suesmalls Posted September 7, 2016 Share Posted September 7, 2016 Hi There I would like some feedback and advice for taking 2 fur babies (cats) from Perth to UK, female who will be 12.5yrs and male who will be 9.5yrs. They don't like going in car to vet - they don't freak but they're nervous. We are not leaving our fur family behind as they are my only children and mean the absolute world to me. Not sure if it's me starting to really stress as we're progressing with this move. Can I please get input and recommendations for a carrier and why, general costs (as I'm reading vast differences in price) and which airlines / route is the preferable. Do they get access to food, water and kitty litter whilst in the air? What about at stop overs? Would like personal / public advice before I get involved with actual service providers so I hear from those who have used these services before. Thank you :rolleyes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 7, 2016 Share Posted September 7, 2016 TBH I'd talk to some pet shippers, have them explain the process in full, get some quotes as you will only know the price you'll be paying from them, and then come back and see who people used etc You generally use a pet shipper and there are certain routes/airlines used. I think there can be a stop over on say the Dubai route but you need to weigh up if this is better or not for your animals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VERYSTORMY Posted September 7, 2016 Share Posted September 7, 2016 We shipped our little fellla from Perth earlier this year. He is a dog, but smaller than a cat and a nervous little thing. I did lots of research on here and opted for Dogtainers they also do cats. They were wonderful. He had to be dropped off at 10am for a 10pm flight and we were worried he would just be kept in a box, but was no need to worry as the staff sent us pictures during the day of him sleeping on people's laps and going for walks and things and generally been very spoilt. They went through with us the options for different airlines and the pros and cons of each. We opted for Emirates as we felt it was better for him. He wasn't allowed food from several hours before the flight and nothing on the flight. He would then stop in Dubai for 4-5 hours where he could have a lite meal, be checked by a vet and stretch his legs in an air conditioned private run before the second leg, though because he has a special diet and medication we had to arrange for him not to be given food. He he arrived at Heathrow and had about 5 hours at the animal centre (ARC) while his papers were checked and he was checked by a vet - we didn't get the same flight and timed out flight to arrive a few ours after him so we could just go an pick him up. He was none the worse for wear and the people at Heathrow were wonderful. Just before he was due out, they came asked for his lead, but when he came out, they were carrying him and the man said he wanted to carry him as he wanted a last cuddle. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suesmalls Posted September 8, 2016 Author Share Posted September 8, 2016 Thank you VERYSTORMY, for some reason I've only just see this response. I'll also look up this company - I thought breaking the trip up through Dubai may be preferable. Out of interest - could you have taken the same flight if needed? I read another response and they said they didn't have to wait at all when at Heathrow - I guess just different flights / options etc. I noticed you left Perth - and some other posts I read you're originally from England? Hope I've read right now. Assume you're happy back in England etc and are you finding work ok etc? I guess if you're originally from there it isn't too hard getting back into it (I hope it isn't for you anyway). Perth has lovely weather so will be hard for me settling in but I'm fairly sure I can do it. Thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VERYSTORMY Posted September 8, 2016 Share Posted September 8, 2016 Won the dates we wanted we had the choice of two airlines, one with a break of 4-5 hours in Dubai and the other with only a very quick change of flight. We thought he would appreciate the chance to stretch his legs and would do the same again. We we could have taken the same flight, but that would have meant us going Emirates who were a lot more expensive for us. By flying Qatar we saved a fair few hundred. Also, it meant we could time things better. Dotainers were able to provide us with the times our boy would clear Heathrow ARC and as we have family in west London, we decided to time it so that my wife would land about 3:30pm, pick her up, go to her brothers in West London for a meal and catch up, as I travelled a week earlier, then me and her would go to Heathrow and pick up the little fella. When end you get the documents from the ARC they do state you need to allow about 4 hours after arrival before they can be collected. We actually waited about 6 because there were people in front who had major paperwork issues. You can call them on the day to check estimated release time. We we are loving being back and after 6 months Oz already feels like a distant dream. We have had an amazing summer. The weather has been somewhere between fantastic and too hot! I am writing this at 11:15 am and sat in nothing but a pair of shorts and drinking ice water to try and keep cool. We prefer the weather here as it can just be too hot in Perth. We are very outdoor people and find it far easier to be outdoors here. I was watching a news article about the open air theatre in Regent's Park yesterday. The season is about to end after 140 nights of theatre. They only had weather issues on 13 nights. Perth would even not get much better. Yes, Autumn is starting and leaves are starting to fall and from next week the temperature will be starting to cool. But, that brings in its own beauty. Then, looking forward to a Christmas that feels like Christmas. Hopefully even a bit of snow. On on the job side, it seems excellent. When we made the decision to start looking at moving back, I hadn't managed to get an interview in Perth for nearly 2 years for a permanent job. Within a week of starting to look here I had 3 and an offer. Recently we decided that the South East isn't for us - too expensive and too busy. So, I started looking further north and have been inundated. I have just accepted a role in Scotland and all manic now as I agreed (stupidly) to start work a week on Monday. So, my wife is off today up there looking at houses with a view to us moving next week. (One of the good things here is that you can get one end of the country to the other easily. Ryan Air do it for £13!!!) So, overall, we have loved being home. One word again with fury babies. Ours did suffer jet lag. It was very odd and we didn't realise they did but apparently they do. He was fine, but for a few days his body clock was out of sink and he was pretty tired, but within a week he was normal and within a month had fully acclimatised which surprised us as we had a frosty Spring - he had never even seen frost before. It is wonderful knowing he can play in the countryside without the threats such as fox bait and snakes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 8, 2016 Share Posted September 8, 2016 We used http://www.sherae.com.au for our cat, they are a small company in Perth and you get a very personal service. They provided a crate bigger than the required minimum and bigger than the national companies provide as the same overall cost. What I liked was the fact that if she needed a couple of nights in a cattery before the flight that was also with them - it seems a lot of the big companies use other catteries and you don't know where they are going to be. We weren't quite sure of our final few days arrangements when we booked but in the end she was just collected the day before her flight (some companies charge extra for collection but they don't) You can fly on the same flight but you will then have to spend several hours at the airport waiting for clearance - also it restricts your choices and could easily put up your flight costs. We planned it so we arrived at Heathrow the evening before and stayed in a Premier Inn there - she arrive 5am the next morning, we were advised to call after 10am and when we did they said she was ready to collect. Unfortunately her papers were lost and we ended up spending 9 hours in the Animal reception centre This was nothing to do with Sherae and the airline were blamed, bizarrely many months later we got a call from a family about to return to Australia and they had been given our cats papers with their own for their dog - the fault had been with Heathrow Animal Reception Centre all along!! It was an extremely trying day but Marilyn was just fine - she was fed and watered, we weren't!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fosseboy Posted April 9, 2017 Share Posted April 9, 2017 We could not have left our cats behind! They are family. They settled in very well.......make your plans early for vaccinations and blood tests as you need 6 clear months so they spend the minimum time in quarantine in Oz. Our remover quietly recommended Golden Arrow.....(not who her firm recommended). We talked to one or 2 of the bigger companies and were not impressed with the way they talked to us....they seemed to be too busy. Golden Arrow is a small outfit and they did a superb job and treated our cats as if they were their own. Their fees were well worth it. On the day, we had 2 feet of snow and Golden Arrow still managed to get through and it took away a lot of anguish as Heathrow was closed for a few hours and we wondered if our flight would get away, let alone theirs. Oscar and Tiggy arrived safely and have settled in well....they like the weather in WA. We built a cat run at our first house but now they are indoor cats. They don't like Aussie cat treats (too hard) so I import Dreamies every 2 months from the UK! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottieGirl Posted April 13, 2017 Share Posted April 13, 2017 (edited) My fur babies arrived yesterday, two dogs one of whom is 12 years old with arthritis. The flight was delayed 6 hours they would have been in their crates at least 24 hrs maybe 30 then they spent 6 hours at the ARC before clearing customs. I was very stressed by the delay but they were fine. The 12 year old is bouncing about like a teenager. She LOVES the cold weather, me not so much ☺ I used Jetpets and it cost $2200 per dog from Sydney. Cost is based on crate size so a cat may be a bit cheaper. There is a new customs process introduced April 1st which is causing chaos. The paperwork required has changed and a number of owners had to deal with amendments at the ARC which meant extra processing time and charges as their importers had user the old paperwork. It's a very small reception area so I got to see and here it all. Jetpets were on top of the changes and my dogs paperwork was perfect, they were the first one's cleared by customs. I am happy to recommend them. One poor lady was on the delayed flight and was still waiting when I left. I definitely recommend not going on the same flight as current processing times are now 6 to 8 hours for pets coming in from outside the EU. If there are any issues it's much easier to deal with them after a nights sleep. Right time for walkies! Edited April 13, 2017 by ScottieGirl 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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