigma Force

OP have you visited the breeder yourself you would need to if not already before you go buying the kitten. So you'd be better off going over yourself on the ferry to ensure everything goes smoothly.
You need to be sure where you're getting the cat that they are 100% genuine there are a lot of scams going around and people offering to drop animals to the purchaser etc.

There are lots of cats in rescue too, some blue ones also ok perhaps not pb but it might be another option for you. If you have no cats already perhaps think of getting two as they love the company.

JasperKat

When we moved here a couple of years ago we brought our two cats over by Ryanair Gatwick airport to Dublin (shortest flight), in two seperate pet carriers, but it was hard work...
wife flew from Dublin >Gatwick
the cats were being kept in a cattery over there & were kindly driven to Gatwick by a local taxi driver who was paid hansomly (wouldn't you want to be? with two wailing cats in your back seat???!!!)
Wife met taxi outside airport, wheeled them thro' to the checkin desk on a long trolley with ppl gawking at them & asking questions all the way, you'd think ppl had never seen a cat before
After checkin she waved them good-bye & saw them wheeled out onto the tarmac next to the plane, left there for 30mins in the cold & rain
Finally cats & wife boarded & completed the flight & arrived at Dublin
Wife off-loaded ok, cats again left on tarmac, in heavy rain this time just in-case they'd not got cold & wet enough
eventually cats & wife re-united, then the lovely 1hr journey home with wet cats wailing in the back
home at last..... :-))
.... & no we're never ever moving country again!
JasperKat

spiderdog

JasperKat wrote: »

When we moved here a couple of years ago we brought our two cats over by Ryanair Gatwick airport to Dublin (shortest flight), in two seperate pet carriers, but it was hard work...
wife flew from Dublin >Gatwick
the cats were being kept in a cattery over there & were kindly driven to Gatwick by a local taxi driver who was paid hansomly (wouldn't you want to be? with two wailing cats in your back seat???!!!)
Wife met taxi outside airport, wheeled them thro' to the checkin desk on a long trolley with ppl gawking at them & asking questions all the way, you'd think ppl had never seen a cat before
After checkin she waved them good-bye & saw them wheeled out onto the tarmac next to the plane, left there for 30mins in the cold & rain
Finally cats & wife boarded & completed the flight & arrived at Dublin
Wife off-loaded ok, cats again left on tarmac, in heavy rain this time just in-case they'd not got cold & wet enough
eventually cats & wife re-united, then the lovely 1hr journey home with wet cats wailing in the back
home at last..... :-))
.... & no we're never ever moving country again!
JasperKat

:p:p:p

iseethelight

Aer arann are the only airline allowing pets in the cabin at the moment.However they don't fly to Dublin.BMI take pets from Dublin to Heathrow in the cargo hold(perfectly safe),so theres no reason they shouldn't take them from Heathrow if thats the route.
If you post the preferred route I may have some idea who's operational for pets.

RossN

That's great information. Thanks.

I'll probably fly from Belfast to East Midlands.
I'll call BMI and see if I can bring pets.

Thanks.
Ross.

sorella

jaspercat; when we brought our cat via Ryanair, the airport staff at Edinburgh had no idea how to take a cat through security.

It was chaos; I was in a wheelchair at the time, and the man they had allocated to look after me there said that if it went on much longer, they would close the airport. It was soon after 9/11 and everyone was jumpy.

The plane was delayed; and staff were talking urgently on mobile phones and I was in and out through security time after time.

Finally a man in a suit arrived; we were taken into a small room and he asked me to take the cat out of the carrier so he could search the box:)

We had travelled in from an Outer Isle so this was our third and last flight....

But she was fine in the hold.

They just dumped her in the concourse at Dublin...We were in a B and B, where they allowed pets and she spent the night dancing on my face and playing with the light cord.

RossN

Looks like Heathrow to Belfast on BMI is the only option, but doesn't look too bad.
BMIBaby and Ryanair won't do it.

Thanks for all the help.
Ross.

getz

Allgäuerin wrote: »

Hi!
i brought our dog with the Ferry from Holyhead to Dublin by the car. The dog was traveling for free but has to stay all the time alone in the car . I think they have kennels on board as well.

i travel over on the ferries from hollyhead to dublin alot with my dog ,i wouldent recommend the kennels,as they are in a locked up room that is very hot, the first time i used them my dog was stressed out, he now is quite happy in the car

MissyN

I used bmi to bring my dog from London to Dublin a few years ago and they were excellent. They took her to board the plane at the last minute and brought her out to me very very quickly after the plane landed so I would highly recommend them to anyone.