Moving With Your Pet

[Purr]

Here are some suggestions from the Humane Society that appeared in my local paper:

- Invest in a high-quality sturdy carrier. Accustom your pet to staying in it well in advance.

- Update your pet's ID tag with your new address and telephone numbers

- On moving day, place your pet in a safe, quiet place, such as the bathroom, so that it cannot escape.

- When travelling in a car, keep dogs in restraining harnesses. To keep cats safe, transport them in well-ventilated and securely placed carriers.

- If you pet doesn't enjoy car rides, consult a veterinarian about behavior modification or medication that might lesson the stress.

Happy Moving!

[lily]

Sound advice

What about international travel though? I'll be bringing 3 cats with me when I move from France to the States and I'm not sure how I'll manage . I have heard of companies that ship pets and I'd love to hear from anyone who has used one of these companies before.

What's for sure is that their beloved old cat tree is coming along! That way they'll hopefully start to feel at home again more quickly
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I finally got it together but I forgot where I put it.

[Genesius Redux]

Hey Lily!

This is a really good question. There are a number of places you can go to on the Internet for good info about this.

Try Cats International, for example:

http://www.catsinternational.org/articles/fun_and_useful_info/traveling_w_kitty_by_plane.html

Also this is a nice site. They're called AIM (American International Mobility Resources?):

http://www.aimrelocation.com/pettravel/worldwide.html

The USDA (US Department of Agriculture) also provides guidelines and suggestions:

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/oa/pubs/petravel.html

That should get you started. Check within France too. Remember that depending on where you move, there's usually a quarantine. The worst offender for unreasonable quarantines used to be Britain--I think it was 6 months or maybe more. Probably because of that hysterical English island mentality. Islands are always the worst. Hawaii has I think a four month quarantine. That may vary depending on whether you've got a cat or a dog or whatever.

Anyway, a little research before the move will probably be a good thing.

Bonne chance!

Genesius

[lily]

Hi Genesius, thanks for your reply and all the links - I'll be checking them out! As far as the research I've done has shown me, I don't think that there's any quarantine time into New York. Luckily I don't want to move back to England because, as you say, there's a really long quarantine. I don't know how long it is now, but it's probably still a few months which is crazy if the pet has had all his jabs etc

I wish I could find someone who has actually used one of these services. It's a scary thing to do, transport beloved pets by plane, so if a company is personally recommended, it's a little more reasuring
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I finally got it together but I forgot where I put it.

[Purr]

Cat Fancy Mazagine has 2 articles on their website regarding traveling with cats.

http://www.catfancy.com/catfancy/detail.aspx?aid=1435&cid=3650&search=

[lily]

Hi Purr, thanks for the link. It's full of info

They advise keeping cats in the cabin with you rather than putting them into the cargo area which is what I originally wanted to do (even taking 2 or 3 flights if needed). However, unfortunately it's not possible with international travel . It's going to be scary but I don't have the choice. That's why I thought that a company that specialises in transporting pets may be a better option.
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I finally got it together but I forgot where I put it.

[Purr]

How has it been making flight arrangement for your cats to the U.S.? Successfuly, I hope.

[squirrel]

I moved my cats from one apartment to the new one... they were scared and are still sort of uncomfortable... the ride by car was a show! One of them put his head in between my arm and my body (I was holding him) and wouldn't look around, every now and then he would get his head out and "meow" once... then head back in!
The kitty was scared really bad and fought with my boyfriend until we got in the cab. Then she was curious and started looking around!
When we got to the new place, both ran to find cover! After about 10 min, they came out and started exploring... now they are better and he tries to play with the kitty... she is still a little scared and spits him! But overall they are fine!
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Raluca
Salsa es mi vida!
www.salsagalaxy.com

[Purr]

Have the kitties settled in yet?

[lily]

[squirrel]

Lily... the kitties will be fine, I'm sure!
Mine are ok now... they've settled in just fine!
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Raluca
Salsa es mi vida!
www.salsagalaxy.com

[lily]

[lily]

Hi guys I just wanted to report that my kitties and I are safely and happily installed in our new apartment in New York. The move went well (if you ignore the tremendous stress levels!) and cats, humans and furniture etc. all finally arrived safely.

It's really weird to think that the cats don't know that we're so far away from the old house. They could be just down the road, it's all the same to them. But they seem to have settled in really well and are even getting on with each other better than they have done in the past
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I finally got it together but I forgot where I put it.

[Purr]

I'm glad your move went so well!

[squirrel]

Great! I am truly happy for all of you!
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Raluca
Salsa es mi vida!
www.salsagalaxy.com