Did you take your pet? And other questions...

[MummyPig24]

We are moving to Germany in January and wondering if others took their cat when they moved abroad and how did you manage it logistically?

What are the school term dates in Germany? I know their school year starts in August but do they have half term breaks like us?

Do you pay national insurance or equivalent to get healthcare or is there a private insurance we will need to pay? What about council tax or refuse collection?

Is it typical that you are allowed to decorate rental homes?

[desertmum]

can't answer most of your questions as never lived in Germany, but we take our animals to where ever we are posted. Our last move saw us relocate 5 dogs, 3 cats and a horse. Part of our financial calculations take into account the savings needed to relocate the fluffies.
On our first move the cats flew on the same flight as me - DH already there with house organised. In following moves we have put them into kennels and had them flown a week or so after we have arrived so we can get house sorted etc.
There are companies that will sort out all the paperwork etc. for you which takes one job off your hands.
Through all our moves the kids have known they were 'home' when the animals arrived. If it was a choice of shipping my furniture or shipping my animals the animals win hands down.

[Booboostoo]

We moved to France with 4 horses, 4 dogs and 1 cat. The professional transporters took the horses and we took everyone else by car.

In general your cat will need to be microchipped, have a passport and any vaccinations required by Germany (worth doing rabies anyway so you can take your cat with you back to the UK if you want). Google importing cat to Germany and it will tell you of any special requirements. Most airlines will take small animals, you may even be allowed to keep her in the cabin with you, or go by car. If you are worried your vet can prescribe hormone starts or even sedatives for the journey.

[MummyPig24]

Thanks for the helpful info. Cat is microchipped but I will need to get a passport and vaccinations done.

[AppleBarrel]

We are in Germany! Don't know about pets though.

All the different German states will have slightly different school holiday times.

You can look up the state you are interested in on //www.schulferien.org - you can look at a few years in advance.

I think we all get the same number of days, they are just split up differently by the different states. Some states get a whitsun holiday which would be the equivalent of May half term, some get an autumn holiday that would be the equivalent of October half term. Maybe some get both, we don't though!
Our school year didn't start in August last year, and won't this year either, it has been early-mid September.

We are insured by public health insurance - DH pays directly from his salary and it covers the whole family, since I am a SAHM - if I was working I'd need my own insurance. Some doctors only take private insurance, but we've never had a problem finding someone with the public. If you opt for private (which you are only allowed to do it you earn over a certain amount) you can't change your mind and go for public instead unless you change jobs or your salary falls below the threshold. There are lots of different providers of public insurance.

We pay a fee for refuse collection, shared between all the flats in the building. You pay more for a bigger bin, but I don't know how much it is, it's part of a wealth of "additional costs" that we pay to the landlord each month. We get free bin-bags for the recycling from the town hall.

We can decorate our rental as we like, but we have to return it to white/neutral when we leave - I think that's fairly standard. Be warned that some (many) rentals don't include a fitted kitchen, and you have to buy your own or buy it from the previous owner.

[desertmum]

glad to see I am not the only one mad enough to ship dogs, cats and horses !

[Idefix]

I would get the rabies and pet passport sorted out in the UK, will be cheaper IME. You will also need pet insurance and all of you will need public liability insurance. I don't think you have to register cats with the stadt (dogs need registering)
Don't forget to apply for kindergeld, this is the German equivelant to child benefit - you get much more though, we have two children and get roughly €200 a mth on top of UK one. This will help with the cost of the most expensive school backpacks that are the norm here.

The following link may be helpful

www.bmas.de/SharedDocs/Downloads/DE/PDF-Publikationen/a998-social-security-at-a-glance-total-summary.pdf?__blob=publicationFile

Google toytown Germany - some are very helpful on this site but the average poster makes mns seem like fluffy kittens rather than vicious vipers lol!

Hth.