[Linnéa]

Hi everyone!
I will be living in HK for a year starting next fall and now I need some advice from experienced cat owners. I am not sure if I should bring my three cats or not. I now a bit about what is needed in terms of papers from a vet etc. But what are your experiences when coming to HK? Is it easy to mess up so that the cats would have to sit in carantine anyway? I would hate for that to happen. I'll be arriving from Sweden btw if that matters.

Also, my boyfriend and I need to rent an (not too expensive, I'm a student) appartment. Will the three cats making it harder to do so? If you know anything else I should think about or any tips you can give me, the cats and me will be eternally greateful!

[PC_Man]

1st thing I would do is consider what all your options are.

Do you have a decent option in Sweden for someone to look after whilst you are in HK?
If no, then realistically your choice is getting limited.

Be aware that it will cost more than it costs for you to get the cats into HK and then back again after.

Sweden is rabies-free isn't it? If yes, and on HK govt A list for animals then I think there is minimal quarantine (be worth checking with export companies for pets - if they don't have in Sweden can get contact for HK).

Not usually an issue having cats in flats. Some places say no pets but never heard of a complaint against a cat, only against dogs.

[jeannehk]

Hi,

we are in a similar position, but the other way round as are leaving HK and arranging to bring our cat and parrot with us.

I contacted the HK Agriculture and Fisheries Department and they are being very helpful. My advice is to contact them directly and get the information from the source.
http://www.afcd.gov.hk/english/quara..._ipab_idc.html. PM me so I can give you the email of the officer from the import and export section. I talked to him yesterday and he was very nice and patient answering all my questions.

But as PC_Man said, you should consider that it is very expensive for you and stressful for the pet to go through this given that you'll be here for 1 year only and in a couple of months you'll have to start re-doing the paperwork to take the cats back to Sweden. Also check what are the import procedures for Sweden! It might be difficult to take them home later.

I hope it helps.

[jenifa]

Hi there - after much soul searching we brought our two over when we came to HK in November. The UK is on the A list so all they needed was their jabs and microchips which they had anyway. We organised the import side through Ferndale Kennels and Cattery who were very helpful. The paperwork side of things went very smoothly, and they were delivered here after their 13 hour flight looking annoyed and smelling of wee, but otherwise completely fine.

They've since settled in fine.

HOWEVER the main thing to bear in mind is that the flats in HK are absolutely miniscule. If you're bringing 3 cats, you're going to want at least 1000 sq ft - and that's going to cost quite a lot unless you don't mind renting somewhere in a poor condition/inconvenient location.

So, for what it's worth, if I was only going to be here for a year I would arrange for someone to look after them in Sweden till you got back.

Good luck - I know what a horrible decision it is

Jen

Originally Posted by Linnéa

Hi everyone!
I will be living in HK for a year starting next fall and now I need some advice from experienced cat owners. I am not sure if I should bring my three cats or not. I now a bit about what is needed in terms of papers from a vet etc. But what are your experiences when coming to HK? Is it easy to mess up so that the cats would have to sit in carantine anyway? I would hate for that to happen. I'll be arriving from Sweden btw if that matters.

Also, my boyfriend and I need to rent an (not too expensive, I'm a student) appartment. Will the three cats making it harder to do so? If you know anything else I should think about or any tips you can give me, the cats and me will be eternally greateful!

[Linnéa]

Thank you so much for all your input, this is just what I needed!

Both Sweden and HK are on eachothers "safelists" for countries free of rabies so thats comforting at least. But I see that there still exists some problems, mainly the cost, stress and small apartments in HK.

I'm not sure if I can find someone willing to take care of them in Sweden for such a long time (and that I can trust them with). But for now I'll continue to persue both options, finding a good temporary home in Sweden on the first hand (altough I'll miss them terribly of course ). The thing is that if we really like it in HK we might try to continue living there after the year has past but then I could always bring them later of course.. You're right jenifa it really is a horrible decision!

[lowlight]

If it's just for one year, I don't think it's worth putting the cats through so much stress. Traveling that far, TWICE in a year, plus moving to a new, awkward, small home will be tough on them. See if your parents can take care fo them or something