gail - We actually have found quite a few cat courier volunteers once our friends heard that we're paying for the ticket. I guess we all have to go through immigration and customs as a family unit. Actually, we can really use an extra set of hands to help with the luggage and stuff.

Cassandra - We are shooting for late August.

Tiffy - There are two parts: getting the paperwork that allows your cat into Germany and arranging flights.

Paperwork:
Do you live in the U.S.? The E.U. has different rules for animals of different origins. From the U.S., you need to have a USDA-accredited vet complete four sections of a health certificate. You will need both the German and English versions of this certificate. Then you need to send these papers to the USDA for approval. These papers will be your cat's pass to enter Germany.

Flights:
From talking to various airlines, I did find the European airlines to be more pet-friendly in general. With Lufthansa, when you make a reservation, just tell them you will be traveling with a cat and if your cat (in its carrier) is less then 8 kgs, it can go into the passenger cabin with you. Lufthansa will provide you with the dimensions and requirements for the carrier. A tip here is to call the actual Lufthansa sales office in New York as the agents there seem better informed than the toll-free agents. If you end up getting an agent who isn’t sure about pet travels, ask to see if you can talk to someone who knows more about it.

I got all my information from various websites, but if you go to Lufthansa’s site and do a search using “pet travel” as keywords, it should bring up some good info. It also has links to other websites. Delta’s website (under program and services) actually has a health certificate form (English version) for download. Another good source is the USDA site http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ac/pettravel.html. (Sorry, I don't know how to make hyper links.)

By the way, allow at least a month to get all these things done. And, your cat will need a micro chip if it doesn’t already have one. And, I don't know what requirements there are to bring your cat back into the country, but the USDA should be able to tell you.

Hope this helps. If you have more specific questions, please post them here and I can try to answer them as I am also just learning the ropes.

Thank you so much, this did indeed help. I will keep the link for future reference. I talked to the NJ office and apparently all we need is a Microchip that she already has and the Veterinärbescheinigung (EU Vet certificate).

We have friends who were moving to Europe and found regulations for importing cats differ from country to country. Unfortunately, their destination country had fairly restrictive rules involving quarantine upon arrival. So they ended up flying to a neighboring country and smuggling 2 cats across the border in the trunk of the car. Glad you do not have to go to these lengths!

Hi we are moving to france and need to move three cats. And we have the same sort of problem. Was the trird person flying your best option?

Head over to the bonjourparis.com board, where there's a whole section of taking pets to France, both short and long term.

jsandps - Yes, if we want to have all three cats in the passenger cabin with us, the only way is to get a third person to fly with us. Of course, this assumes that your cats meet all the in-cabin requirements, such as weight and crate size.

Thanks for your reply. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to transport the cats. Internet, Phone calls ect. I don't think it will be fun. But it does seem to be the only way. Three people , three cats and the right airline. Good luck with you move. Joan

I'm feeling bad for the cat that ends up in coach...but I commend you for insisting that the kitties travel with you on the flight. If you are interested in a tip or two on long flights with cats, email me at [email protected]. Too boring for the public boards, but if you are travelling with 3 cats I may have some tips to pass along...

Has anyone ever had a cat weighed by Air France? Ours is at about 6.5kg, which is over the 5kg limit. I'm not too worried because I can't envision the ticketing agent putting the carrier (with cat) on the scale, then taking the cat out, remeasuring the carrier, and subtracting, especially since the cat isn't grossly overweigh (just a little round).

Any thoughts?

ddgattina - I was wondering the same thing. I hope someone answers! I sort of can't imagine them weighing a cat, but who wants that kind of stress at the airport? "I'm sorry, your cat is overweight and can't come on board." I would think if it fits in a small carrier, they wouldn't mess with it. And think about it, they'd have to take the cat OUT of the carrier otherwise they'd be weighing the carrier too. Maybe you just have to have something from your vet. Anyway, I look forward to seeing an answer, if anyone has one.

From my calls to Delta and Lufthansa, my impression is that the limit is always for the total weight, meaning the crate is weighed with the cat inside. For Lufthansa, the total limit is 8 kilos. I don't know if Air France works the same way.

Just a thought - When I brought my cat from Hawaii to the East Coast, she flew in a carrier under the seat. Since she was a timid soul, and easily frightened, the vet advised me to give her a kitty tranquilizer about an hour before we took off. It made all the difference in the world. She arrived half asleep, unflustered, and adjusted to the change better than I could have imagined.

ngodeia, how go the moving plans? When will you be heading out to Germany? Have you found a place to live yet?

BTilke -- We are leaving on the 25th. The movers loaded our stuff onto the container yesterday and with luck, we'll see everything in about six weeks in Koln. We will be in temporary housing for the first month but have also found an apartment already (will however need to put in the kitchen ... still cannot quite understand the practice of moving with the kitchen sink, but am looking forward to new and interesting experiences such as this nonetheless). I'm sure I'll be posting questions on the Europe board often after we are settled in a bit. Thanks again for all the advice!

I will be traveling from East Coast to West Coast in early September with one fussy cat. Our vet is advising that medicating a cat to fly is not advised. I find that hard to believe. Those who have done this, what is the medication that was given? Any suggestions on the best pet carrier to use would be appreciated.