Aunt Agatha Posted October 25, 2014 Share Posted October 25, 2014 Has anybody had any experience with shipping pets with health issues? One of our cats has kidney failure and a heart murmur and I'm really worried about transporting her to the UK. She's a VERY timid cat and I was already concerned about the impact of the flight, the heart murmur adds a new worry! The vet implied she may not be around by the time we make the move, although also said that cats with kidney problems can live up to three years after diagnosis. We always planned to take the cats with us as they are part of the family but now I'm in a real quandary about what to do so any advice would be appreciated, thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
srh82 Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 Depends on your personal circumstances. Is there a pressing need for you to repatriate now or could you wait and see how your cat goes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aunt Agatha Posted October 26, 2014 Author Share Posted October 26, 2014 We need to go at some point between now and early Feb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
srh82 Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 Do you have a neighbour or friend who can take the cat on if you go? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aunt Agatha Posted October 26, 2014 Author Share Posted October 26, 2014 It's a long story but she's pretty much unrehomable unless it's with some sort of cat whisperer. I REALLY want to take her but can't find much information of the impact of stress on her health conditions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 It's a long story but she's pretty much unrehomable unless it's with some sort of cat whisperer. I REALLY want to take her but can't find much information of the impact of stress on her health conditions. Talk to your vet and perhaps also a second opinion to help clarify things for you. A vet will say health wise if an animal is ok or not, its up to you to then decide if stress wise they could cope. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
srh82 Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 I think a second opinion from a vet on 1) the condition of your cat 2) whether she is fit to fly would both be good things. We attempted to bring two cats (aged 6, brother and sister) over from the UK in 2012: 1 made it and sadly one passed away in the box going through the x-ray machine at Heathrow. The one who made it was traumatised when he got here and we nearly lost him in quarantine as he stopped eating! For the following year, we had endless trips to the vets as he kept on suffering with stress-related illness. Now he is fine and relatively happy with his new much younger female companion. Both my partner and I have decided that we will not fly him again and so we stay here longer than what we had originally planned (we like it here as well but probably not forever). Apparently cats passing away in transit is extremely unusual - just telling our story! If your cat is deemed fit to fly by the time you go, you can get Feliway spray and make sure her box is sprayed out. I'm sure you have heard of Feliway but it seems to calm our cats down and that's what it's supposed to do. Anyway, not easy I don't envy your choice. Good luck X Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobPetairUK Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 We take the view that the pets welfare is best served by working to keep them with their families. Yes your cat is a greater risk than a young healthy cat, but still the risk is small. What options do you have - none really. Either euthanasia if your cat cant be rehomed or take that chance and fly her. However you need a vet to sign her papers off, and many vets are really worried about doing this. We get that problem for pets flying out of UK. The cut off point that we have is "is the pet on medication?" if it is then we are very reluctant to fly them, if they are not then we will fly them but ask the owners to sign an extra disclaimer. Not sure if that helps or not, but this is something we deal with on a regular basis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lu1u Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 Is the cat on meds for her heart? Many animals have heart murmurs that don't cause a clinical problem. With regards to the kidney problem, that's not going to cause her to pass away in transit, though ideally 12-24 hours on a drip prior to going would help reduce problems with dehydration. Your vet might be happy to show you how to inject fluids under the skin to get the cat well hydrated without a stay in the vets Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aunt Agatha Posted October 28, 2014 Author Share Posted October 28, 2014 Thanks everyone. I will get a second opinion from a different vet as our current one is a bit vague. I understand he can't state with complete certainty but I would like an experienced vet to say "I would/wouldn't transport her if it was my cat". She isn't on medication for either her heart murmur or he kidney problems so hopefully that will help her in being allowed to fly as Bob mentioned. Lu1u there is no way I could give her an injection - I very occasionally get to stroke her of she is snuggled up next to one of our other cats but otherwise she can't be handled. The vet is different as she is so scared she just sits there poor thing. A drip prior to travel is a good suggestion, thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lu1u Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 Check out the international cat care website for more information on kidney cats x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aunt Agatha Posted October 29, 2014 Author Share Posted October 29, 2014 Thank you, just on there now :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobPetairUK Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 Hey Aunt Agatha whats the news, how are you getting on with your cats moves? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aunt Agatha Posted November 20, 2014 Author Share Posted November 20, 2014 I got a second opinion on our poorly cat and the vet was much more positive about her life expectancy etc. If she (the cat) carries on doing well there will be no problem about her flying. She will be upset and stressed by it but they don't think it poses a threat to her health. I've had several quotes for pet transport and will be making the booking next week - right after I transfer $5,000 from our savings! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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