Pet in Canada before landing?

[OntarioBound]

I have posted this under "Settlement Issues" but I am not getting any responses so I am posting this question here. I usually post all my questions under Family Class Sponsorship anyway, and you guys(/gals) always give me great feedback so I hope someone can help with this question also.

Is it possible to get your pet in Canada before landing? I am considering moving to the NY area from California to be closer to my husband in Kitchener. I am a US citizen so I can visit him for 6 months at a time, but what would I do with my cat? The most natural thing for me to do is to take my cat with me to Canada. Is it possible to do this before I land?

I would appreciate any comments.

 

[impatienthope]

I managed to bring my cat into Canada from the U.S. I stated that the trip was several weeks (true at the time). Just bring a recent
rabies vaccine certificate (specified in border regulations). You are allowed to bring some pet food, but the amount may be restricted to the length of your stay or enough for the trip only, check with border control on that. The bigger issue is bringing the cat and explaining that you are only visiting. Have your return ticket, job pay stubs, etc.

 

[OntarioBound]

I managed to bring my cat into Canada from the U.S. I stated that the trip was several weeks (true at the time). Just bring a recent
rabies vaccine certificate (specified in border regulations). You are allowed to bring some pet food, but the amount may be restricted to the length of your stay or enough for the trip only, check with border control on that. The bigger issue is bringing the cat and explaining that you are only visiting. Have your return ticket, job pay stubs, etc.

Thank you very much for your reply. I am planning to move my cat *after* I quit my employment (I live in California now but I am planning to quit my work and move to Baffalo, NY so my residence will be closer and I can spend months at a time with my husband until PR comes through. I cannot take any days off until I quit so there is no way for me to take him to Canada during my employment (there will be no pay stub to show.) There will be no return tickets (I won't be flying since Buffalo, NY is only about 2.5 hours away from Kitchener by car). I want to leave my cat with my husband when I get back to Baffalo, NY (which may not be often)... Is it OK to say these things to the border person? I mean people adpot animals from foreign countries? It's kind of like that, right? Or not? I am not sure.

 

[Snowisland]

I also have a question regarding moving cats. I am not moving until I get to land, but worry about this daily. I have two 12lb cats and live about 4000k away. Driving a Honda Civic...We don't want to fly and put the cats in cargo. And it's 3 different planes to fly there. Has anyone had an experience moving their cats a long distance? One of the cats is an escape artist. He's fast. Both cats are indoor only.

 

[zibi762]

I also have a question regarding moving cats. I am not moving until I get to land, but worry about this daily. I have two 12lb cats and live about 4000k away. Driving a Honda Civic...We don't want to fly and put the cats in cargo. And it's 3 different planes to fly there. Has anyone had an experience moving their cats a long distance? One of the cats is an escape artist. He's fast. Both cats are indoor only.

I moved from New York to Germany a couple of years ago and brought my cat in cabin with me. I specifically had to fly Air Canada because they have the highest weight limit for in cabin pets and my giant tabby is 18lbs! He's also an indoor cat, and honestly, once he got in his carrier, I think he was freaked out enough that he just kind of hunkered down and barely made a noise the entire trip. I only had to change planes once, although I did miss my connection and ended up delayed 6 hours, so my total trip ended up being close to 24 hrs. door-to-door.

Let me know if you have any other questions!
Altogether, the experience was not nearly as bad as I anticipated.

 

[OntarioBound]

I moved from New York to Germany a couple of years ago and brought my cat in cabin with me. I specifically had to fly Air Canada because they have the highest weight limit for in cabin pets and my giant tabby is 18lbs! He's also an indoor cat, and honestly, once he got in his carrier, I think he was freaked out enough that he just kind of hunkered down and barely made a noise the entire trip. I only had to change planes once, although I did miss my connection and ended up delayed 6 hours, so my total trip ended up being close to 24 hrs. door-to-door.

Let me know if you have any other questions!
Altogether, the experience was not nearly as bad as I anticipated.

My cat is about 16 lbs too! Is your cat a talker? My cat is very vocal so I am kind of afraid he will annoy the heck out of other passengers. Did he not poop or pee at all the whole time? Did you do landing at the same time? (Sorry for so many questions!)

 

[zibi762]

My cat is about 16 lbs too! Is your cat a talker? My cat is very vocal so I am kind of afraid he will annoy the heck out of other passengers. Did he not poop or pee at all the whole time? Did you do landing at the same time? (Sorry for so many questions!)

Yes! My cat is normally incredibly vocal and has a very, should we say, hearty meow. I was expecting the worst, but aside from a couple of little squeaks during take-off and landing, he was completely silent. All of the other passengers were also super empathetic. Frankly, I think many people are much more empathetic towards animals that are flying than say, a screaming baby.

I lined the bottom of his carrier with puppy training pads (you can get them at any pet store), in case he needed to use the bathroom, although he held it the entire trip! The first thing he did when we got to our new home was pee though. It's usually recommended that you bring a small amount of wet food and then offer them some water at some point (although my cat had no interest in either.) I also left out his travel carrier for a few weeks beforehand so that he could get used to it. It was my first time traveling with him and I was super nervous, but it was really completely fine. Once I arrived to my new place in Germany he was instantly back to his old self, so I don't think he was too traumatized.

 

[OntarioBound]

Yes! My cat is normally incredibly vocal and has a very, should we say, hearty meow. I was expecting the worst, but aside from a couple of little squeaks during take-off and landing, he was completely silent. All of the other passengers were also super empathetic. Frankly, I think many people are much more empathetic towards animals that are flying than say, a screaming baby.

I lined the bottom of his carrier with puppy training pads (you can get them at any pet store), in case he needed to use the bathroom, although he held it the entire trip! The first thing he did when we got to our new home was pee though. It's usually recommended that you bring a small amount of wet food and then offer them some water at some point (although my cat had no interest in either.) I also left out his travel carrier for a few weeks beforehand so that he could get used to it. It was my first time traveling with him and I was super nervous, but it was really completely fine. Once I arrived to my new place in Germany he was instantly back to his old self, so I don't think he was too traumatized.

Thank you very much for your reply. I am getting just nervous thinking about it but hopefully, my case will be similar to yours and people on board are sympathetic. I get so stressed out when my cat keeps on meowing very loud the whole time during a car ride to a vet, etc (which is less than 20 minutes) so I was thinking of giving him something but maybe that won't be necessary. I will definitely get the puppy training pads. I worry what would happen if he peed or if he (OMG) pooped while he is in the carrier...

 

[OntarioBound]

I wanted to give an update here.

I shipped my cat via a direct flight (with 1 hour of driving afterwards) to my husband in Canada via cargo a couple of weeks ago. I considered flying with him, but for two reasons I decided to fly him (He is 18lbs and the weight limit on board is 22lbs including the carrier - it would be a VERY tight fit) - I didn't have to fly with him so the price difference was about $600))

He couldn't tell me if he got traumatized or not, but he is OK now. Back to the normal routine but in the new surrounding. I put training pads as suggested, but he didn't pee or poop in the kennel (the flight was about 4.5 hours and the whole trip was about 10 hours, including the wait time.)

My husband was asked the value of the cat so he could pay the taxes on him (I was like what??) My husband basically said he had no idea and the officer suggested $200 and my husband paid $23 for my cat.... I would have said my cat was priceless, but that might have cost us a fortune!

 

[taffy7]

Thank you for the update . My husband is also bringing his cat, but we have thought about shipping her over first. I would have never have thought to have to pay duty on her. I know you have to pay the vet to inspect them when they arrive, did you have to pay in advance or when he was picked up at the airport?

 

[OntarioBound]

Thank you for the update . My husband is also bringing his cat, but we have thought about shipping her over first. I would have never have thought to have to pay duty on her. I know you have to pay the vet to inspect them when they arrive, did you have to pay in advance or when he was picked up at the airport?

Yeah, I was quite surprised that my cat wasn't duty free! (He would have been if my cat was part of my PR landing.) I had to get a rabies shot/certificate and health certificate (which cost me about $100 for the whole thing... I got him another vaccination too.), but the import office at Canada said that the health certificate was not required (but Air Canada did require it so I had to get one. Air Canada website said the certificate was going to be good only for 10 days..) I paid about $240 for the flight (from California to Toronto - They calculate by distance and weight I think). And my husband said they charged another $50 at the destination, but I didn't ask what that was for. He said he had to go to one area, pick up the paperwork (rabies certificate, etc I think) and bring it to some place, and then get approval and then go back to the cargo/luggage area to pick up the cat finally. (At least my husband didn't have to carry the cat around to go through the whole process.)

 

[taffy7]

Thank you for the great detailed information. That helps a lot knowing what to expect.+1

 

[MaryLou6]

Thank you for the great detailed information. That helps a lot knowing what to expect.+1

I brought my dog from Poland. At the border they didn't even want me to take him out of the kennel, just checked his passport and the papers from the vet that he is in a good health and has all vaccinations done. Then I had to pay about 30$ for basically declaring him and that was it good luck!

 

[OhCanadiana]

Thank you for the update . My husband is also bringing his cat, but we have thought about shipping her over first. I would have never have thought to have to pay duty on her. I know you have to pay the vet to inspect them when they arrive, did you have to pay in advance or when he was picked up at the airport?

You pay at the time of the inspection

Cats imported into Canada will have a documentary inspection by Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) to ensure the vaccination is current and the animal description matches. During this visual inspection, CBSA ensures that there is no visible signs of illness. In certain cases, dogs and cats imported will require a Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) inspection for which CFIA inspection fees apply. The fee must be paid at the time of inspection.

The current fees are:

    $30.00 + tax for the first animal in the shipment; and
    $5.00 + tax for each additional animal in the shipment.

If the shipment does not meet Canada's import requirements (even if the animal is being imported from the United States), the animal will be ordered to undergo vaccination against rabies within two weeks of its arrival, and the following fees apply:

    $55.00 + tax for the first animal in the shipment; and
    $30.00 + tax for each additional animal.

Any applicable taxes or duties are calculated by the Canada Border Services Agency.

http://www.inspection.gc.ca/animals/terrestrial-animals/imports/policies/live-animals/pets/cats/rabies-free/eng/1364954808466/1364954913271

I see your VO is London. United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland) are rabies free so that's the same link that has detailed instructions that may apply to you but to be sure you get the right detailed instructions start off of http://www.inspection.gc.ca/animals/terrestrial-animals/imports/policies/live-animals/pets/cats/eng/1331904105485/1331904720313