I got a question on how to bring our cat from Hong Kong to Switzerland...
My parents will be visiting me in the coming June for about a week, we are wondering if that is possible to bring our cat here as well if the procedures are not too complicated and costly....
My questions are:
1) What procedures should we go through? (I heard that the cat will need to be isolated for some weeks for examination???)
i talked to 2 people with cats: get all your papers/vaccinations in order and it can be smooth sailing - if you don't prepared to have the moggy quaranteened for a while... i'm sure others who've brought cats can give you details.
(I see they have a new format - enter the reason for bringing your pet, what kind of animal, how many, and the country you come from - and hey presto, all the info you need to know.)
As for prices, this will vary - ask your airline or pet shipper for a quote.
There have been many threads discussing the importation of pets into switzerland - do a quick search to read up on other poster's experiences.
Good luck with your trip, and hope your kitty enjoys his/her Swiss adventure.
Yes, go to the bvet site. They will list out exactly all the documents/ vaccinations that are required from your country of export. You can also call them and speak to them in English - I found them very helpful when I brought my 2 dogs and 1 cat from Singapore.
When you book your flight, make sure you ask for a space for your pet. They will ask for the animal's cage dimension.
Upon arrival, I went to the red channel customs, showed them the documents, my proof of residency in CH, let them scan the animals for the microchips and paid my CHF88 and exited all in 10 mins.
As your parents are bringing your cat for you on your behalf, you might want to ask bvet if this is an issue.
It's relatively easy once you get to the Zurich Airport assuming you have the proper paper work filled out. I am not sure which category of country HK falls under the bvet rules, but you might want to check out just in case there is any quarantine involved...
Keep in mind too that if you fly Swiss Air you can bring the cat with you in the cabin for half the price. I don't believe any other airlines allow that. However, also keep in mind that it is a tight squeeze to get the carrying case under the seat in front of you so your leg room will be limited. Good luck!
I just (Friday) travelled from the US with our cat in the cabin and our dog as air cargo freight (big dog - 150 lbs total weight with crate). I was so concerned with getting the dog I sailed thru customs - green lane - forgot to declare the cat. I declared the cat when we picked up the dog at air cargo veterinary place. All went very smoothly. I went to the bvet site that was recommended prior to travel and called the airlnes prior to travel. In the US I needed to have paperwork filled out by the USDA for the cat to fly as well as EU paperwork for both pets and of course EU compatible microchips plus new rabies vaccines post-microchipping. It was not as complicated as I feared. Now I must get them to the vet and get them registered here in Zurich. It was stressful but the cat came thru like a champ and it wasn;t a full flight so legroom wasn;t an issue with the cat at my feet for the 9 hour flight.