Bringing Pets to USA

[mtbdude]

we decided to bring laofu, yan zi's cat, with us to america, since we're finding it difficult to place him in a good home. yan zi couldn't be more delighted, and whatever makes her happy works for me.

 

i'm checking into airlines and health requirements and stuff like that, but i would just like to hear some first-hand experiences from anyone who has ever brought a pet from china.

 

thanks.

 

steve

[tonado]

I wonder if the US govenment would require the cat to have a visa. I bet you will need a special permit to bring it here.

[mtbdude]

which visa, tony, a cat-1 or cat-3?

 

from what i'm reading in a usda pamphlet, on presentation in customs the cat just has to appear to have no diseases that would be communicable to humans.

 

just can't believe that's all there is to it. yan zi is checking with the 001 girls, too.

[yuan95]

Hi, Steve and tony,

 

There is no cat visa! But you need to do some paper work for pets.

 

As I was told by Bea, they will bring her cat to USA too. But the cat needs to buy a ticket, about 20% of an adult's price!

 

Steve, you may contact Mark and Bea to ask for more detailed information about it.

 

I envy that a cat does not need a visa but we need!

 

June

[Martytb]

My cat is from Germany. I didn't bring him here, but the people who did mentioned a quarantine period.

[mtbdude]

There is no cat visa! But you need to do some paper work for pets.

 

As I was told by Bea, they will bring her cat to USA too. But the cat needs to buy a ticket, about 20% of an adult's price!

june, thanks so much for the info. i will contact mark and bea.

 

we were considering asiana from chengdu, and they told yan zi that it would be 4,700 rmb to bring our laofu. now it seems the problem is we cannot bring him into the cabin because he weighs too much. and it could be too cold for him at inchon while he is being transferred from one plane to the other. so we need to choose an airline on a southern route. so we are considering air china.

[oregonknl]

DAMN ~!

 

Now the : "CAT IS OUTA' THE BAG ~!!!

 

With all the delays, I had planned to smuggle Fei out of China INSIDE OF A CAT ~!

 

OBVIOUSLY, can't do that now with all the publicity here at the Candle............

 

........ thanks ALOT everyone.........

[tonado]

http://www.beijingvet.com.cn/html/pets.htm

[tonado]

Official document from US custom

 

http://www.cbp.gov/linkhandler/cgov/toolbo...ts.ctt/pets.pdf

[NY-Viking]

now it seems the problem is we cannot bring him into the cabin because he weighs too much.

Sounds like one fat cat!!! Are you sure? Is it just that Yan Zi will have trouble carrying him? Will you be flying with her?

 

I brought back my cat from China a few years ago on United, and United requires any pets on airlines to be in the cabin (that is, you CAN'T bring them as checked luggage). I was later told by someone who works for United that too many animals were dying when they took them as checked bags, so they said "no more!" So I guess they require bigger animals to be taken on other airlines.

 

I had to buy a carrier that could fit under the seat, but many of the standard carriers will do that. But you will want to measure the carrier you take to see that it can go under the seat if you take him on an airline that allows for or requires carry-on. My cat was great the whole flight from Shanghai to San Francisco, and then on the connecting flight to NY, which was something that had really concerned me since any time I'd taken him in the carrier while we were in Shanghai he howled and howled. But, silient the whole flight. Go figure.

 

As for price, United told me that I'd have to pay like US$120 for him or something when taking him as luggage, but that I would still be allowed an additional carryon and personal item (laptop, etc.) BUT then at the airport, no one asked for dime and I didn't have to pay anything to the airline at all. Which was nice.

 

As for what I did have to pay, I was told I would have to clear Customs before and after and therefore had to have my cat examined by a Customs approved official vet in Shanghai. So the private vet I had been seeing for shots and what not wasn't good enough. OK, so I took him to the official vet and they did the exam for like RMB 450 (I don't remember exactly how much now), which included a rabies shot and a 2 second examination where the vet looked at him and she said "Yeah, he looks healthy." She then gave me this pet passport thing and I was good to go.

 

Then, I was told that I had to clear Customs with the cat. Essentially I had to either do this in downtown Shanghai or at the airport. I tried to make a trip to the place in downtown Shanghai (near the Bund) but finally I decided to just take care of it the airport. I got there plenty early (not my normal airport procedure-usually they're calling my name and telling me last call) because I was worried that it might take a lot of time, and I am SO glad that I did. The Quarantine office is on the otherside of the Customs area in the Pudong airport and because the doctor in charge was in a meeting I had to wait for ever. I couldn't go on the other side and the doctor Quarantine sent to get me 3 times didn't have authority to take me to the other side. FINALLY after like 2 hours, they let him take me to his office if I left my passport with the guard. So then I was in the examination room with my cat and the doc for maybe 5 minutes during which time he looked at the paperwork I'd brought from the official vet and said ok. He signed some paper and I had to pay him like 40 kuai or something. It's been a few years, so I don't really remember how much it was. He didn't look at the cat, just the papers. He couldn't have done this on the other side of the guards? Geesh.

 

OK, so then I had to run upstairs to checkin for my flight. It was like maybe 20-30 min before, so it was really, really last minute. They wouldn't even let me check in at that time now, but I think I may have given them the headsup because they knew I was coming with my cat. So, anyway I checked in and then went through Chinese Customs expecting them to want to look at him or the papers I had, but they didn't. Security wanted him to go through the X-ray, which I wasn't very cool with, but I figured he'd probably be ok. (In San Francisco, they made me send the carrier through the X-ray but made me carry him through the metal detector.)

 

When I got to the San Francisco Customs area I checked "Yes" on the Customs declaration form where it said "Are you bringing any meat, animals ... etc." The Customs officer looked at the form and said, "So you're bringing some meat in to the country?" I said no. She said "well why did you check this then." I said him (the cat). She said "food for him?" I said no, just him. And she said "oh, you don't have to worry about him." She probably looked at him for like 10 seconds, but there wasn't any kind of exam or anything. And with that, he became a U.S. cat.

 

I think if he'd looked sick or something there may have been more of an exam (it says something like that on the US Customs site), but that's all there was with me. I do note that it was a few days after September 11 so everyone was probably being extra nice to anyone who was flying.

[Robert S.]

That was an enjoyable story.

[keelec]

One thing to keep in mind.

 

Importing diseases, bugs, or unwanted plants is VERY SERIOUS.

 

There are hundreds, or perhaps thousands of species that have been brought to America that are now very problematics. Many of them were imported intentionally and then got out of control. But, other problematic species have just been along for the ride.

 

Anyway, just be careful with bringing animals to the USA.

[mtbdude]

One thing to keep in mind.

 

Importing diseases, bugs, or unwanted plants is VERY SERIOUS.

 

There are hundreds, or perhaps thousands of species that have been brought to America that are now very problematics.  Many of them were imported intentionally and then got out of control.  But, other problematic species have just been along for the ride.

 

Anyway, just be careful with bringing animals to the USA.

you are right, we need to consider not just the regulations.

[NY-Viking]

. . . There are hundreds, or perhaps thousands of species that have been brought to America that are now very problematics.  Many of them were imported intentionally and then got out of control.  But, other problematic species have just been along for the ride.

. . .

you are right, we need to consider not just the regulations.

Well .. yeah .. but we're talking about a CAT here. While its true that some parasites might attach themselves to the cat, they might just as easily attach themselves to YOU. I assume we're talking about a house cat that has seen little of the outside world and generally keeps itself pretty clean. In that case, there's not much to worry about.

 

With that said, there are some places where the importation of cats IS strictly monitored and there is a quarantine period. While there are others, these include: Hawaii, Australia, and I believe China. In the first two cases there are big concerns about affecting the local flora and fauna. Not sure about the concern with China, but ok.

 

And with that said, I'm not dismissing the concept of the importance and seriousness of the import of new species intentionally or accidentally (driving down the highway in the South you can see how kudzu has had quite a negative impact), but if this cat has been well cared for, you don't have much to concern yourself with.

[mtbdude]

That was an enjoyable story.

no kidding, it was great, and really helpful. and it sounds like the usda pamplet that i have is accurate, the animal has to appear to be healthy, and that's it. yan zi found out that she has to take him for some certifications of his vaccinations and whatnot for the chinese side of this. after reading this, i'm also going to have her get a detailed explanation from the airline about what happens and what we will be doing on departure day, so we can be read for that.

 

nowadays there are regulations about transporting live animals, and so they have to be kept in a pressurized, temperature controlled space in the cargo hold. obviously an animal won't survive for 15 seconds in -30C temps at 30,000 feet.

 

i talked to a united reservation clerk yesterday, and she said they won't transport animals if the temperatures on the ground are extreme, like summer and winter. apparently the animal is exposed to the elements during the time they are being loaded and unloaded, and there have been problems with that. like i mentioned before, that's why i don't think we can take asiana, which is the airline i would prefer to take. (love that bi bim bap they serve).