Cats and other animals to the US

[Arinlars 19]

I brought my fiance's cat home with me from the Netherlands in January and he had to have a statement of health fit to travel from the vet, all shots current, and he had an animal passport. I carried him in a soft carrier as my carryon item but hated having to put him under the seat for takeoff and landings. He did really well considering he had never traveled that far and we had to go through customs in Minnesota before flying on to Indianapolis. We were told no food or drink after a certain time and though I tried to get him to drink since we were traveling so very long - maybe at least 16 hours - he was not really interested in it or the treats I brought. The treats got confiscated by Customs even though I bought them in the U.S. I did not have the receipt. I was really worried about the whole thing, but the little guys was great.

Did you travel with a connection or a direct flight? Did you gave him a mild tranquilizer ? Animals are so brave and full of surprises.

[Indykittykeilah 18]

I had a connecting flight and we did get some herbal dots at a pet store and I gave him those, but I'm not sure how much they actually worked. He was a good little trooper though. It was a very long day, but taking him in the bathroom and letting him out of the bag a bit helped and petting and soothing.

[Indykittykeilah 18]

Oh, I should mention I had a harness and leash too and it's a good thing because you have to take them out of the carrier bag to go through the scanning devices for security and through customs. I had terrible thoughts of what happens if he gets loose and freaks out and runs - but thankfully he didn't.

[Krikit 1,165]

Moving from regional forum to Moving to America forum as there are others there who have gone through the process.

[rocks 494]

First one correct about embargo, second one may be a lethal cocktail because it can create respiratory and cardiovascular problems for dogs and cats who are sedated or tranquilized up in +8000 feet air.

Continental will not accept sedated animals.

[TBoneTX 46,158]

Continental

(Pssst... si, man... it's United now... the wrong airline bought the right airline...)

[rocks 494]

(Pssst... si, man... it's United now... the wrong airline bought the right airline...)

Yeah, United sucks. The rules are still the same though?

[yachachiq12 43]

American Airlines won't accept sedated animals either.

We brought our dog with us from Peru and we had to have a health certificate and rabies vaccination certificate. Additionally, Peru is on the list of countries known to have screw worm (which no one had ever heard of there!) and we had to have a certificate stating the dog did not have that. I doubt Germany is a screw worm hot bed, but it's worth checking.

We had to give him a water bottle (the guinea pig kind) on his crate and attach a bag of food with feeding instructions (though he wasn't fed -- it's there for emergencies in the case of a long delay). He had to be there earlier than normal and we had to attach identifying tags to his crate.

He was a nervous wreck, but when we arrived after two flights over 10 hours, he bounced right back to his normal self after a long nap.

Edited to add: Also, aside from the possible embargo on summer months, there are limits on extreme temperatures and extreme differences in temperature from the origin city to the destination city. They'll verify the temperatures the day of travel and the forecast is the forecast. Check with the airline on their guidelines.

Additionally, even though your cat might be able to fit under the seat on a domestic flight, many international flights require all pets to go in the cargo area.

Edited August 17, 2012 by yachachiq12

[dukeandduchess 141]

Do NOT sedate cats on a flight. They cannot regulate their body temperature properly.

[Mumu 10]

Ariniars can you tell me more about how much it is with Lufthansa and what are the details about where to bring the cat, where to call etc...? Please?

[Mumu 10]

Thank you for warning us! I didn't know that and I'm planning to bring my two cats... I don't even know how to handle all these things... And the link CDC doesn't help me either. They say to check with the State we're going to but they don't give any links. So complicated...

[Kathryn41 3,205]

The States will list what immunizations your cats/pets need to reside in that State - they don't really give you any advice on travellling with them. Generally, most of the US States require proof of rabies vaccinations, although Federally cats do not need to present proof of rabies vaccinations. Your cat should be seen by your vet within a specified period of time - usually the actual carrier/airline will say how recent they want that information - and have a health passport of sometime. For your own needs you will want to have a complete record of your pet's veterinary history that you can copy and give to your new veterinarian in the US.

Definitely don't sedate cats while flying. If you have access to Feliway spray, you can spray the interior of their crate before they are put into it. Feliway is a pheromone that cats themselves release through their facial glands that reassures them this is familiar and safe (that is why cats rub their heads against things and people - they are marking them with their facial pheromones). It won't hurt and it may help. There are absorbent pads designed for animal carriers as well that will absorb any urine just in case.

I brought my cats by car on a 2 day trip (long hours in crates but we were able to 'rest' every 4 hours). Do talk to your international carrier and see if you can get flights where you can have the cats with you. If your fiance is flying with you to help you, you can each have one cat as a personal carryone. Some flights only allow 2 in cabin pets per flight so you will want to make sure you can bring them in cabin. They will do a lot better in your company than in the cargo hold.

On a recent flight while we were waiting in the Atlanta airport for our flight, a young couple with two cat carriers sat beside us. They were from somewhere in South America (I don't remember exactly which country ) and had just got off of that flight and were making the connecting flight to Rochester NY. They had the cats in their cabin with them. They said that the cats had been very quiet during the flight and had refused to eat and drink. They had already been traveling more than 12 hours and had a few more hours to go.

So, good luck with your travel and safe flights for you and your cats.

Edited September 14, 2012 by Kathryn41

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Duplicate thread has been moved from Off Topic and merged with the existing thread moved here from the Regional forum so all of the information will be in the same place.

[Mumu 10]

Thank you Kathryn for all the infos! What is a federally cat? the problem with my flights is that I'll have to take three planes And last time I travelled they were late so it made the trip longer...

[LlamaInvasion 76]

She just means that cats don't need to present proof of rabies a federal level; the requirements are all on state level.