Exporting a Cat

[GinBoy2]

I'd posted this in another thread on a totally different topic, but thought maybe as a reference might be useful to post it here too,

When we moved back to the US last year, we just couldn't bring ourselves to leave our cat. At best might have been able to find someone who would feed her so she wasn't dead, and thats only a maybe!

So, bit the bullet and paid to have her shipped. Paid for a shipping agent, since;
1. I'm lazy,
2. Didn't want any mistakes


In general you can’t take pets in cabin on international flights anymore. Domestic is fine, within the limitations of the airline.
But, this is a brief outline of what went on for us flying out of BKK

To begin with, the crate needs to fit very specific size and labeling requirements as laid down by the airlines, so don't just assume your regular carrying cage will do. I didn't worry about this, as the agent provided everything.

Cat needs Feline Pank, Rhino, Calivirus, Clamidya, Psttasi, Leukemia, Rabies vaccinations administered 30> days prior to departure

Get a vet health certificate, basically they do a blood test on the cat.

They seem picky about what you write on the vaccination book with regard to color/breed. I thought 'mixed' and 'tabby' were good enough...I was wrong, be as specific as you can

3 days prior to your departure you must go to the Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport Customs and Animal Quarantine Office. All pets must be inspected by the government vet before leaving the country. At this point they also need to be de-wormed. You need to recognize they do need to be in Bangkok for 3 days prior to the flight. This was all taken care of by the agent and she stayed in their cattery


Customs Free Zone
Suvarnabhumi International Airport
Bangkok, Thailand
Tel +66 (0) 2134 0731



At the quarantine office:
Original rabies certificate, with vet’s contact details and phone number (in English and legible).
A copy of your passport, your Thai visa, wife's passport, US (or wherever) visa and her Thai ID card
Your flight itineraries, even if you aren't traveling on the same flight as your pet, it's required for the export cert.
Cat micro-chip number if you have one (not necessary to have a microchip, but if you do have one, you need the number). It's cheap, I think it cost me ฿600, and if the airline loses your pet, worth its weight in gold
Your cat!
At the office you will need to fill in a Form 1/1 which is an export request. You do not need to do this before hand.
At the office the vet conducts another health check, take a photograph of your cat and give you the documents you require for export..
Make two photocopies of all documents and keep them with you when you travel. You should have:
Your original cat health certificate
The airport vet health certificate
The export permit

The US doesn't have any quarantine restrictions, I know places like Australia do, but that wasn't a concern for us.
Didn't pay for a receiving agent, I just went to pick her up at the freight terminal and cleared customs myself. That was easy

Now from what I could tell most of the vaccination requirements had nothing to do with the import to the US, but all to do with getting the Thai export certificate

As for sedating, not recommended by vets anymore, since it can affect their respiration during transport, so don't try.

On the other end, when I picked her up in Denver, can't say she was the happiest cat in the world, but she survived and within a few weeks was back to normal. We had packed her blankets, toys etc in out luggage when we left, so at least when she got home there would be familiar sights and smells to help her acclimatize.

So, little rambling, but hope it's of some reference help to others in the future

[happysanook]

Thanks for this. What a ridiculous mass of horsecrap. Funny that the place you're bringing it to requires absolutely nothing. Another great Thai scam jumping through hoops for nothing other than the jumping.

 

Rant over. Seriously thanks for all the detailed info.

 

Am I reading that right that the vaccinations need to happen more than 30 days prior to departure?

What agent did you use? What portion of all of this did they take care of?

Which airline did you use?

Do you know if it's possible to bring/ship two cats? (I've seen some airlines only allow one per passenger)

Edited August 24, 2018 by happysanook

[GinBoy2]

On 8/24/2018 at 6:39 AM, happysanook said:

Thanks for this. What a ridiculous mass of horsecrap. Funny that the place you're bringing it to requires absolutely nothing. Another great Thai scam jumping through hoops for nothing other than the jumping.

 

Rant over. Seriously thanks for all the detailed info.

 

Am I reading that right that the vaccinations need to happen more than 30 days prior to departure?

What agent did you use? What portion of all of this did they take care of?

Which airline did you use?

Do you know if it's possible to bring/ship two cats? (I've seen some airlines only allow one per passenger)

Sorry for the delayed response, didn’t see this.

 

Yes, the vaccinations need to be >30 days, <6 months. The de-worming needs to be down within 3 days of departure.

 

We used Boonma Pets, Khun Tiddy was our contact. They took care of everything, from picking her up from our home, the 3 days in the cattery prior to departure, and all the flight arrangements .

 

They used KLM as the carrier, and it appears that they generally, regardless of where the final destination is, seem to like shipping through Amsterdam for some reason

 

On the other questions I really don’t know

[happysanook]

But if the de-worming needs to be done within 3 days of departure, how does this fit into it being checked by Thai quarantine? They do the de-worming there or it's done after the quarantine before the flight, or same day as bringing to quarantine?

 

And I've seen others say the microchip isn't required, but some say it is. I wonder if this is a mixup between the rules of the country it's being g imported to? (Eg, UK requires microchip for import, but perhaps Thailand doesn't require for export?)

 

 

Is there some official page regarding all this? All I see is an official page on importing. Not exporting.

 

Edited August 31, 2018 by happysanook

[Elik]

Does the Health certificate have to be a specific form?