Transporting rescue cat from Saudi to UK

[LazySusan11]

I have recently taken a stray kitten to rescue centre in Saudi, they are organising the necessary vaccinations and paperwork for me to be able to bring her home to the UK.

BA do not allow pets in the cabin have to go through IAG Cargo, I can't find out any info on how much this might cost or how easy/difficult it will be.

Does anyone have any insight? The last thing I want to do is stress out this little cat, I want her to be safe and happy.

There's someone on this board who brought a cat in from one of the Gulf States so they might be able to advise - keep an eye on the thread in case they see it and post.

My own experience of cats as cargo is from the UK only but I should say that the cats all took it completely in their stride and that I found care and consideration on the part of airside staff to be of a high order. I'd have no qualms about doing it again.

Coming the other way, we were looking at the price of a business ticket, plus paperwork.

I once planned to do this from Australia. There was a specific pet travel agent recommended by some government department, maybe DEFRA. Cat would have relevant jabs, there was a period of quarantine and a special travel crate and cat travelled in the hold. It was expensive but less than my economy one way ticket.

Thank you, on researching further it seems as Saudi is an unlisted country she will be quarantined for 6 months, I don't know if I can put her through 6 months in a rescue centre then a flight then 6 more months in quarantine.

Saudi as an unlisted country the cat will require a microchip and a rabies vaccination, wait 30 days blood test. If blood test is satisfactory cat can enter UK without going into quarantine 3 months after the blood test.
So cat is likely to spend 4 months in rescue centre, fly and then be able to come home with.
Pets are pretty much universally carried as cargo now, it is however, considerably more expensive than the flight for a person.

So that's a much shorter rescue time than the OP envisaged weighed against a happier life when she gets home?

(Lone is an experienced vet, Susan, and one who - if I recall - has been involved in the quarantine etc of animals. She knows whereof she speaks. )

Thanks Lone for info, I wish I had a clue about probable cost! Still if I am able to bring her home with me and give her a happy healthy life then it's worth it. I already have 2 rescues so I hope they accept her!

Usually import/export ball park 1.5-2k more for Australia and NZ.

An adoption centre in Cyprus quotes £400 for cost of adoption including flight to Heathrow, I fear the costs from Saudi Arabia will be at least double...

How do I find out? IAG cargo website isn't very forthcoming.

Here she is, I can't not rescue her can I!

Not really, No. Can you afford it do you think?

PS - have you spoken about cost to the Saudi rescue? They might have some advantageous arrangements already in place.

The lady who rescues them relies on donations and doesn't appear to be very clued up on international rehoming. There are so many stray cats in Saudi a lot of them horribly treated which is why I really want to get this one out. There aren't many Saudis who want to home cats it seems.

Which is rather strange given the special and privileged place that cats occupy in Islam. So be it. You're pretty well on your tod then?

Would seem so Cozie! Dh says I should bring her home too, luckily he's just as animal mad as me

I'm a cat owner currently living in Egypt. From my own research plus the experience of various friends here, we've found out the easiest way to transport your pets back to the UK is to fly into Brussels and then take a car for the remainder of the journey. Choose an airline that allows you to transport your cat in the cabin, have a vet administer a mild sedative just before you travel (for the cat, not you!) and everything should go smoothly.

Many of my friends have successfully transported their pets this way. In Calais, just before the tunnel, there is a special pet immigration centre where your pet's passport and paperwork will be checked (as per the post from from Lonecat). Providing this is in order, the rest is fairly straightforward.

Good luck and congratulations for rescuing a stray. Both mine were also rescued from the streets here - I wouldn't be without them!

It costs around AED 5000 (approx GBP 900) per cat from the Emirates. That's the price for having the vet do everything for you including paperwork and transport to the airport. You can do it yourself for less but it's a lot of running around and you have to figure out the process yourself more or less. Good luck - she's a beautiful cat!

DO NOT EVER ALLOW A CAT (or dog) TO BE SEDATED FOR AIR TRAVEL. This was the only cause of death during air transport that we had when I worked in quarantine. It prevents the cat from self thermoregulating and this rapidly leads to death.

As lone says, no quarantine required from unlisted countries any more. Check out the defra pet import website for more info. Having imported a number of dogs I'd suggest you're looking in the region of £500-900 depending on the route. Flying into UK is always much more expensive as there are limited carriers and additional tax. Fly into continent r.g. To schipol then ferry to Harwich is much cheaper

What Lonecat said about sedation. The Aussie transport company were very clear: no sedation. They might protest initially in the vehicle to the airport, but cope very well with the enclosed space, low if any lighting and engine noise. Normal dry food. And most cats do not wee or poo on the journey. And that's from Australia to Uk.

Among other plane journeys, I had to take Seniorboy back to our then home when my mother died. He was elderly even then and I barely expected him to make it through the journey - in a box, engine noise, machines banging and clanging, strange yelling voices - I imagined the gamut of problems for a cat who had spent most of his then life being pretty anti-social.

As it happened, he emerged at the other end chipper and full of himself - albeit a bit T'd off at the general indignity of the experience. He had no sedatives of course but he was just fine.

The downside of travelling by plane with cats - in the UK at any rate - is that the humans are treated as some sort of adjunct to the cat, The animal is usually the important creature to the airline: you're just an 'also ran'.

OP, contact your local vet. They will most likely have a pet transport service and will be able to give you a quote.

If you're keen to avoid cargo, an acquaintance was able to take her dog in the passenger cabin (in a carry box) from UAE to Germany. From there I suppose she could have carried on to the UK with a European pet passport. I'm not sure if the cabin or the hold is more or less traumatic for the pet though, tbh.

Should have said it was either Lufthansa or KLM that allowed the pet in the cabin. I think the deal is that pets must arrive in the UK by manifest cargo but in Germany it seems to be different.

One more thing, OP. If you transport the cat it should be in the cooler months. Some airlines won't transport pets if the temperature on the tarmac is over a certain level, and those that do really shouldn't because of the danger of overheating.

Cooler months to leave here, but not to o cool in the UK. KLM had a warning about unheated cargo holds on some of the smaller planes, and hence wouldn't carry animals in the hold in winter...