Friend bringing a cat with him

[kingstonkid]

I am wondering what the procedure is for a person with a cat. My friend is bringing a house cat with him. Does he have to go anywhere special or do anything other than have all the papers witht he shots and stuff on it with him.

How much longer does this usually take to get through customs

[Basil B]

Taking a pet dog or cat to Thailand from a country where rabies has not been reported in 12 months will require that the regulations below be fulfilled with the exception of the rabies vaccination. Pets entering from all other countries must also conform to the requirements below and also be vaccinated for rabies no sooner than 21 days prior to entering Thailand.

• An Import Permit from the Department of Livestock Development is required.

• Pets entering Thailand from a country that has had any incidences of rabies within the past 12 months must have been vaccinated for rabies not less than 21 days and no more than 12 months prior to entry. Additionally, your dog must have been vaccinated against Leptospirosis not less than 21 days prior to travel. If not vaccinated, your dog should be tested for Leptospirosis with negative result during the 30 (thirty) days prior to the departure. All pets must be vaccinated against other signigicant infectious or contageous diseases (Distemper, Hepatitus, and Parvovirus) with an approved vaccine at least 21 days prior to departure.

• A licensed veterinarian will complete a Thailand Health Certificate in English, signed or further endorsed by a full-time authorized veterinary official of the government of the exporting country. (USDA if traveling from the United States or CFIA if traveling from Canada) If you are traveling from another country, the Governing Authority responsible for the import and export of animals should endorse the forms.

• A copy of the Rabies Certificate should also be included for endorsement.

• Pets are subjected to tests at the quarantine center upon arrival. Should all inspections and tests have acceptable results, your pet will be released to you.

This completes a pet passport for your dog or cat to enter Thailand.

http://www.pettravel.com/immigration/thailand.cfm

I think it was the last episode (4/6) of BBC Three's documentary on Bangkok Airport showed pets being brought into the Kingdom.

​Would also advise your friend to seek advise about re importing his cat back to the country he is coming from should he wish too or has to return in the near future, so even though micro chipping is not a requirement for bringing animals into the country it may make bringing them back easier same if a rabies vaccine is not required having it may protect his cat and also make it easier to bring back to his country.

Edited February 14, 2015 by Basil B

[NickJ]

In the USA no private vet can issue relavant documents......has to be an FDA Certified vet......

[konying]

Onpy 656 results and threads, including detailed advice and reports

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?s=9d41b62c6ae7cd8b14924d50f4dcf627&app=googlecse#gsc.tab=0&gsc.q=bringing pets

[craigt3365]

In the USA no private vet can issue relavant documents......has to be an FDA Certified vet......

I had a private vet take care of this. Worked with the FDA, filled in the forms, etc. A bit of a pain. And not cheap. That thread above has all the info you'll need!

Make sure they bring the cat along in the cabin. Not as cargo. Easy to clear customs once you get here. I've heard horror stories from many who had to check their pets in as cargo. The customs officials can get greedy upon your arrival.

[MDS]

We came into Thailand from SA at the beginning of last December with two cats.

Basil B has given you the right info and if you can follow Craig3365' advice your friend must try and get the cat onboard

as cabin baggage.

If the cat is sent cargo then things get more complicated and expensive.

If it comes cargo then it will not be delivered into the baggage hall. Instead your friend will have to come out of the airport and go to the cargo area.

There you have two choices. You can wait around for hours waiting for the cat to appear. Or when the first person

approaches you asking if you need help tell them yes and ask how much. Your friend will have to pay if he wants to get the cat cleared and away inside a couple of hours.

Expect to pay maybe Baht5000.00. We ended up paying Baht7000.00 to get our cats cleared and we had a Thai friend with us

helping. I saw another guy pay Baht10,000.00

It's a rip-off but if you don't pay your friend will hang around for hours waiting.

[Gillyflower]

Excellent advice. But as BasilB wrote. Check up about taking the cat back to country of origin.

[Eaglekott]

We brought our cats as hand luggage in the cabin, no need to wait for "Cargo" and if you are bringing the CAT out of Thailand within a year there is no Customs fees, just the veterinarian fees at the airport.

Edited February 15, 2015 by Eaglekott

[nontabury]

In the USA no private vet can issue relavant documents......has to be an FDA Certified vet......

I had a private vet take care of this. Worked with the FDA, filled in the forms, etc. A bit of a pain. And not cheap. That thread above has all the info you'll need!

Make sure they bring the cat along in the cabin. Not as cargo. Easy to clear customs once you get here. I've heard horror stories from many who had to check their pets in as cargo. The customs officials can get greedy upon your arrival.

Where do they store the animals in the cabin, I've never seen anybody bring an animal into the cabin, I always thought that they were transported in the cargo deck.

[Jools]

The cat will need a non Immigrant OA visa.

[SoiBiker]

In the USA no private vet can issue relavant documents......has to be an FDA Certified vet......

I had a private vet take care of this. Worked with the FDA, filled in the forms, etc. A bit of a pain. And not cheap. That thread above has all the info you'll need!

Make sure they bring the cat along in the cabin. Not as cargo. Easy to clear customs once you get here. I've heard horror stories from many who had to check their pets in as cargo. The customs officials can get greedy upon your arrival.

Where do they store the animals in the cabin, I've never seen anybody bring an animal into the cabin, I always thought that they were transported in the cargo deck.

My cat travelled in the cabin with me, on the floor in front of my seat.

[uptoeleven]

Since it's on-topic - any recommendations on airlines for bringing in cats in the cabin? Most of them seem to insist that pets travel in the hold. I'd prefer to travel with mine as it's one less thing to have to worry about when we land.

Also - mine has the European pet passport with the full set of vaccinations as required for that, plus rabies. I don't think he's gonna need anything other than that to get in here - am I wrong? He's chipped n chopped, (as in - he has a microchip and the RSPCA neutered him before he adopted us).

Also - as the chipping and chopping came fairly late (at 2 years old) he has a bit of wander-lust. Nothing too bad, especially now he's 9 years old and down to about 4 lives and only the one eye. He wears a collar with a tiny radio transmitter in it and I have a handset with a Yagi aerial on it - same kind of setup people use for falconry. Does anyone have a list of the civilian radio bands / frequencies for radio transmission in Thailand?

[SoiBiker]

Since it's on-topic - any recommendations on airlines for bringing in cats in the cabin? Most of them seem to insist that pets travel in the hold. I'd prefer to travel with mine as it's one less thing to have to worry about when we land.

Also - mine has the European pet passport with the full set of vaccinations as required for that, plus rabies. I don't think he's gonna need anything other than that to get in here - am I wrong? He's chipped n chopped, (as in - he has a microchip and the RSPCA neutered him before he adopted us).

Also - as the chipping and chopping came fairly late (at 2 years old) he has a bit of wander-lust. Nothing too bad, especially now he's 9 years old and down to about 4 lives and only the one eye. He wears a collar with a tiny radio transmitter in it and I have a handset with a Yagi aerial on it - same kind of setup people use for falconry. Does anyone have a list of the civilian radio bands / frequencies for radio transmission in Thailand?

I flew with Thai.

You'll need an Export certificate filled out by a vet in your home country, plus an import permit from the Thai quarantine authorities.

[uptoeleven]

"I flew with Thai" - recently? On their website it states that pets have to go in the hold. I've no desire to put him through that.

Or were you in "business" so they're more likely to be accommodating?

[SoiBiker]

A couple of years ago - economy. I've no idea if they've changed the policy since then.

[craigt3365]

I flew UA because of their pet policy. They were great to work with. Had to pay $300 or so for the dog in the cabin, in a certified carrier that was under the seat in front of us. They were the ones that warned me about customs here.

[d2b2]

We recently (nov 2014) imported our 4 cats and 1dog into Thailand from the U.S. It required our USDA approved vet to provide papers which we then had to take to a USDA office for certification,micro chipping and vaccination history. The process to get them through customs was an additional hour and involved fees totaling 6000 baht for 5 pets.

[d2b2]

EVA airlines was great with the pets. They took pictures at each stage of the trip and brought them to show the pets were okay.

[tso310]

Was it the 3rd episode of Bangkok Airport on the BBC showed some people entering with cats and dogs ?

[Eaglekott]

Where do they store the animals in the cabin, I've never seen anybody bring an animal into the cabin, I always thought that they were transported in the cargo deck.

You carry them as your hand luggage, and you keep them under the seat in front of you. Therefor the cat carrier has to fit within the dimensions the airline has set for hand luggage in the cabin. Since it is considered to be your hand language you are not supposed to take another bag with you onboard.

[gelgamek]

Think my question's related enough to leave here rather than its own thread...

I'm currently living in Phnom Penh, flying back to the UK with 2 cats in a few months. Unfortunately Thai don't carry pets on their PP-BKK flights.

Bangkok Air do on some. I was told by one of their staff in the office here that they'd unsurprisingly need to be claimed then rechecked in BKK, but was fairly simple and took around 2 hours. This thread contradicts that in points, and I'm sure it's much more accurate.

We'll have all the UK entry requirements fulfilled before leaving, but we won't have the Thai requirements such as the health certificate or the import permit. I'm guessing that means picking them up at cargo to recheck them is a no go?

[kkerry]

Was it the 3rd episode of Bangkok Airport on the BBC showed some people entering with cats and dogs ?

http://http://youtu.be/UzpOMyeyk_o?t=3m5s

[kkerry]

Let's try that link again...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzpOMyeyk_o#t=185

[A1Str8]

Don't worry. The cat will not make it.

[SoiBiker]

Don't worry. The cat will not make it.

Why not? Mine did.

[FBlue72]

Make sure the on board, hand luggage arrival is during at office hours M - F ( check on Saturdays ) and the animal control office will probably will be closed for lunch. Whole nation shuts down for lunch.