Best way to travel France to Wales with cat

[Loire]

Afternoon all

I'm returning to live in Wales from La Mayenne around 22 June. I'm stressing hugely about how best to make the journey with my beloved cat, as it's so long for her. I've even considered a private flight, as per PETS rules and companies, eg to Gloucester, but think  I can't afford the quotes I've been given, even though it's a one off and she's so precious to me so I would fork out within limits.

I'd be very grateful for any advice/suggestionst/experiences of best way, plus the scanning process. All travel methods seem to be cruel, and/or have risk of her escaping or being devoured by dogs at scanning places. We can use a car. Would a plane journey be likely to stress the cat even more and be very loud? Would only be about an hr and she would be in her carrier in the plane with me, but I think cost means that idea is pie in the sky, no pun intended!

The vet has said that I have to take the cat to her  2 to 5 days before travel and the cat has to be wormed. She already has her passport and all jabs incl rabies. Am I right in thinking that the worming was only for dogs not cats and that it doesn't even apply to dogs anymore? Is there another reason why the cat has to visit the vet within that timescale,eg to certify health up to travelling?

Kind regards

Loire

[EuroTrash]

Is she used to travelling in cars? Does she get very distressed or does she cope reasonbly well? Are you travelling alone or will you have a passenger who can talk to her and comfort her?

I was thinking that if she is fairly OK with being in a car, the Dover-Calais crossing might be relatively stressfree. Maybe you would be allowed to visit her on the car deck or take her carrier upstairs with you, I don't know, but worst case scenario she would be in a car that smelt of you so she wouldn't think you'd abandoned her and were never coming back.

[Kong]

We went via car through tunnel. The only time cat was completely relaxed was travelling through the tunnel! No passport needed as it was a one-way trip. Cat was heavily sedated and hated the trip but took to his new home immediately. That was six years ago and he is still flourishing. It helped that there were two of us as it was white knuckles for the driver over the twelve hour trip.

[EuroTrash]

Yes of course the tunnel would be better for a cat than the ferry, the cat won't worry about immigrants will she!

[Loire]

Thank you very much Eurotrash and Kong. 

She doesn't travel well, even to the vet about 14 kms away and lies with her mouth open at the grill of her carrier looking very sad and cowed indeed. I look even sadder! I can't drive anymore so a family member will be collecting us in her car, so smells probably won't be of me! Very good point though, if on a ferry, where she would have to stay in the car alone but they say I could visit her, I could take something strongly smelling of me for the whole journey. I think I'd need sedation more than the cat! A uk vet suggested Roscoff to Plymouth, as my family member lives near Plymouth and we could stop off there overnight. Seems for Wales whichever way you go it's an incredible journey.

Think I, tho I'm a woman, I need to man up!

Loire

[idun]

I looked at all options when we were travelling with our cat as it is about 1000 mile journey.

I looked at flights and it was a nonsense. So then I discussed it with our vet in France and this is what he suggested and we did.

He said that the cat would need somewhere to sit and somewhere for a lit. So we had this rather long wooden box and my husband put a divider in it with a hole in it,near the top so he could hop into the back part where there was a little cat lit from his cushioned large sitting area with a grill on the front. I even put a hamster water dripper on the grill so that if he got thirsty whilst we were travelling he could lick it......he often licks from a dripping tap.

When we stopped we tried to feed him and give him water, but he wanted none of it.

We crossed to Hull from Zeebrugge and they let him stay in his 'kennel' in the car and they let us check on him.

We did give him a very very mild sedative and he cried as we set off for while and then the next day he made a couple of noises and then was quiet.

He was fine.

However, the only thing that we did which may or may not have been silly, was that in our alpine village the water is good and no chlorine, whereas it is chlorinated here in the UK. So I took about three litres of our french village tap water and gradually added UK tap water to his water so that he didn't get the taste shock we did.

I wouldn't want to do it again. Much easier when we had our dog.

We tried to buy one of these travelling boxes, but in spite of our french vet thinking they did, I couldn't find one.

[EuroTrash]

Good luck, whatever you do. I used to regularly commute between London and Yorkshire with my cat when I went back to visit my mum, that was a minimum 6 hour drive and he absolutely hated it, used to mew pitifully and hyperventilate. But, once we arrived he was SO glad to be let out of his carrier, and he was all over me with kisses and purrs. Honestly it didn't take him long to get over the trauma, there were no lasting effects.

[Loire]

Thank you very much Eurotrash and Idun. It helps a lot to know that however she appears to suffer during a journey she will be likely to bound back after.

Kind regards

Loire

[mint]

I understand your worry completely.  We delayed our plans to move to France until both cats had died.  They were elderly (18 and 21) and died within a couple of years of each other.

Did bring our dog though and OH drove her through the tunnel to avoid her having to be left on her own on the ferry.  He didn't mind leaving ME on my own though to find my way here in my car!

Loire, I am sending you a PM so please do look.

[EuroTrash]

She will get over it and forgive you, I promise. Although if she is a particularly timid or frail or elderly cat I suppose it will be harder. Mine pretended to be a big tough bruiser of a tom - but when it comes down to it they're all softies at heart aren't they, and what's most important for them is to know that you love them. As long as they know that, they'll cope with a bit of temporary physical discomfort.

[mint]

Totally agree, ET.  They are intelligent and they do know how to milk your sympathy and they are SUCH survivors!

It never ceased to amaze me how ours always used to know what we were planning and they'd have prepared themselves well before we did whatever it was.

[suein56]

[quote user="Loire"]

The vet has said that I have to take the cat to her  2 to 5 days before travel and the cat has to be wormed. She already has her passport and all jabs incl rabies. Am I right in thinking that the worming was only for dogs not cats and that it doesn't even apply to dogs anymore?

[/quote]

No your vet is confusing cats and dogs (!) there is no need to worm a cat.

As long as her rabies jabs and her passport are up-to- date then you are both in ready-to-go mode.

Having rescued an elderly cat, who was thrown out into the street at the age of 14 by the inheritors of the estate when her lady owner died, we felt we had no option but to take her to the UK when we had to return for a winter visit. As I feared for her timidity and just-having-got-used-to-new-owners if we had put her into kennels or left her with friends we took her with us by ferry - Roscoff to Plymouth and Plymouth to St Malo.

All went swimmingly on both journeys though she went into timid mode - refusing anything but the odd mouthful to eat etc. We did provide her with an option of food and drink and a change of (sometimes wet) bedding every time I could. She was in a normal, but good-sized cat carrier and was perfectly happy.

She loved being in England; even relishing being walked along frozen, snowy streets in Sheffield on a collar and lead; our son lives there in a victorian terrace with a concrete yard, no garden at all.

Sue

[Loire]

Thank you all so much for your very helpful and reassuring replies. It is very kind of you.

It's great Suein56 to have the benefit of your experience of the Roscoff /Plymouth as that's the  journey my sister would best like us to do, so I think now my mind is finally made up and we shall go for that.  She will be pleased.

Eurotrash, I think it was, you are so accurate in your assessment of cats. She is a roughy toughy biter,  looks like an angel, but has looked after me like a mother as best she can when I have been ill and not taken her eyes off me. Let's hope she's a sailor.

I shall keep in touch and so appreciate all the kindness and excellent advice that you forum members have shown and given me over the years, with a special mention for Norman, who was so kind and gave me so much very useful information and support when I had my eye op.

A bientot!

Loire

[Kong]

Apologies. Just re-read original post and realize you are going from france to UK and of course you do need a pet passport going that way.

[andyh4]

Loire

as others have said your vet is mistaken. She does not need to be wormed, but she must have a chip and be then rabies injected at least 21 days but less than 365 days before travel.

I have travelled with many cats over greater distances than you are travelling - at one stage we hade 4 adults and 4 kittens at the same time on a 750km journey each way.

Some travelled well and some travelled badly - one would throw up and empty her bowels within 10km.

So my advice:

Get a large travelling cage. I suggest something like a cage used for transporting a medium to large sized dog.

Put in a litter tray - this is why you need a large cage since small boxes will not accommodate such a tray. Make sure she has constant access to water. You can add food as you feel is necessary, but water is a must. Make sure she has bedding that she has used already, it smell of her and will reassure. You could ask the vet for a sedative but my experience is that these are not as useful as you might hope.

[Rabbie]

This link gives the UK government rules for bringing pets into the UK.  

I have checked with my wife who is a vet and she confirms the advice already given.

Just remember that pets accept these things pretty well and they will be just be happy to be with the people they know and love.

Good luck

[YCCMB]

We moved house not long ago with 3 cats. One is completely bizarre, despite him being a sibling of one of the others. He thinks he is feral, hates any form of human contact and has left me looking like a self-harmer from trying to catch him. I worried about the whole experience (for him AND me) of moving him. As it was a house move, in addition to the drive, we had to get 3 cats into one room (bathroom) and cage them, then move and lock them in another bathroom till the removal men had brought everything indoors. Of course, we then also had to keep them in for several days.

Despite my worst fears, all went remarkably smoothly, no blood (mine) was spelled, and he settled in well, and quickly.

Sometimes, we overthink things. As long as you are prepared, as others have said, don't stress too much, just bite the bullet and m sure you and the cat will be fine!

[EuroTrash]

One of my cats (not the one I mentioned before) had a very panicky nature, and as soon as she sensed any pressure on her to do something, like go into in her travel box, she went into obstinate mode. I learned that it's next to impossible for one person to catch a cat once it gets under a double bed. You dash round the bed, and all the cat has to do is wait until you get to the corner where she is, then take a couple of pounces across to the opposite corner. I used to end up having to take the mattress and the slats off of the bed frame to get her. It's funny looking back but it's not when you've got a schedule to keep to. Lesson: do NOT let your cat into a bedroom with a bed it in, on the day you want to catch it.

[idun]

And sometimes cats just like their new home. Ours told all of us he did when we moved into this house.

Now for people without animals this may seem unlikely, but our animals do communicate with us, really they do.

[andyh4]

I agree Idun

Cats can communicate with humans if we are prepared to "listen".

Equally some seem to be able to understand some human phrases. My SIL was insistent that cats could not understand anything. The next day one of ours - who seems to be especially in tune - came in to be fed. Having devoured a sachet of food he made a fuss, and I said, "Are you still hungry?" (not impossible with his appetite) "or do you want to go back out?". At which point he rushed to the door. SIL had to admit she might just be wrong.

[Loire]

Well, your cat stories have really made me chuckle, and I am also greatly reassured. Just what I need!

Thank you all you very kind helpful forumees! What a lovely group of people you are.

Absolutely up to my eyes with packing, or should I say still sorting before packing can begin, so please excuse me if no more posts for a while.

What I am about to say will no doubt convince everyone that I am barking - maybe meouwing??? My cat has never said meouw, but makes all sorts of different noises. When the cat had to stay at the vet's overnight, she said she had never heard a cat "talk" so much. When I say "Dit bonjour" when someone arrives, makes 2 little squeaks. Many didn't believe it when I told them, then when they witnessed it jumped back a mile in amazement. As soon as I can intend putting proof on You Tube.

Cats are definitely capable of even more than we suspect.

The fast boat booked from Cherbourg to Portsmouth, my collectee's choice, and as you say, I have to bite the bullet and as my late mother would have said, just get on with it!

Thank you all very much

Kindest regards

Loire

[andyh4]

Good luck

I am sure it will go well

[Loire]

Thank you very much andyh4.

Thank you again all of you.

Probably the last you'll hear of me for a while cos have so much to do

to leave and so little time. At least the cat's sorted, in great part

thanks to you.

I wish you all the best and that whichever way the referendum goes, your lives in France will be happy and fulfilling.

Kindest regards

Loire

[suein56]

Loire said : ........ scanning process. ........ and/or have risk of her escaping or being devoured by dogs at scanning places.

This just won't happen; cats are not taken out of whatever carrier/basket they are in. They usually stay in situ in the car.

The scanner they use is powerful and can read the chip without being in contact with the cat so depending on which port you use the scanning person hands you the scanner and you do the actual scanning. The readout appears on the scanner screen and is transferred to their computer. Cat ticket approved !

Roscoff was more of a pain as we had to park the car and then carry Mme Minou into the scanning building. No queue and the actual scan procedure was painless.

Best of luck with the move and the journey.

Edit : Do allow plenty of time at the port as sometimes it seems as though nearly everyone has an animal or 3 and there can be queues at the scanning area.

Sue

[Loire]

O Suein56

That is just what I need and want to hear! She won't be gobbled up! Makes a huge difference to know, and helpful too about the time involved. Thank you so much.

Now if someone could just help me with all the infernal sorting/packing etc...

Incidentally, the cat says she is grateful for all the forum help too, well, who knows what she actually said cos it was a series of squeaks, but I'm sure the intention was there!

When we are settled in sunny Wales I'll post proof of her verbal communication, if I can work out how to post a video. Just to prove my sanity!

No computering for a few days from tomorrow cos having acupuncture, after which certain things I mutsn't do for at least a few days. Works very well though.

Kindest regards

loire