Importing a cat

Yup – leave the thing at home! Cats are not native to NZ, and I can’t believe they still allow them into the country. They devastate native wildlife, in particular ground nesting birds for which NZ is so well known and unique. I’m nailing five or six each week in my area alone. Save yourself the effort and dollars, leave it there!

Ranting over – dogs certainly need to be chipped/registered/vet checked, not sure on cats but surely do. Next time I shoot one, I’ll run a bar-code reader over it and see if the thing bleeps! People I know who have imported their muggies/pooches tell me that you should allow up to USD$2000 per animal, whatever shape or size.

Why are the requirements different for Hawaii and the rest of the US? This is a hypothetical question for now since I have no actual plans to move, but NZ is on my list of places I might like to live.

The reason I ask is that it would actually be reasonably straightforward for me to take my dogs to Hawaii with a short quarantine or skip quarantine entirely due to their consistent vaccinations and good health. It seems like if I stayed with my dogs for six months in Hawaii, I would be able to bring them to New Zealand without a quarantine. Although this would be great for me and my dogs since there would not be any quarantine, isn't it odd that I could avoid a quarantine even though originally I am coming from the mainland US? Or would the time in Hawaii essentially be a surrogate for the 60-day quarantine period?

Do you think that New Zealand would ever consider a direct release program for countries will well-contolled rabies based on similar criteria that Hawaii uses? (see checklist for 5-day or less program on Hawaii Animal Import) It is a long list and requires advance planning to get all the tests performed with the right lead time, but should not be a problem for responsible pet owners.

To be eligible for importation from Hawaii, it must have
<blockquote>Quote
<hr>5.2 The animals must have been resident in Hawaii for the 6 months prior to export or since birth and the animals must be free of quarantine restrictions.<hr></blockquote>

So by having the break in Hawaii, that is free from most of the diseases that quarantine is for, you are doing the quarantine period in Hawaii, rather than in NZ.
So you are saying it is cheaper and easier to move your pet twice with 6 months accommodation and looking after is "easier" or cheaper than doing it one flight and 60 days in quarantine.

I can't see them bringing in a 5 day program because it isn't just rabies they are trying to prevent,

OP - at 13years of age do you think you cat will be able to cope with the travel - let alone having to settle in an entirely new place.

Is there any other options? To me, it just seems very cruel putting an animal on a flight for such a long period of time.

Give your cat to a friend before coming over - it's not likely to be a very long-term commitment on their part, seeing as the cat is already very old. Fairer on the cat that way.

Always great to see normally open minded people descend into abuse the moment somebody has a different take on things. The PM's were even better, spineless as ever.

DJT, had no intention of personally offending, and I realise this debate belongs somewhere else on a different site - was just expressing an opinion but the info that followed was true according to several families recently moved out from Europe. I run a reserve located in a rural area, not too far from bush fringe on one side and urbania on the other. We see a number of ferral cats in a various state of health, many full of kittens. Some are simply abandoned by owners, the shelters are full of them. And no, whatever my opinion, I do not go after people's pets - we operate a carefully mangaged conservation programme that targets none-native species in areas away from any homes.

Well, timo, that certainly puts a quite different slant on your attitude compared to the first post.
Unpalatable as it is, I for one see the necessity. Our local reserve - now fenced - had to have all predators culled, every single one. And it's now a great reserve, and birdlife in the area has increased noticeably.
I seriously doubt advising one immigrant to leave his middle aged cat at home will make one iota of difference in the scheme of things, though. Maybe if you could go back a couple of hundred years...

Medically: 13 is middle aged to elderly. Some live to 20 and even beyond. If he/she is in good health and has a good travel thingy, with ample water, a warm blanket etc, should be OK. Some recommend tranquilizing for a trip like this. I'd get a vets' opinion.I think a long term tranquilizer is likely to have an adverse health effect, though sedatives have improved heaps over the past few years. You might want to consider a natural alternative, like arnica tablets, or no-jet-lag (proprietary). Homeopathics have no side effects, and can work well on cats.

Fair point MarkJoy - guess my sledgehammer diplomacy needs a little tweaking up! Maybe things would be better if everyone had old-aged cats ;)

Things would also be better if people kept their cats indoors! Outdoor cats have about 1/3 or less the lifespan of the average indoor cat, and not only are they subject to more pain and disease than indoor cats, but they wreak more havoc as well (as referenced by previous posters above). Cats are domesticated and, unlike wild animals, are perfectly fine with being indoors. As with dogs, if exercise is a concern, walks outdoors on a leash are a benefit to both pet and owner! Also, there are many cat contraptions that are good for exercise.

/hijack