I’m considering moving back to the US (haven’t decided yet but will decide soon I think), but one of the biggest stress points for me is making sure my cat gets back safe and sound. She’s a big 5kg cat so I would need one of those enormous crates to meet airline regulations I think (and of course meeting import/export rules, fortunately California doesn’t seem to have strict import requirements, if I get her microchipped and a health check/vaccine update it seems okay), and if I was carrying a huge cat carrier I wouldn’t be able to carry other stuff, and besides it would really just be easier in general to get the cat sent to the US first (my parents would be able to pick her up at the airport and watch her at their house until I got back) so that I could focus on closing things down here without a cat running around.
I googled and asked for a quote at a couple places but got no response. What I really want is to just be able to hand over the cat (in Tokyo) and have them handle flying her to San Francisco (SFO) and then hand her off to one of my parents. Then I could focus on vacating my apartment, closing down all accounts, etc. without a cat running around, before flying back myself.
Has anyone had any good experience with a service that does this that you can recommend? If so, how much did it cost? I’m trying to decide if it might just be better to fly out twice myself, as annoying as that would be, so that I could take the cat myself on the first trip and then actually move out on the second trip. Would really prefer a service like the one I described above.
2 comments
I know you’re not keen on it but the cheapest option will be to fly with her in the cabin with you. It’s about $200 USD. If you know anyone else who is moving back or going to visit soon, you could ask them to take your cat with them. You will also be able to help with her stress levels since she would be with you.
I recently did this for a stranger and flew with her cat from Tokyo to Washington DC. As long as your paperwork is in order, anyone can take your cat for you. If you take her in the cabin, you don’t need a huge carrier. I used a backpack kind of carrier for the cat I took. I wore my backpack on my front and the cat on my back.
Good luck!!
I can take your cat in February or March if you want to buy the ticket. I don’t have anything going on the next two months.