*Cat people* flying cats back to UK

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I am thinking of moving back to the UK from Austria, in the year or so i have been here i have aquired 3 cats. My questions are

1, I had them micro chipped and rabies jabbed yesterday, i understand they will need a rabies blood test in a month and then 6 months after that they will be OK to enter UK without going into quarantine, do they need another blood test after the 6 months?

2, will they need to be vaccinated against anything else?

3, If i have to leave Austria before the 7 months is up i can take them to a friend of mine in France, it is a 13 hour car journey, should i just hire a van,stick a litter tray in it and beds and things and drive them straight there or have a stop overnight, dont know what would be less stressfull for them?

Some people have said to me that they are cats and wont care if i leave them here but i see them as my cats now, not the farm cats they are supposed to be, and feel i have a resposibility towards them. Also i have nowhere to live in the UK though my mum has said she will take them in, love her.

These cats are all rescues that i have taken in, the locals are not to nice to the cats here so really dont want to leave them:(

Any advice greatly appreciated:)
 
Hello

You are correct about the timings of blood sample and the 6 month delay. You shouldn't need any further tests after that. You will need to get a vet to tick and tapeworm treat them 24-48hrs before checking in to your ferry/flight/channel tunnel crossing but that's easy to arrange (I would advise not using the closest vet to the ferry terminal as they are likely to charge you a fortune!)

I don't think there is a requirement to vaccinate against anything else, for up to date info check the DEFRA website (google DEFRA PETS scheme).

If you are planning to fly (I presume not as expensive!) they will need a pre flight vet check as well. Ferry/channel tunnel usually easier to be honest-you need to use an animal approved route-details on DEFRA site.

As for the 13 hour drive...I used to drive my previous cat 8hrs on a not infrequent basis when at uni and he was fine. They usually settle after a while anyway. I used to stop to offer him food and water regularly as he didn't seem to want to drink on the move! I would advise against sedation of any type!

I don't think you are mad bringing them over-the PETS passport scheme works well and is easy and cats are surprisingly adaptable creatures!

Good luck!

Jen x
 
Best way to travel them is in crates with a litter tray. I have a fabric crate for long journeys to shows and they are safe if we have to stay overnight. It is a good idea to get the crate / crates in advance and use them as home dens before the trip.
The layover in France is quite common to get around quarantine.
 
I'm not with it tonight could have sworn your post said "Flying cats"

When we flew ours back from America it was pretty stressful for him even though everything was done properlly so you may want to look into de-stressing things for once your home.

And I agree with s4sugar that let the cat get used to the crate they're travelling in first, makes it a lot easier for them :)
 
Me too Kokopelli hence...

Broomstick??? :D

(p.s My mum flew her cat from South Africa to Germany where she lived for a bit the to Britain so she will know a bit, cat didn't suffer for it, lived until it was about 20)
 
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I'm not totally sure of the current requirements for bringing cats back into the UK, but several years ago I had my cat and two dogs all transported back here from the States. They had 6 months quarantine in this country and we were able to go and visit as much as we liked. The quarantine dealt with all the vaccinations etc.

Of course, we had no pet passports in those days, so quarantine was the only way to go for us. There was no way we could have left them behind. They were all part of the family and even though we had loads of offers to rehome them, we bit the bullet and paid mega bucks to have them flown over and quarantined. We never ever regretted it :)

They all had super heavy duty carrying crates, and they were tended to constantly by airline staff, then handed over to the UK quarantine staff once they had landed in the UK. No ill effects, just happy slightly confused animals! They dealt with the trip admirably, and I'm sure your cats will too!
 
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