Driving across the border with 2 Cats

[thebeat4c 2]

I am wondering if anyone had driven across the border with cats. I have done some research into it. I have found out that with cats you don't need proof of rabies shots. I doesn't really look like the US/Canada border requires anything, but to look at your cat to ensure it is healthy.

My question is has anyone had any trouble crossing the border with cats?

And has anyone has issues travelling between state lines with cats? (Being that each state has different guidelines on importing cats)

[kitchen_princess 1]

My husband crossed the border with a moving truck and our cat. We were under the impression that she did need a rabies shot, so we had one done. Also, her vet suggested giving her a mild sedative to make the Montreal-New York trip easier on her. He gave us a paper indicating that the cat had been sedated, in case the border officer mistook sleepiness for disease (although it really didn't have much of an effect on her).

In the end, though... they barely glanced at her cage. Didn't ask for documentation, didn't inspect her. It was fine.

[canada_socks 97]

I had no issues with my cat when we brought her over. It was a 16 hour drive for us (including POE which took 3 hours). She was in her carrier the whole way, and was totally fine. We did stay at a pet friendly hotel for the night, because we figured POE would take a while and we left halfway through the day. We didn't give her any sedative, but she did have a rabies shot, as it is law in Maryland apparently. Basically I just found out that (most) vets won't deal with your cat if they don't have the shot, so it varies from State to State I guess.

The border guard just looked at her and that was it. Commented on how pretty she was

[Fayeara 8]

I crossed with my cat when I went to visit in 2012, a 24 hour drive. It went very well. she was quite behaved.
I had brought her vet sheet with her vaccinations listed, but they didn't even ask for it.

[Udella&Wiz 325]

http://www.cbp.gov/linkhandler/cgov/newsroom/publications/travel/pets_wild.ctt/pets.pdf

Cats -

All domestic cats must be free of evidence of disease communicable to humans when

examined at the port of entry. If the animal is not in apparent good health, further examination by

a licensed veterinarian may be required at the owner's expense.

There is no requirement for a rabies certificate but most airlines require a veterinarian’s health

certificate. Cats arriving in Hawaii or Guam, both of which are free of rabies, are subject to

locally imposed quarantine requirements.

[Autumnal 25]

I took my cat across the US border at Pacific Highway Truck Crossing (Surrey). I had the vet prepare a statement the cat was up to date on all of his shots and vaccinations on official letter-head from the office. The cat stayed in the carrier the whole time, the border guard asked all of three questions, and barely even glanced at the cat. He didn't care to see the papers at all.

[pro_star 52]

Something that I've heard they CAN be picky about (but haven't had a problem with myself yet).

I've heard that with dog food (probably the same for cat chow as well though), they can sometimes be very picky about OPENED bags of chow. So...heads up. Get some new and unopened bags of the kitty chow...just to be on the safe side.

Again, when I was looking into traveling across the border, it was with my mutt, and they didn't even bug us either way about shots, chow, or anything, but better to be safe than sorry right?

[gad33 47]

We drove across the border last year with 2 cats, one of which decided to really start meowing as we got to the border. But we weren't asked any questions. I had a large supply of medication for one cat so I had a letter from my vet about that just in case.

Also having had cat food confiscated at Calgary Airport, I had just the minimum amount of food to get through one night and morning so that it wasn't a great loss if it was taken - but they didn't even ask.

We also had to go through an inspection at the California border but no questions were asked about the cats. Which was a relief as by that point in our journey I could not have said where I'd put their paperwork

[thebeat4c 2]

Thank you to everyone that commented here on this post!

It seems to be the concensus that bringing them into the states wont be too much of a headache.

[dukeandduchess 141]

I had all vaccinations up to date, including Rabies because it is illegal to have a cat in the city I live in (Long Beach, CA) without it. You may want to check if your city/state has requirements like this.

Customs didn't even want to look at her paperwork (I offered), and she stayed in the car the entire time I was inside.

[hikergirl 277]

They didn’t even look at my cat or our household effects at the Sweet Grass,MT/Coutts,AB border crossing. I did have a rabies certificate for her from my vet and an inventory of the moving van just in case though.

I had her in a carrier for the border in case they wanted to look in the car.

I researched ahead of time and you are allowed to bring meat across the border that was produced in Canada & the US so I had a couple of weeks worth of Fancy Feast cans and I did have an open bag of hard food for her as well but I made sure to keep it in it’s bag instead of putting it in a Tupperware container like I normally do.

The issue with food was more during the Mad Cow debacle.

[pro_star 52]

Good to hear hiker. Sweet grass is gonna be my Poe when it happens.

[JensJrny2Ray 367]

We drove across the border with my cat. They didn't even look at him but I did have my rabies shot and proof of vaccinations for him in case anyone asked. Better safe than sorry, and you may need proof of a rabies shot depending on where you`re moving etc. My cat gets a little anxious sometimes when traveling, so we did give him Gravol at times to calm him down. My vet gave me one of those liquid syringes and said to "chase" the Gravol with a bit of water from the syringe. Also make sure you get the Gravol right down the throat as they hate the taste.