Job Discussion Forums

sprightly · Joined: 07 May 2003 Posts: 136 Location: England

my feline darling is suffering horribly in canada. his indoor highness is forced to share winter quarters with my sister's white-trash alleycat.

has anyone moved a cat to the ME? (i couldn't find this question here.)
was it complex? yes, of course i can find pet entry requirements online or through an embassy, but what they say and what happens are often worlds apart.

my cat has travelled more than the average canadian, so i'm not worried about the flight; just the technicalities.

chers!

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

Sprightly,

Actually this has come up before. Try a search on the Oman and UAE sections if nothing showed up on this general board. A poster... was it Shebab?... brought his cats to the UAE from somewhere. Normally your employer can fill you in on the particulars too.

A friend of mine has taken her Cairo street cat to both Bahrain and Kuwait, so as long as your cat can cope with the travel, it is doable. Remember that this is a VERY long flight and it will be VERY hot when you arrive there. The only countries that I am not certain about are Saudi and Qatar, but I have no reason to think that it wouldn't be possible there too.

VS

Stephen Jones · Joined: 21 Feb 2003 Posts: 4124

One of our colleagues here in Saudi brought his two cats over with him. Didn't appear to have any problem.

sprightly · Joined: 07 May 2003 Posts: 136 Location: England

thanks for the reassurance. i desperately miss my cat, but didn't have time to get him ready for the 6 month prep time he needed for britain--don't want to go through that again!

found shebab's post, have cut and pasted the relevant bits. Smile

shebab · Joined: 17 Sep 2003 Posts: 168

That's me who brought the cats to Saudi! However, they arrived via the UAE, where they had lived with me for 9 months.

First I took them with me personally as checked excess baggage to Abu Dhabi, via KLM airlines. I had arranged the proper paperwork beforehand. When it was time for me to move to Saudi for my new job, I entrusted all the procedures to vet clinics both in Abu Dhabi and in Al Khobar. It cost me A LOT of money, but I didn't have to do a thing but pick them up in Khobar when they got here.

If you need more info or advice, send me a message. You're right when you say that the official word on pet importation is often very different from what really is possible!

yaramaz · Posted: Mon Feb 21, 2005 12:04 pm Post subject:

A friend of mine recently (last week, actually) brought two cats to UAE from Istanbul. Before going, she took the cats to a vet to get microchips of some sort inserted- I think these were like a cat passport/health record. At any rate, nobody checked upon arrival and the cats are happily living in Dubai, I believe.

scot47 · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343

I am puzzled. The Middle East is already full of cats ! Why bring in more !??? Shebab explain why youe bringing coals to Newcastle !

lucy k · Joined: 06 May 2003 Posts: 82 Location: istanbul, turkey

Sekhmet · Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 329 Location: Alexandria, Egypt

I'm desperately trying to find somewhere that I can get a microchip inserted on MY little darling... There is no law requiring chipping here (and why would there be? There are more cats than people!) So I'm struggline to find somewhere to get him done. I've never tried travelling with him (any more than from the street we found him), and I'm not sure how well he'd hold up to any length of journey. He's a VERY feisty young cat, and I think this could be a problem!!! Any suggestions?

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

Sekhmet,

There must be a good vet in Alex. Check with AMIDEAST people... I know their old director had cats. A good vet should be able to tell you about the possibilities of microchiping in Egypt. Also, you may have to tranquilize a young energetic kitty - actually most cats travel better with a little chemical relaxation. But, you need to have a vet that knows how to give the right amount.

Another source of information could be a local shipping company.

VS

Sekhmet · Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 329 Location: Alexandria, Egypt

VS, the director still has a cat (a little cutie called Jaspar). The only problem is the vet we use now is the vet she recommended to us. She used to have one who came from Cairo, but she doesn't have the contact info of that one any more...

He would definitely need some sort of chilling out for travelling - he's a nightmare most of the time (but oh so sweet when he wants to be!!) I'll ask again about this vet in Cairo - see what happens.

Thanks for the help!!

lucy k · Joined: 06 May 2003 Posts: 82 Location: istanbul, turkey

I'm not sure what the vet situation is like in Egypt, but here in Turkey it seemed pretty random which vets had microchips and which ones did not. If possible, maybe just call around to as many vets as you can and ask. Are you sure that microchips are required where you're taking your cat?

The information I got about tranquilizers was that a pill will work for about two hours. Then the poor thing will wake up in mid-travel. One vet suggested injections, but that seemed to be a bit much to me. However, the cats I was travelling with were very laid back, so I chose to let them travel with nothing. They were fine and didn't seem to be stressed out at all, but I know this isn't the norm!

Good luck!

Sekhmet · Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 329 Location: Alexandria, Egypt

Lucy - thanks for the advice...
The problem is, eventually I want to take him back home to England, and a chip is definitely one of the (many) requirements!! I'll keep looking around, but it seems to be easier said than done in this country...

lucy k · Joined: 06 May 2003 Posts: 82 Location: istanbul, turkey

Yikes! I've heard it's difficult to get pets into England (something to do with being an island?). Good luck with it!

Sekhmet · Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 329 Location: Alexandria, Egypt

Lucy - yup, it's hardship all the way getting a cat into the UK!! However, there seems to be a loophole - if your pet lives with you in a country that doesn't have rabies (France, etc.) for 6 months without showing any problems, they can be brought into England on "pet passport". I'm just hoping this works!!! I've heard Bahrain is one of the other countries - that might be a consideration!!