Taking 4 cats to Spain

Hi

I am moving from UK to Costa Blanca and taking 4 cats with me.  i checked out air travel and the price is now out of the question.  Cats can no longer be carried in the cabin and have to be sent as cargo.

I have been recommended a company called EASYPET that takes them overland in specially converted van.  They  travel via the Eurotunnel, through France with one overnight stop and then animals delivered to your door the following day.  The cost per cat is  £229.Anyone have any recommendations or comments??

Thanks

Look at this link. http://www.eyeonspain.com/Secure/ForumPosts.aspx?thread=1214&dev=FB22&name=Taking%20pets%20to%20Spain

Suzi says "I phoned GB Airlines Pet Line (affiliated to British Airways) 01293 579546 and spoke to a very helpful man called Pete.  He suggested that my cat could fly as 'excess baggage' on any BA flight and I would only have to pay £4.65 per kilo (wieght of cat plus carrying box) plus £20 handling fee.  So working on the basis that a carrier weighs about 5 kilos and my cat weighs 4 kilos = 9 x £4.65 = £41.85 + £20 handling fee = TOTAL of £61.85 (not forgetting the cost of an approved carrier".

I believe these carriers cost around £40 so just over £100 each cat. Suzi was wanting her cat to travel to Malaga from UK

Hi

When I spoke o British Airways, they told me that cats can no longer be carried in the cabin and have to be taken as cargo.  They have to be transported via a pet travel agent, I called airpets at heathrow airport.  Bearing in mind that my cats would be travelling as 'unaccompanied' ( I am driving down through France) the cost I was quoted was £1800 - £2000 to include all the carrying boxes.  The boxes have to be special and not just normal cat carriers.  I can think of a lot of other ways of spending £2000.

Cheers

Anders, I don't understand, if you are driving through France yourself, why on earth would you pay someone else so much money to transport your cats? Why can't they go with you? I'm sure they would far prefer to be with you than a stranger. I would never trust my moggie to anybody else anyway, but for what Easypet quoted you, I could drive from Malaga to your house and back again with your cats, have a few overnight stops and nice meals, pay all my fuel, tolls & channel tunnel etc.,  and still have change. 

Hi Roberto, I know!! but these 4 cats hate travelling in the car and the thought of all that driving with them creating all the way is a nightmare. I know a lot of people drug their cats but I don't agree with it.  Cheers.

When we had to transport our cat within the UK a few hundred miles the vet gave us something to give him to stop him from panicking. We worried about this so a week before we were due to move we gave him a tablet & he seemed really terrified at losing his control & hubby & I were in tears. The vet said to give him another tablet so he'd sleep but he didn't, he just got more upset. On the day we moved we ended up with him travelling in hubby's fishing box which he wet & pood in. In desperation we let him just sit on my knee in the front & to our sheer amazement he just went to sleep laid there.After that we just used to let him sit on my knee going to my parents an hour away & he was fine. Not the best option but the one that worked.

Thanks, a few 100 miles in the Uk is a little different to 48 hours through Europe.  It is illegal to have a pet loose in the car - imagine 4 cats jumping about  ?? I am going to try Easypet couriers and let you know what my experiences are with them.

Cheers

Yes, I certainly agree with what you say, Anders. It's a concern, isn't it ? I would never dope a pet of mine again & I know, as I'm sure all animal lovers feel the same, we all only want to do what's best for our pets. We shall be needing to transport a cat sometime to the CB & that's why I've been following these posts in the hope I learn what best to do ourselves.

Good luck,

Rosemary

Hi Rosemary.  Friends of mine have taken cats overland to CB.  1 takes 5 in a van which has a large pen inside, room for litter trays etc but she dopes them.  another friend recently transported 12 cats, again in pens in a van.  Luckily for her they don't howl.  Mine create like mad on a 15 minutet trip to the vet so hubby won't even consider taking them in the back of our VW golf.

Easypet seem to know what they are talking about, nobody has posted anything bad about them so I am going with them.  Check out their website.  They are based in maidstone Kent. We leave on the 23rd June.  Once I get laptop up and running I'll post a report.

Cheers

Anders, I hope I didn't offend you by my post. I know every cat is different, and every owner of course! It didn't occur to me that your cat doesn't like travelling by car. Our cat hates going to the vet in his carrying box, although it's literally only a couple of blocks walk away. He goes mental. So one day we tried taking him (still in his box) in the car. Loves it! It's nightmare trying to park, but of course we'll do anything just to keep him happy!

Best of luck with your move.

Roberto-I never knew you were such a softy!  Anyway, at some stage I shall have to transport my two pusscats to Spain so I shall be interested in everyone's ideas and experiences.  I could never contemplate putting them in cargo (have all airlines stopped carrying pets in the cabin?) so it will have to be overland.  One of my cats - the male moggy (of course) sadly becomes quietly terrified as soon as he enters the cat cage and he loses bladder control.  Not nice for him or his sister who shares the cage.  They do seem to be happier travelling in the same cage, so the latest idea, which worked quite well was - wait for it - a small rabbit hutch on the back seat!  The hutch, being bigger than a standard cat box or cage, can be split in two, so one half  holds a litter tray and the other half their blanket.  They can also have their biscuits in the hutch, and a friend has suggested training them to suck water from one of those water carrier thingys that you can fix to the front grill!  Nothing will be ideal, but I never drive with a cat loose in the car. They may be spooked by something and distract me, and I would be worried that they might somehow accidentally escape - how do you open a car door with a cat loose?  I also have to have the ordinary cat cgae with me as I won't leave them alone in the car, so if I'm travelling on my own and need to stop at motorway services, they come in with me!

Look forward to more ideas!

Cheers,

Dixie

I remember once when travelling by road in the States, stopping at some tourist attraction (think it was Badlands National Park?) and seeing a family in a huge RV (campervan) stopping and getting out with their Siamese on a lead, and taking it for a walk and "comfort" stop! Now that moggie had style!! I think that's the way to go. You could even write a book about it afterwards - after all, John Steinbeck had a big hit with "Travels With Charlie", all about his road trip around the US in a campervan with his dog.

why not try contacting Monarch Airlines cargo on 01753 686852, its gonna be a lot cheaper than £ 1800 more like £ 500. Best of luck Bigredkev

Dixie,

as far as I know animals cannot be transported in the aircraft cabin from the Uk,  whether it is different throughout other countries in Europe I'm not sure.  All animals now have to travel as cargo in special pens. 

It is also illegal to carry any animal loose in your car and very dangerous.  You are right, what happens if they become spooked and get under your acceleralor?? Worse still, go barmy and attack you!

I have booked my 4 cats to be transported  by a company called Easypet - check out their website - based in Maidstone. They are transported overland through the tunnel, France with one overnight stop there.  Delivered to you the next day.  Cost is £229 per cat which is cheaper than the £500 hundred for air cargo.  I am moving to CB, leave on the 24th June.  Once i get settled I'll report on the experiences.

The removal company I am using is Premier Movers - anyone had any experiences with them.

Cheers

Anders

4 cats @ GBP 229 each works out to GBP 916. How can that be cheaper than GBP 500 aircargo for all 4 ?

Hi, the price to transport all 4 cats by Easypet overland has worked out at GBP842 as opposed to GBP500 for 1 cat air cargo = 4 cats GBP2000 

 

 

I think you have misunderstood me, on Monarch airlines the cost is approx GBP 500.00 to transport all 4 cats, thats not £500 per cat, but £500 for all 4 of them together

OK, I did misunderstand.  I did not know about Monarch airline price and already booked after  I enquired through Airpets (pet transporters) who use British Airways from Heathrow.  The price they were quoting included all cages etc, cats had to be delivered to Cargo and collected at the other end.  We are driving down so it was convenient to have the cats collected, driven and delivered to our door at the other end - I guess that is what I have paid the extra for.

Oh well, it's too late now but I will remember if anyone else needs to know.  Thanks

HI

I have a numner to ring but thought i would ask here first.

Cats are all ready to go with passports. Rabies vaccination is valid untill 2009. However someone told me that Spain may require this vaccination to be updated every year in which case they would need to be re-done. does anyone know if this is correct or if the passport says valid untill 2009 then it should be valid whatever country they go to.

Anyone know?

Tina

Hi there,

You wont have a problem going into Spain nor returning back to the UK as long as DEFRA have confirmed that it is an approved treatment. However if you are going to travel to another destination in Europe please check with their state vetinary services prior to leaving.

My vet here in Spain told me that in order for the passport to remain valid for travel, the rabies vaccination must be boosted annually - and not a day late, otherwise you have to start the whole process over again.

HI guys

Thanks for that!!

Roberto what you said was what i was told........its difficult to make sense of that as the passport states valid untill 2009. For the sake of £20 i think i will go and get them done again as i dont need any hassle with this!!

Thanks

Good idea!

I have recently moved to Spain and used Airpets at Heathrow to transport my 3 cats.  Was very worried about the whole experience, they cry like mad all the way to the vets., and my little girl Bengal is quite nervous!!!

I dropped them off at Airpets for an ovenight stay, they were checked by the vet for there certificate of fitness to fly and came out on the 8am flight from Heathrow.

I collected them at 1pm at cargo Malaga, they all looked a bit scared in their wooden cargo boxes which were very well ventilated with a water tray attched, but the boxes were very spacious, they were pleased to see me.  They cried all the way back to Marbella but as soon as we got home I let them out and you would think nothing had happened they had some food and a wander around and curled up for a snooze........6 weeks on they have not been affected by it at all....I think they are all far more resilient than we think!

 

Dont get me wrong i love our cats but my goodness they are costing us a fortune in catteries, vaccinations... this and that. They better be blimmin resiliant because they dont like it after costing us all this dosh i might give them a stick, a hanky and a small rowboat and say adios the UK is that way!! (i wouldnt really... would i??)

we are getting our doggies prepared for their holidays next year .... but after all this talk of cost i think we've got a cheaper way to travel ....

failing that ... they will have to hitchhike!

Hi Tina

I didn't realise you had cats you were taking to Spain. Can you PM or email me with details of who you're using please, cost etc ? I'm collating details ready for ours going. 

Hi

We have 2 cats which we will be taking to Spain and have looked at the options.  We think were going to go with drving as you get to see all the lovely scenery and by going over on the Eurotunnel we can take out cats in the car and its free !  It only costs to come back with cats / dogs from Spain.

My cousin moved to Spain 4 years ago and now wishes she did this as she did the trip on the ferry and the animals were a little sick, as was she

Hi Redjoemw

We drive down each time now and take our cat with us. We use speedferries as its the shortest/cheapest route and have had no problem at all with the cat. We have to make sure that her passport and injections etc are up to date all the time to alleviate any problems with defra rules.

We have also used the tunnel, and although easier, it proved to be more expensive. I dont know where you have got your information from about free travel with the cats. Not heard of that but we have paid for ours both ways as there is a box to tick on the later booking pages, specially on the tunnel web site. That is what puts up the cost. They are a rip off on that score.There is certainly more fuss bringing the cat back to the UK than there is going out, but the price is the same.

If you fancied a long leisurely drive you could take them over on the Eurotunnel.  This is what we are going to do down to Almeria and there is no charge from Folkestone to Calais only on a return journey.

I checked this with Eurotunnel and they confirmed this is correct

Working our the cost of our trip it came to £85.00 on the train and only takes 45 mins !