5 Pet Traveling Tips That Will Surprise You
Moving to a new house and moving jobs are some of the most stressful life changes you’ll come across. Add in 10 thousand miles distance and it’s even worse! Trust me, I’ve done it and we learned a lot about the process of traveling and moving with our pets. I’m going to share with you five facts you probably didn’t know about when moving overseas with your pet.
Back in 2014, my husband and I moved from Canada to Australia. Sorry, my husband, me and our two furbabies. Meet Saus and Poki…
There was never any question over whether or not we would bring the cats when we moved. We’re one of those couples who considers our pets as part of our family. Of course, for others this can be a difficult decision. The cost can be prohibitive and if your pet has any health conditions, travelling by air can make it worse. You should consider what’s best for your pet above all, rather than your own needs and wants.
We were very lucky. Our cats were both under two years old when they moved and they were given a clean bill of health by their vet. Saus was told to lose a bit of weight before the trip because she was slightly chubby (it can impair breathing in combination with the pressure in flight), but we simply stopped giving her treats and she succeeded in just a few weeks.
That said, even though we didn’t hit any major roadblocks during the process, it was still much more difficult than moving ourselves around the world. Here are 5 of the most surprising things we learned from the experience. I hope it will be of some help if you’re considering moving with your pets too.
5 Surprising Pet Traveling Tips
1. Some Pet Breeds Cannot Fly By Air
If your dog or cat’s breed is considered “brachycephalic” or snub-nosed, you’re out of luck when it comes to air travel. This category includes dog breeds such as Pekingese, Pugs and Shih Tzus. Brachycephalic cat breeds include Persians and Himalayans.
Basically, these breeds have difficulty breathing in the altered pressure of an airplane’s cabin or cargo hold. This is due to their facial bone structure. You can read more about it here. If your pet is affected, you’ll want to look at making the move by car or rehoming if that’s not possible.
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2. Moving to a Rabies-free Country Complicates Things
You may be surprised to learn that most countries in the world, including those of North America and Europe are not officially classed as rabies free. If you’re moving your pet from one of these places to a country that does have rabies-free designation, you’re in for a whole world of pain with veterinary paperwork – lot’s of paperwork.
We moved from Canada (not rabies free) to Australia (rabies free) so the Australian government required a whole set of vaccinations, blood tests and documentation before letting our pets into the country.
I totally understand why – if they let animals without proof of proper vaccinations, they’d risk the possibility of transmitting rabies. However, it’s important to plan ahead as there is a long waiting period between administering the rabies vaccine and taking the blood test to determine whether it’s worked or not. We had to leave our two with family to wait this out.
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3. Weather Restrictions Exist
Another factor which I did not consider before moving my pets was weather. This is where planning ahead becomes very important again. In regions with very cold winters (e.g. Canada) or very hot summers (e.g. the Middle East), airlines will often shut down pet transport for a couple of months.
This is for the animals’ own safety so I’m thankful for this precaution, however if you had planned a winter move through Toronto, you may have to find another route or put it on hold.
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4. You May (Or May Not) Be Able to Travel With Your Pet in the Cabin
Before we started our research, I naively presumed that we could fly with our kitties in the cabin of the airplane. I’d often seen people traveling with small dogs or cats in a carrier that fits under the seat in front like hand luggage.
However, this isn’t always possible. In fact, it depends on the airline, the route and the size of your pet. Our cats were small enough to meet most guidelines for cabin travel, however we could not find an airline that would allow it for the route we took.
Our cats had to travel in the cargo section of the airplane, separated from passengers. There are people there to look after them and feed them on long flights but it’s up to you to do your own research and choose a reputable airline that you can trust with your furbabies.
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5. You May Want to Use an Agent
I’m not going to sugar coat it, using a pet travel agency is extremely expensive. All I will say is that the flights for the two cats cost more than for myself and my husband. By a significant amount.
If your route is a short haul, you can try to manage the paperwork yourself. In our case, we were quickly overwhelmed. When I read that pets arriving with mistakes in their paperwork would be sent back to their country of origin, or even worse – put down if you can’t afford the fare (this is crazy but true), I knew it wasn’t worth the risk.
We chose an agent with decades of experience and they basically did everything for us from recommending the correct crate to meeting and arranging accommodation for our cats during the layover.
After all of this, I can say that it was definitely worth it to have our cats with us when we moved. They didn’t seem too stressed out after the journey – probably because they were young and healthy. However, because of the risk involved and since these are just a few pet traveling tips, it’s best to seek the advice of a vet to make the best choice for you and your pets.