[actionwoman]

We're bringing our two cats w/ us to HK from New York in a couple of weeks and I'm a little worried about them, specifically that they'll be in their crates for over 20 hours w/o access to a litter box.

I've been told to restrict their food a couple of days prior to the flight and we have bought absorbent diaper-like pads for their crates, so if they urinate, it will be absorbed.

Any experiences/advice would be appreciated - thank you!

Amy

[hello_there]

You have been told all the right things. Reduce the amount you feed them for a couple days before the flight and use absorbant bedding in the crate. Make sure they have access to water in the crate (those hampster bottle type water holders work well), although they do leak a bit. For a long flight, some people will use two bottles per crate, with one being frozen so that it won't leak out as fast. For a dog, some vets will advise putting a worn sock or t-shirt in the crate with the dog because it smells like the owner. Not sure if cats also care about that sort of thing, but might try. Lots of people bring animals over from the US and its really amazing how well they handle the transit and how quickly they adjust.

[namaste]

We brought our cat over three years ago. It was ALOT of paperwork. My vet had assured me that he had completed the papers several times. When we arrived however, I couldn't collect the cat b/c there was a signature missing on a form. So, the cat had to stay in the Pet Hostel, which was very impressive. My vet was on holiday, of course, and I couldn't get ahold of him for nearly two weeks! The Pet Hostel people phoned me everyday to update me on my cat's condition and to request that I visit him daily (difficult to do when living in NT and setting up house ). I was impressed with the level of care and their thoroughness. I wouldn't advise withholding too much food or water prior to the flight b/c it's important that your cat has enough stamina to get through the flight and be well hydrated along the way.

[actionwoman]

It went as well as it possibly could and they arrived at our apartment a couple of hours after we did and were speaking to us again the next morning.

[dfabricant]

We are moving from New Jersey to HK in mid July with 3 cats. I just had the AVID microchip injected because the Hong Kong department of Agriculture indicated it was required. Is this true?

David

[PDLM]

Originally Posted by dfabricant

I just had the AVID microchip injected because the Hong Kong department of Agriculture indicated it was required. Is this true?

Yes, see point 7 in this document from the relevant government department.

[actionwoman]

Originally Posted by dfabricant

We are moving from New Jersey to HK in mid July with 3 cats. I just had the AVID microchip injected because the Hong Kong department of Agriculture indicated it was required. Is this true?

David

Yes, that's true. I did the same for our two cats.

[saun-fam]

We're also bringing our cats over to HK, at the beginnng of July. Any suggestions of airlines that are accomodating to the whole process? Right now it looks like my best bet is PHL to Toronto to HK via Air Canada... although I've heard rumors that they sometimes cancel live animal shippments in the summer!

We're hoping to avoid using a pet shipping service- just seems like sooo much money.

Thanks!

[actionwoman]

I was told by our pet moving service that Continental Airlines is one of the best for moving pets, and there is a direct flight from Newark to Hong Kong. We had no problems whatsoever with Continental and they even let us visit with our cats while they were waiting in the cargo room of the airport. They were on our same flight. Make sure that you have all of the right vaccines done and the paperwork filled out perfectly. We were told that if there is even one little error in the paperwork that your cats may have to be quarantined.

[Kismet11]

I strongly recommend using a pet import company. The paperwork is complicated and as noted if there is anything wrong your cats will be stuck in quarantine. I believe that you also must have a direct flight into Hong Kong. While a pet import firm may seem expensive, it will cost you a lot more in the long run if something goes wrong and you need to put the cats in quarantine.

I shipped my cat from England, and the pet import firm had the correct crate, water bottle set-up etc. And they did pick up and delivery at both ends. It is also difficult collecting your cat in Hong Kong as they are not kept at the airport but a separate cargo facility some distance away. I had to pick up a suitcase shipped to me from that facility, and had I not had a Cantonese speaker with me, could not have managed. None of the staff spoke English and the red tape was very complicated.