I have noticed that there seem to be some cat lovers around here so I was wondering if someone might be able to give me some pointers. My husband and I will be taking a year off to travel in Europe before settling in England for his new job. We plan to rent appartments and stay in each spot for at least a month. I am wondering if anyone has had experience moving from country to country with a cat. Also what about the plane ride. I am trying to decide if the stress of the plane ride and the frequent moving might be too hard on kitty. Also, how hard is it to find an apartment that allows a cat? Thanks for any advice you can give.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Kim,

Peggy, having just recently moved I can offer a little bit of advice. We actually boarded our cat for the first 2 days of the move so our Honey cat wouldn't be too traumatized, well it's been almost 2 months now and she still is slightly freaked. ( mind you she is a bit of a freakish cat to begin with )

I can't imagine how traumatic a plane ride would be for a cat, but IMHO I would maybe just wait till you have settled in England rather than move her from place to place every month. Just when she will be getting used to her surroundings she/he will be moved to another place, I don't think that many animals would find this comforting.

Do you have a nice friend that might look after her for a while, I think this might be the route to go.

Happy travels

I agree with Liz - this would not be good for the cat. Wait until you are settled in England and have her sent over. We moved from Santa Fe to Seattle and put the cats in the kennel in Santa Fe until we were totally moved into the house in Seattle, then had them flown air cargo to Seattle. Even then they were totally freaked for a week.

Until recently, you could not bring cats or dogs into England without a 6 month quarentine. That has all changed now. Also, the British love cats - many people have cats as pets. In Italy, cats are more outdoor farm creatures (except for Decobabe's pampered five cats) - people are not so much into having cats as pets. This is not to say that there are not lots of pet cats in Italy - but there are many that are not.

I think a cat on a plane might howl for the whole trip. We did meet someone once who flew with her cat in a little under the seat carrier - but the cat had done this many times and was used to it.

Obviously with 5 cats you do not take them in the cabin. I ended up hiring a pet shipping company to help me and it was worth it.
1) you must have a carrier approved by the IATA. They are big.
2) you must be sure that the flights are equipped with a live animal hold -- all are not.
3) you must check the rules for your destination country for exactly when to do the immunizations and exams.
4) you must get the Agriculture department to stamp your documents once you've done the official exam forms and shot forms.

Be prepared for problems and screwing up your own arrangements to accomodate them. The animals had to be taken to the right place in the airport on an entirely different schedule to the human passenger. I insisted on being on the same flight and for good reason. We had a problem and were delayed on the taxiway and I was able to tell the chief attendant to notify the pilot that there were live animals in the hold so he could decide whether, if the delay became protracted, to return to the gate to relieve them. He was grateful for the notice, because he hadn't been told, which is supposed to happen.

**DON'T tranquilize a cat. It reduces their respiration and can kill them at the 15000 foot pressurization.**

On arrival the dogana LOST my cats. I arived at 7:30 AM, did the paperwork with the vet's office and then spent until 6:30 PM trying to find them and driving from one part of the airport to another. The required food and water attached to their crates had never been given to them, so they had been in there (on towels) for more than 36 hours completely ignored. They were embarrassed and uncomfortable with the mess in the crates. I gave them water, but no food, because we still had a long drive ahead.
The dogana had the nerve to charge me a storage fee because I hadn't picked them up within a couple of hours.
They got over it pretty quickly and they LOVE Italy.
Because I split the service fees among five, it cost about $400 each to bring them.

What a horrible day that must have been for you and for the cats. How could they not give them any water?

I am not sure it's possible to take a cat directly from teh US to the UK> I think that you would first have to take teh cat to a country from where you can take a cat to the UK (e.g., Italy) and then, after six months, go on to the UK.

This has been very useful though. We're trying to figure out how and when to bring along our three cats as we go between Italy, England, and California.

I found homes for my rooster and his wives and for every cat that could find a home but my personal boyfriend, Other Guy. I ended up moving 5. Almost anything kind would be better to do than moving them, IMO, as it is dangerous and unsettling to the cats. I was lucky and didn't lose any of them, but it happens and I knew it.
With one cat you can take it in the cabin under the seat, but that means no other cabin luggage. There are also some unstated restrictions on how many are allowed, so if someone else is taking their cat, you might not be able to. Then of course the under the seat carrier isn't allowed in the hold. Check it out with your airline ASAP.