AllExperts Question: Moving Cat from Montreal to San Francisco
Subject: Pet moving 10 year cat from Montreal to San Francisco
Question:
Helo. I am in San Francisco at the moment and desperately miss my cat whom I haven't seen in over 10 months. I want to move her here, and I have gotten my mother to take her to the vet for her vaccinations, which included a rabies shot but I was told she did not need one for California. The vet said that she was healthy but was worried about the stress it would cause her. She said that it would be bad to remove her from a familiar place, to an unfamiliar one. What is your opinion on this?
She was diagnosed with diabetes (from which I think was caused by the stress of getting fixed and another cat in the house) but now is diabetes free for almost a year. Could this come back and retreat again? I'm really not sure what to do at this point, I miss her so much and am saddened at the very thought of leaving her there.
Is there anything that my mom, and I can do to make the almost 6 hour flight less traumatizing?
Thank you in advance for your advice and help.
Answer:
Although our company moves pets all the time (I believe our domestic moves are averaging about 10 a week), and we put the most emphasis on putting the pet's safety in the forefront and doing everything to ensure the move process is as stress-free as possible, ultimately it is the vet who has the final say in whether your cat is healthy enough to handle the stress that goes along with the process. The airlines will not even let your cat board the plane without a health certificate issued from your vet stating your cat is OK to fly. Going through the airlines is definitely the best way to go about doing this, it is the shortest and actually most cost efficient method.
We could absolutely provide this service for you (we do the complete door-to-door moves), for more information please check out our website, PetRelocation.com. If you do decide to go ahead to move your cat, and your vet gives the OK, it might take a little bit of time for her to get used to her new surroundings, just let her explore little by little, give her good love, and a stable routine and she should adjust in no time, and happy to be back with you!
We check in with the pets we've moved after they've had a chance to get used to their new homes, and while everyone says it took about a day or two for their pets to get over their jet lag and adjust, they also comment about how in no time flat their pets were back to their old selves and having fun exploring and settling in to their new places.
Hope this information helps and if you have any more questions to ease your mind, please let me know!