Bringing a cat from the U.S. to Germany

Yeah, I know he'll have to be quarantined over there, but I don't think I can give him up when I move, so has anyone here done this and how expensive is it, and most of all how traumatic was it for you.

Thanks

Q

Your cat should not have to be quarantined going between the US and Germany.

I found Importing pets to Germany helpful when looking for the same information. Your cat does NOT need to be quarantined. Check out the German consulate website as well for up-to-date document requirements.

For myself, the experience was probably more traumatic for me than for my cat. She sat in her carrier and didn't make a sound the whole trip, while I worried and fussed over her. I'm sure she was scared, but she was fine. She was back to herself within a day or two.

I brought over my 15 year old cat 4 years ago - brought her on with me in the cabin on a flight from Toronto. Cost was 300 CDN in 2003 with Air Canada.
She was a bit restless in the carrier but mostly just sat and was quiet.
No quarantine at this end, just a certificate proving she had been vaccinated against rabies.
They barely glanced at the document or at her as I sailed through customs.
Unfortunately she has since passed but due to kidney failure - she was fine on the plane and lived another 2.5 years here in Munich.
As dcgirl says, I was more traumatized - she was fine within a day or so after she adjusted to her new surroundings.

We are now moving to Canada in December and have booked a flight to take two cats back with us in the cabin on a Lufthansa flight.
Not all airlines allow pets in the cabin and not all airlines allow pets at all (not even in cargo hold).
So you would need to check this info with your airline before booking your ticket. Also the cost of flying them varies so again you need to confirm this with your airline.

I do think this has been discussed before, mods will merge at will.

Well, I have obviously been living under a rock.

Thanks for the information!

Quasi,
This information might be covered elsewhere, but this was my experience bringing over my cat. Everything went very well. Make sure to check with the airlines regarding international (actually transatlantic) in-cabin pets before making your flight arrangements. You will want to bring your cat in-cabin in one of those mesh carry-on pet bags. It's really not a big deal - just stop feeding him/her 16 hours or so before leaving, then provide your cat with a small amount of water the morning you leave, and give some dry food during the flight. Most vets recommend that you do not give tranquilizers, as the reaction can be unpredictable. Also, you will want to keep your cat in a harness and leash at all times - you must take him out of the cat bag and walk him through security. I had to do this 2 times and the cat was quite scared but I had a good grip on him. You will also need to forcibly shove him back into the bag after this. Do not try to be nice - just fold him up and stuff him in the bag. I am serious, as when I tried to be nice with him and get him to go into the bag on his own, it took over 30 minutes.

I flew over from the US in August, and the only airline that I found with in-cabin international/transatlantic pets was Lufthansa. Some other airlines (Delta, US Air, I think I called about 5, etc.) permit in-cabin pets for flights within North American and the Caribbean, but not to Germany, so make sure you ask about Germany - call and speak to an airline representative just in case and don't just go by what is on their website. I booked through Travelocity and then called the airline to book the cat, but only after asking the airline rep if in-cabin pets were still available on the specific flight I was planning on buying (after I located the flight # but before purchasing). Other airlines permit cats as cargo, but that means that your cat is shipped in the cargo compartment and I did not feel comfortable doing that. But, and this is very important, some airlines that do permit cargo pets have temperature restrictions (I think only in the summer, but maybe also if it is very cold). I was concerned I would not be able to bring my cat because at 85 degrees the airline will not permit cargo pets, and it was certainly over 85 degrees in Texas in August. If the temperature restriction is in effect, then you would be stuck at the airline counter with no way of brigning the cat.

There is no quarrantine in Germany - check out the links on the other pages here to get the forms. I'm not sure about the quarantine if you fly through London, but I did not want to risk that, as I found conflicting information about that. You will need to get him microchipped with a "Euro chip." The Euro chip is just a normal chip but unlike in the US it has 10 digits or something. I had to order one on the Internet, and I took it to my vet to have it inserted. Also the rabies form. I had no problem, but I did end up paying the airline charge for each leg of my flight, and the counter person at JFK was quite thorough in the inspection of my forms, etc.

Please PM me if you have any other questions. My cat was quite the trooper and he is now settled in quite nicely here.

It is a common misconception among Americans that their pets will have to be quarantined if you move them anywhere overseas. My sister convinced my parents to keep her cat for three years while she and her family were stationed in Germany. Imagine their surprise when I moved over and took my cats along, while my parents were still cat-sitting!

I moved two cats to Germany and back to the US. As easy as it is to move cats to Germany, it's even easier to bring them back again. The US no longer requires any health checks or veterinarian certificates to allow cats into the country.

A cautionary tale, though: since I wasn't required to provide any medical documentation for my cats, I didn't take them to the vet before we left Munich. I had enough stuff to do without that, right? Now I wish I had, though. One of the cats died suddenly, possibly of a heart attack, about a month after we returned (he was 14.) Obviously, he had been under a lot of stress: he'd been flown across the Atlantic, driven from Chicago to Wisconsin and then on to Minnesota, and had stayed in three different temporary residences before we moved into our house. He died the morning after the final move. I don't know if a veterinary check-up would have detected any problems before we left Munich, but if I had known he likely wouldn't have survived the move, I probably would not have tried moving him. I would have found him another home in Munich or put him to sleep, if the problem was serious.

So I would advise anyone, especially with older cats, to have them seen by a veterinarian before subjecting them to a big move, whether or not it's required by law.

Everything you need to know is covered in my thread, linked above (and here for good measure). Do read a couple of the other answers on both pages for information about others' experiences. I linked to all the necessary information and forms there.

I'm currently rewriting that whole thing as a large Toytown wiki article which may be done within the next couple days.

woof.

I flew from the US to Germany last summer with my two cats. For one the trip was no problem, he was just mostly pissed off all the way but the second one, it turns out, did not drink enough during the trip. As a result of this he got bladder stones (I'm sure he was predisposed to get them at some point, but the stress and not drinking acted a s a trigger) and things got really nasty a couple of days after we arrived in Germany. Luckily now after hospitalization, several vet visits, permanent special diet and medication (and of course several hundred Euros) he's doing great. However, if we had to redo the trip, I'd definitely opt for drugging the cat if a trusted vet would okay this. I guess it really depends on the cat how things go, the angrier the better in my experience . Good luck!