Bringing Pets From the UK

[Jeraly 4]

I know how you feel - I am soo glad I am taking Daisy in cabin with me - I looked into professional pet transport people but they were sooo expensive ><

[Glyn and Kathy 288]

They are completely ridiculous is what they are. If I thought our cats would manage the whole flight under the seats in front of us without driving the rest of the passengers crazy, I would take them aboard with us...but I know they will just cry and cry.

[Jeraly 4]

Yeah - I figure that if the flight takes my cat in cabin then everyone else will just have to deal with it I am so thoughtful

[Eli the Barrowboy 16]

Ok, new problem.

We have the dog booked, we bought the transporter... but ... the dog needs to be able to be fed and watered from the outside the crate.

The transporter comes with one bowl that sits on the mesh on the front ... anyone know of any accessories we can buy to enable us to feed him while still in the crate?

R

[Jeraly 4]

Hmmm you have a pic of the carrier you are using? That might help...

[Eli the Barrowboy 16]

Your wish is my request ...

[Jeraly 4]

Can you not get something similar for like gerbils and hamsters? I am sure you can get feeders that clip onto wires... if not, I am sure getting a plastic rectangular bowl, then drilling some holes near the top and wiring it to the inside of the cage would work..?

[mustang-sally 8]

Ok, new problem.

We have the dog booked, we bought the transporter... but ... the dog needs to be able to be fed and watered from the outside the crate.

The transporter comes with one bowl that sits on the mesh on the front ... anyone know of any accessories we can buy to enable us to feed him while still in the crate?

R

I brought my dog to the USA with BMI.

I just had the clip on bowls and the airline used a funnel to put water in it from the outside.

[jlivings99 0]

We brought our dog from the UK in April 2007. He is a 60 lb dalmatian so he could not be in the cabin (unless he could curl up really small). Also he needed a large crate because the animal has be able to stand up and turn around. We decided it would be best to use a pet shipping company to be certain it went smoothly (yes very expensive). We used Airpets (www.airpets.com) and they did an excellent job. They have kennels near Heathrow where we dropped our dog to board for several days prior to departure (my husband was homeless and waiting for his visa to be delivered). The day after my husband arrived in the US, Airpets put our dog on a direct flight to the airport nearest our home with flights from London (American Airlines to Raleigh, NC which is about 70 miles from us). We had to pick our dog up from air cargo and it took awhile to get him cleared through customs but he was well taken care of and very happy to see us.

Also a comment on weather, in late April in North Carolina the temperatures can get too hot for US airline companies to take pets (I think around 80-85 degrees was what we were told). But Airpets told us that British Airways does not have the same restriction so they could always switch airlines ... but this would have meant driving 5 hours to pick our dog up ... luckily the weather cooperated. If moving pets that can't be in the cabin in the middle of the summer, the heat issues could make it difficult.

[Eli the Barrowboy 16]

Thanks guys ...

The funnel thing seems to be the way to go, or the only way to fly!!!

Aer Lingus are taking him from DUB to JFK and they have no heat restriction in place. Then we are flying out of Newark the next day at 6.45am to avoid the heat - even though it doesn't affect him with Continental - but we want him to be as comfortable as possible!!!

R

[Glyn and Kathy 288]

Eli, that kennel looks like the one we bought and we noticed it doesnt match up with IATA requirements. It had a little picture of an airplane on the paperwork attached to the door so we assumed it was good to go.From what have read up on, the door pins must extend beyond the top of the kennel. If it is like ours, the pins don't go up beyond, they lock into little plastic locks. I just want to be sure you have a kennel that you can use and not get to the airport and find out that won't work. If I am wrong and your kennel is ok...then I apologise. I just can't imagine getting to the airport and them saying...nope sorry can't do it.

PS...most of the airlines require ventilation on at least 4 sides....so you may need to drill some airholes in the top or the back of the kennel.

[pandora 0]

Wow i just got a quote from Virgin on shipping my alsation and nearly fell off my chair - The cheapest way was for them to charge me the 100kg rate as that works out at £862.40 to go from heathrow to washington the other way was by accurate weight would of been £1,190.95. lol costs more for the dog to fly then I do and she dont get any meals or in flight entertainment.

Eli the barrowboy - I think you may need to get another cage as glynn mentioned as it does have to be IATA 91/628/EEC approved i ordered one today for £82 from http://www.doggiesolutions.co.uk/erol.html but an alsation needs a big cage.

[Jeraly 4]

Just an update on bringing my cat across:

I packed her up into her basket on the morning I travelled and took her to get her rabies shot just in case. She was fine but she didn't seem too happy when we got back home and wouldn't let her out. with all the other emotions going on, that made me really sad

She travelled well to the airport (Heathrow) via car and train and huddled up in one end of the case and stayed quiet. At the airport we went to check in (Air France and I took her in cabin with me) and no-one seemed to know what to do so lots of phone calls were made. Eventually though someone checked the vaccine chart I brought with a record of her vaccines and the letter I got from the vet, weighed her in her carrier to make sure she wasn't over 6kg and sent me across to the ticket desk to pay about 120GBP (no pound sign on this puter!!!).

Next was getting through the x-ray and metal detectors etc. Again, it seemed a little more organised but it was still a bit of confusion. I was taken to a small room (think it had the big aircon machine in there!!) with Daisy in her basket and had to take her out. Someone came to take her basket to x-ray that then brought it back. Daisy didn't want to be held for long so I let her explore the little room. By the time I picked her up I was worried she wouldn't get back in her case (she normally puts up a big fight) but she was great and went in with no trouble.

By the time it got to boarding, they called for people with children, families or special boarding requirements to board first. I figured what the hey and lined up as well. We got to the door and the guy told me it was business and first class only, I told him I had a cat and he looked a bit surprised and waved us through It was just as well because I had to get down on my hands and knees to get her under the seat in front of me.

During the whole flight she was brilliant. She made hardly any noise (I think she was pretty scared ) and because I felt sorry for her, I fed her little chicken tidbits from my meals and gave her the UHT milk for the coffee. About two hours before landing (she had been flying for 9 hours and in her case for about 17) she started crying. I think she might have just got really hungry or thirsty or needed the bathroom but she wouldn't eat or drink. I took her to the bathroom to see if she had done anything and there was nothing there so I let her out to stretch her legs for a bit before getting her back in - again she went in quite easily.

When we got back to the cabin she started crying again until we began the descent - I think that while things were changing, she was too scared to make a noise but being still and nothing really happening meant she got bored and wanted out. She was also fine through the turbulence though and I put my hand in to pet her from time to time.

At the other end, I handed her to Jeremy while I went through immigration - he declared her on his customs form as he was carrying her through and so I didn't have to. I was expecting a vet check at the very least but after we got our bags and were on our way out, the two guys by the door said we could just go as it was a cat and a pet - it would have been different if the cat was to be used for breeding or if it was a dog - they would have needed a check from a vet

We drove from LAX to Palm Springs and she was quiet then as well although very hungry and thirsty at that point. We got back to the apartment and let her out, gave her some food (she drank from the toilet ) and let her explore her new home. She had been in her carrier for about 24 hours but there was no poo or wee

The first day here she was scared - she wasn't sure what had happened and everything was new and scary to her so she hid a lot but the following day she was much better - right now she has been exploring a lot around the house and has forgiven me already which is good!!

And that was it - it was much easier than I expected although emotionally quite hard because I didn't know what to expect

[Mags 112]

They are completely ridiculous is what they are. If I thought our cats would manage the whole flight under the seats in front of us without driving the rest of the passengers crazy, I would take them aboard with us...but I know they will just cry and cry.

I think you'd be surprised. Most cats settle down and are very quiet.

Jeraly ~ So glad your trip went well! I can't believe they charged you 120 quid though!

[Jeraly 4]

Yeah well small price to pay for having her here She's settled in fine now although I think she is itching to go out - we are going to take her to the vet soon to get microchipped before we let her outside. Thing is I am concerned about her not having a collar - I have tried many times to get her to wear one but she just tears it off if it is one of those safety ones and I don't want to risk her choking on one that isn't a safety collar... any ideas?!?!