Flying a cat to Ireland

BlackEdelweiss

Has anybody taken a cat home from NZ to Ireland? Just trying to work out how much it would cost. My son is coming home and does not want to leave his cat behind. We took our dog years ago and it was pretty expensive, not sure if cats are cheaper. He is leaving in less than a month, would this be sufficient time for vaccinations etc?

BlackEdelweiss

Any recommendations on companies to use? (Sorry, I'm not able to edit my original post to add this question for some reason)

Peregrinus

Importing cats is not going to be cheaper, since the regulations are more or less the same. (But the regulations may have changed since you brought your dog in.)

Timing looks tight. You have to get the cat microchipped, and then you have to get it vaccinated against rabies, and then you have to wait for the vaccine to become effective, which is never less than 21 days but for some animals/vaccines takes longer. So your son should consult his vet in NZ about whether he has time to get his cat vaccinated and for immunity to develop before travel.

If he does then, at the same time as getting the cat vaccinated, your son should get an EU Certificate of Health completed by his vet. Then, not more than 10 days before the cat will arrive in Ireland, he needs to get the certificate signed and endorsed by an NZ government vet. I imagine he will need to talk to the NZ Dept of Agriculture to find out how to arrange this and what it will cost.

And of course he'll have to talk to the airline about the arrangements (and cost) for bringing the cat with him.

He needs to give advance notice to the airport authorities of the Irish airport at which he and the cat will be arriving so that the cat can be inspected and paperwork checked on arrival. There will be a charge. The cat can't leave the airport until it satisfies the compliance checks. If it fails the compliance checks, then we are looking at quarantine (expensive!) while problems are sorted out, or at an early trip to the great cattery in the sky (less expensive, but your son still has to pay for it).

All in all, even if the timing works out, it's a lot of trouble and quite a lot of expense. With any luck he'll be able to find a vet in NZ who has done this before, who can give the necessary vaccinations and sign the Health certicate and also give him a practical steer on how to satisfy the other requirements. But — how can I put this tactfully? — a new cat is quite cheap.

Cookie_Monster

The daughter of a friend in work recently brought a cat from Australia to NZ. over $3,000 NZD just for that short hop!

BlackEdelweiss

He loves the cat and it is as much of a support mechanism for him but it is a lot of trouble and expense for a cat. We had to leave ours behind when we left, could not afford a cat and a dog. His ex says she will take the cat when he leaves so that may be the more humane thing for the cat rather than putting it through that trip. I was horrendous for our dog, I'm sure a cat would be a bit more relaxed but it is not a nice trip for them.

I'm not sure how his cat would get on in our house either, we have a cat and 2 dogs and the cat does not like other cats. One of the dogs loves cats and would lick them all day if he had the chance so not an easy house to come into. We can promise to get him a new one over here when he gets back, not the same but not a bad compromise.

Thanks for the info everyone, that is just what I was looking for!