PETS Travel Scheme

Well, kind of grasping at straws here. Anyone in the UK travel with their cat(s) under the PETS travel scheme? Certain EU and non-EU countries allow for pet travel without quarantine.

My mother bought last minute tickets for us to visit her for an entire month in Canada. My husband and I are devastated, we don't want to leave Minoush behind. :sad1: I worry about leaving him with a friend because I know they would probably have a window or back door open and the cat could get out. I feel super guilty thinking about putting him in a cattery :sad1: We love him so much we can't bear the thought of leaving him for a month. My husband was going to ask a friend to stay at our home for the month but I have no clue if that will work out.

We would be flying there and back a month later, but it's so confusing regarding this PETS travel -I get the impression the pet can't re-enter the UK less than six months after the blood test? Ugh, I'm rambling now. I'm tempted to stay behind really and let my husband and kids go. I'll get to relax for a change. :LOL:

Whereabouts are you? He can come and stay at my house! We have a fully enclosed garden, and our lads wouldn't mind a visitor. He's totally gorgeous!! xxx

Seriously though, the best option might be for a friend to stay at your house for the month, if that can be arranged. That way Minoush doesn't have to leave his home.

Haha, Howlin your garden sounds lovely, but I imagine Minoush will then not want to come back! He does have the sweetest personality, any other cat would've ripped my girls' faces off by now, so I have no doubt he'd get along with any other cats. I had to reassure my mother as she has a toy poodle, that the cat wasn't going to claw out its eyes LOL. I've just checked the Canadian requirements and it seems there doesn't need to be a blood test to confirm after vaccination or a waiting time. I've contacted the airlines as well to cross-check as it looks like they allow for small pets to travel in the cabin. I have to cross-check for return to the UK though as well. Ugh, what a headache!

I really don't know if it's worth doing all of this-my husband and I are such babies. LOL I'm not sure if our friend will be able to stay the entire month as his job is a bit far. Fingers crossed. I got a quote from a cattery just in case, and it's almost the price of a plane ticket for a month. LOL

Ahh, nevermind, just found out that even though I could take him to Canada without restrictions, I would still need the blood test confirmation to re-enter him to the UK and there is a six month waiting period after the blood test. Ah well, gotta look at other options then.

Yep you are right about the six months wait,sorry didn't pick up on thread yesterday or could have laid that one to rest for you straight away.
If you have a good cattery near by then I would make use of it,I think it is always us who have the guilt trip not the animals,if they are in there a day or a month time means nothing to them so can be sure that they are not crossing off the dates on the calender until you come home.
You can always take favourite bed & toys with you to leave so there is still a smell of home & that way there is also no chance of a door or window being accidently left open by any one anywhere.
For the first time ever, in a couple of weeks my mum & dad were going to have a couple of mine to stay at theirs,originally it was going to be Pansy & Bruce because they would not go anywhere if a door was left open but with Bruce now having his problem he will be going to the cattery as usual because I know that the lady there will pick up on him as quick as I would have done if he doesn't seem right.Thats trust in her !
I still think having a good reliable cattery to fall back on is a necessity {have been threads on here as you might guess} you never know when an emergency could crop up & you do need to use one & it takes one worry away if you know your little darlings have been to one before & know what it is all about.They don't always have to be the most ultra modern ones either,you want someone who will love your cat just like you,we are lucky with our lady & her husband ,they get spoilt rotten.
Good luck hope you can sort your babe out so you can enjoy your stay....x

My boys are the same age and I would offer to look after him, but...

Good luck with finding a solution. I hear many conflicting stories about experiences ar catteries. If you do go down that route I suggest making sure you have a good and reliable freind or relative, who otherwise cannot look after him, visit regularly *and* have the authority to remove him from the cattery if there are any issues during his stay - either his tolerance or the cattery conditions and treatment.

Thanks for your feedback everyone. I've seen photos of a cattery not too far here in London, and they allow visits without appointments which shows they are confident in their standards. But, to be honest, I think a month in a pen, even a large pen, seems a bit much, considering he's got access to every room in our house (well, except the kitchen! lol) . I'm really not happy with the idea :( I'm hoping our friend will be able to stay for the month. Fingers crossed!

This might not be an attractive suggestion either but thought I'd mention it just in case you'd not thought of it already... you can hire pet sitters. They can either come and 'live' at your house or you can arrange for them to visit as often as you choose. They feed and water them, (apparently they'll fuss them and play with them if you pay extra - how anyone could NOT fuss and play with a cat - paid or otherwise - is a mystery to me, but there you go).

I've not used them so can't speak with any experience. But it might be a preferred alternative to a cattery if your friend can't stay. Depends on how you feel about someone having keys to your house though.

This is not a recommendation - we've considered using a sitter but I'm blessed with awesome neighbours and a cat-loving sister so we've never had to use sitter or cattery; but it's just another idea to mull over.

Thanks for the suggestion, I really appreciate it. I wouldn't even know where to look for a pet sitter? Our friend told us he would be happy to come every day to feed him but he's allergic-so really can't stay and I doubt he'll interact much with him. I've been talking with the breeder who offered to cat-sit if I gave her dates. I've asked her for a price for her troubles, and offered to bring all his food and litter. In a way it would be nice for him to be looked after in his original home with a few other cats. I'd prefer that he is with someone who won't accidentally leave a door open to a unsecured garden, which is what I'm worried about with our OTHER friend, who happens to be an elderly lady.

Fingers crossed.

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Originally Posted by BlooBerry

Thanks for the suggestion, I really appreciate it. I wouldn't even know where to look for a pet sitter? Our friend told us he would be happy to come every day to feed him but he's allergic-so really can't stay and I doubt he'll interact much with him. I've been talking with the breeder who offered to cat-sit if I gave her dates. I've asked her for a price for her troubles, and offered to bring all his food and litter. In a way it would be nice for him to be looked after in his original home with a few other cats. I'd prefer that he is with someone who won't accidentally leave a door open to a unsecured garden, which is what I'm worried about with our OTHER friend, who happens to be an elderly lady.

Fingers crossed.

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That sounds like a good option. If a sitter's something you want to look into, maybe ask at your vets? That's how I found out such a service existed. Fingers crossed the breeder can help though - good luck!