How do I ship a cat across the world?

Ummmm. I don’t think you can necessarily ship a cat across the world by itself. But you could probably do a carry on kind of thing. I don’t know. I would try it.

You need to check with the country the cat is leaving and the country it is being ‘shipped’ ( flown is the way to go ) to and see what health records, vaccinations and quarantine laws you will be dealing with.

The cat can be flown anywhere as long as it’s health records comply with the countries regulations.

Quarantine can last anywhere from 14 days to 3 months, maybe longer.

It is not that hard or complicated and I think it is great that you wish to see your wife re-uninted with her pet.

Good luck!

Try Pet Airways

Dude, I flew across the country with a heavily sedated cat and it was one of the worst experiences of my life. Getting the first sedatives in his mouth involved a lot of shrieking (him) and bleeding (me), he peed on me in the car, and then despite a 3x dose of sedative, he clawed through the carrier halfway through the flight. I had to shove the airplane blanket in the holes and hope the flight attendants didn’t notice.

I vote your lady gets a new cat. Lots of kitties need good homes.

Check out this. It talks about what is needed to bring an animal into the U.S. and has links to more information.

There are companies that will transport a cat for you but the airports they use are very limited. Best if you can take it yourself. Check health requirements of the countries involved. Airlines may require a kind of fitness to fly certificate issued 24 hours or so before flight to say the cat is healthy.

The cat will travel separate from you on an international flight and you should check the type of cat box that they require. I found British Airways very good and they looked after the cat well on the flight ensuring it had food and water. On the connecting domestic flight it was a smaller plane and a smaller cat carrier was required but the cat could travel with me. The cat was never sedated and was quite perky following a full days travelling. I had brought food for the cat but this was a prohibited item on entering the USA and was confiscated. It is a bit traumatic and it is not cheap but it was worth it.

When I came back from Guam I bought a ticket for my cat who I had gotten from a shelter while I was there. I had to have her seen by a veterinarian and some paperwork done, and that was pretty much it. Of course, she was in a really bad mood by the end of the flight, but eventually she got over it and forgave me.

Yeah, the problem is the cat is in Uzbekistan right now. I am thinking the best option is to have someone fly it over. Maybe her sister can bring it when she visits.

Look on the bright side, it’s a cat and not a horse! lol

Some years ago I was seriously considering moving to Costa Rica, but what about my horse?

How the hell to trailer a horse to Costa Rica or, literally, ‘ship’ him. Not to mention finding a good quality hay source in the tropics. haha

Nixed that little adventurious idea.

I agree with @Coloma about checking with the country she’s from and where the cat is going ..getting all the proper papers/info ..quarantine, etc.

@LKidKyle1985

Uzbekistan is a rabies alert area. You need to talk to where ever the cat is going to end up. Minimum would be rabies vaccination ( last year’s and this. )

You can most likely have the cat shipped as cargo on an airplane without having someone fly on the plane at the same time. You have to check out the various airlines and see what they offer and what their live animal shipping rules are. There are also pet shipping companies that will do the bulk of the legwork for you, but it’s not exactly cheap.

Then and most importantly, you need to do some serious research on what the country you’re bringing the cat into requires in terms of paperwork, shots, microchip, etc.

I would think such a prolonged experience of terrifying movement, noise, and confinement, especially without a pressurized cabin to protect its tender ears, would be perfect torture for the cat, never mind a dreadfully long time between meals and trips to the litter box. By the time the cat arrived, it would be a different cat from the one she remembers. I’d urge her to consider @nikipedia‘s advice about adopting a new cat.

@Jeruba It was a difficult 24 hours, no doubt about that, but my cat was always in a pressurised heated space and she is none the worse for the experience. It wouldn’t be everyone’s decision to take a cat abroad with them but it was mine and I have never regretted it.

I’m not arguing that the trip is fun for the animal, by any means, but the cargo area where they transport live animals is pressurized and temperature-controlled.

American Airlines Pet Shipping Services

Oh, that’s good, @MissAnthrope. It didn’t used to be. Even so, that’s an awfully long trip for a pet, with no knowledge of what’s happening and no assurance that it will ever be over.

And the trip isn’t the end of the challenge. Cats would normally rather change people than residences. Especially if it’s an older cat, adjusting to a new and drastically different environment could be difficult to impossible.