emj1986 Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Hi everyone, Im lucky enough to be heading out to the Gold Coast at the beginning of next year after my partner had a fantastic job offer out there. We have 2 cats and a 5 month old choccie lab to take with us. I have been looking into shipping companies but there are so many and all seem to differ wildely in price - from a reasonable £3k to a rather painful £5k (obviously not including quarantine, vaccinations & testing etc - I am beginning to question how much I really love them!). Ive already started the process in that they are all microchipped and had their rabies vacs at the weekend - booked in for their RNAT tests on 7th Sept. Im more organised with our pets than anything else - still have to sell our house! When all is said and done, its not going to be cheap whichever way you look at it, and I would rather go with a company that I can trust to look after my babies rather than go for the cheapest option. So far I have had quotes from AirPets (who seem to be advertised quite heavily on here and to be honest, seem to offer a pretty comprehensive package), animal travel, airsupply shipping agents, starwood animal transport services, JCS Livestock & pet relocation. Has anybody here used any of these companies? Or are there any others that I havent mentioned that you would recommend? Thank you! Emma Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calNgary Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Bob at Pet Air has transported LOADS of our members pets to Australia, His company is highly recommended by many members so id give him a call or drop him an e-mail to get all the prices and information you will need. Lots of luck with everything,don't forget you will need to register them with the GC council when you arrive but if they are de sexed its not much. Cal x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emj1986 Posted August 7, 2013 Author Share Posted August 7, 2013 Thanks Cal - to be honest Pet Air did seem the most professional (which you would expect as also the most expensive!). Thanks for the heads up about the council registration too - knew we would have to register the dog but had no idea you had to register the cats too. Had a quick check of the prices as our pup is still entire but its still not a huge amount. Depending on when exactly we move ill probably get her spayed before we go anyway. Will be nice to live in a responsible country! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candygirl Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 We are using PetAir and cannot sing their praises enough. We are paying for their Gold Service, which means they do literally everything and even collect our dogs on the day of departure from my Mum's house. They do offer different levels of service, which may bring the cost down for you as you have more than one pet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calNgary Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Thanks Cal - to be honest Pet Air did seem the most professional (which you would expect as also the most expensive!). Thanks for the heads up about the council registration too - knew we would have to register the dog but had no idea you had to register the cats too. Had a quick check of the prices as our pup is still entire but its still not a huge amount. Depending on when exactly we move ill probably get her spayed before we go anyway. Will be nice to live in a responsible country! This link will help you with the ins and out's of Registration.. http://www.goldcoast.qld.gov.au/community/dogs-cats-3456.html Cal x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emj1986 Posted August 7, 2013 Author Share Posted August 7, 2013 We are using PetAir and cannot sing their praises enough. We are paying for their Gold Service, which means they do literally everything and even collect our dogs on the day of departure from my Mum's house. They do offer different levels of service, which may bring the cost down for you as you have more than one pet. They explained their different levels to me when we had the quote, and the Gold Service seemed the most appealing - there is so much more involved with the process than just flights and I would rather they handled it all rather than me miss something and set us back. At what stage did you appoint them? We are minimum 6 months from moving at the moment and the only thing I have done so far is get them chipped and rabies vaccinated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emj1986 Posted August 7, 2013 Author Share Posted August 7, 2013 On another note - Im new here and have been having a look at some of the forum posts around shipping pets and happened upon some comments about Aussie's not being particularly cat friendly? I decided to read up on the laws (relating to the Gold Coast), and found that cats must be kept contained within your property and any cats found wandering can be impounded and you get an on the spot $75 fine. This is making me seriously consider whether it would be fairer to them to rehome them rather than take them. They are both nearly 7 and have always been outdoor cats - anyone that has cats will know there is no way on earth you can make a cat stay in its own garden so the only option would be to keep them locked inside. Plus my cats have always enjoyed catching mice and birds. Is there anyone on the Gold Coast or QLD in general that can verify if it is really that strict out there? If it turns out that after putting the poor things through the stress of the flight plus quarantine, they then have to be house cats for the rest of their lives, as much as it would break my heart it will be so much fairer to them to let them stay in the UK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CollegeGirl Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 That's the idea -- to force cats to be homed indoors so they stop destroying indigenous bird populations. And frankly, not to start a debate, but it's better for them anyway. Indoor cats lead longer, healthier lives, and can still get plenty of exercise and fun if you play with them. For some reason people think cats can never be happy indoors - they absolutely can, even if they have previously lived outdoors. They just need to get used to it. Just my two cents. I know everyone won't agree with me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emj1986 Posted August 8, 2013 Author Share Posted August 8, 2013 That's the idea -- to force cats to be homed indoors so they stop destroying indigenous bird populations. And frankly, not to start a debate, but it's better for them anyway. Indoor cats lead longer, healthier lives, and can still get plenty of exercise and fun if you play with them. For some reason people think cats can never be happy indoors - they absolutely can, even if they have previously lived outdoors. They just need to get used to it. Just my two cents. I know everyone won't agree with me. We are all entitled to an opinion - although I have to say all my cats/family's cats have had access to the outdoors and have lived from 14 to a grand old 22. No dingo's, paralysis ticks or snakes in the UK though! Does anyone else have any thoughts? Surely they are allowed to roam around the garden though etc as long as they have a collar and tag? Just want to be sure that they will be just as happy in Oz as they are here, especially after putting them through the flights and quarantine etc. I wouldnt be as happy without them, but cant bring them out just for my own selfish reasons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candygirl Posted August 9, 2013 Share Posted August 9, 2013 They explained their different levels to me when we had the quote, and the Gold Service seemed the most appealing - there is so much more involved with the process than just flights and I would rather they handled it all rather than me miss something and set us back. At what stage did you appoint them? We are minimum 6 months from moving at the moment and the only thing I have done so far is get them chipped and rabies vaccinated. Our case is slightly different in that we live in Spain so our two have been vaccinated against rabies since they were puppies as I always wanted to have the option to travel to the UK at short notice. Also our Spanish vet has not prepared an animal for travel to Oz before and so our vet and us have/are working closely with PetAir. I have been in discussions with Bob for months, but finally instructed them to apply for the import permit mid June and the dogs are travelling on 17/10. My advice would be to spend the time you have now speaking to the shippers and deciding on who you wish to use and who makes you feel comfortable. I chose PetAir because of their good reputation, but also when speaking to Bob he really gave me the impression that he cared about what was happening to the dogs and understood how I was feeling as a owner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tulip Posted August 9, 2013 Share Posted August 9, 2013 Hello. I'm in the Gold Coast, and I used PetAir to ship my bitch out. They were incredible, comforting, professional, informative, everything I could have asked for. They cost about the same, maybe a bit more, than others but the professionalism was well worth it. I felt so safe using them for my girl. It was expensive, about 3k all up including quarantine etc. but so worth it. She loves it here, really really loves it! She lays on the deck in the morning, eats better food, and we walk every day without fail, mostly at the beach or a great off leash park nearby. My family out here have a cat, he's an outdoor/indoor cat. The biggest problem for him is that the birds swoop him, other than that, he's a pretty laid back guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emj1986 Posted August 12, 2013 Author Share Posted August 12, 2013 Hello. I'm in the Gold Coast, and I used PetAir to ship my bitch out. They were incredible, comforting, professional, informative, everything I could have asked for. They cost about the same, maybe a bit more, than others but the professionalism was well worth it. I felt so safe using them for my girl. It was expensive, about 3k all up including quarantine etc. but so worth it. She loves it here, really really loves it! She lays on the deck in the morning, eats better food, and we walk every day without fail, mostly at the beach or a great off leash park nearby. My family out here have a cat, he's an outdoor/indoor cat. The biggest problem for him is that the birds swoop him, other than that, he's a pretty laid back guy. Thanks Tulip, thats reassuring to know! They all have their RNAT tests booked in for the beginning of next month - once i have the results back from there I think ill get back in touch with PetAir. Its nice to hear so many people singing their praises as it makes my decision a lot easier! Im sure they will all love it out there - might take our pup a little while to adjust to the heat but know the cats will love all the sunbathing opportunities! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.