Job Discussion Forums

[Mikana]

Dunno if anyone here can help at all. We have a local kitty who needs to emigrate to Germany in the next 6 months or less. We kind of know what the German govt wants us to do and have a vet here in Istanbul who is professional at least. Problem is, the German govt wants a kitty blood sample taken here but tested at one of only three authorized labs in Germany. OK. No problem, we thought, had the blood taken, called DHL and FedEx but they won't ship blood. One of us was already off to Germany via Lufthansa later this month so we though ok we'll get another blood sample, pack it in ice and carry it on board then send it to the lab from Germany. Now it seems as though Lufthansa and maybe Ataturk Airport will require all sorts of certificates and specialized packing for the kitty blood sample even in the cabin. Anyone here got any ideas about a local shipper that can transport the blood for us ---- money is not really an object here. Or just any ideas other than putting kitty on the street or giving her the big pink injection???? Please????

[Shalana]

I have no idea if this is a possibility, but maybe you can take your cat over the border into Greece and get her/him an EU animal passport. I am not sure if that is what they are called, but I brought my cat from America to the Czech Republic and got her one in the Czech Republic and then brought her into Istanbul from there. Maybe Germany wouldn't require the blood work if your cat had one of these EU passport things.

Is there anyway you can just say the cat is from Germany or drive across the border with him/her?

[dagi]

I looked into this when I moved to Turkey and initially planned to take my cats with me. Well, I didn't cause the paperwork etc. was just insane.

Your cat needs a medical examination and vaccinations. The important one is the rabbies shot. The cat should get one rabbies shot and then (I think 6 weeks later, but not sure) it should get a second shot. With a second shot you can be sure that the pet has developed rabbies antibodies.

Now a blood sample needs to be taken and examined to see if the pet did indeed develop the rabbies antibodies. The lab will issue written proof and this paper will have to be verified by the authorities.
Unfortunately the EU strongly believes that only labs in EU are capable of performing such testing.
A simple EU animal passport IS NOT SUFFICIENT. You will not be allowed to import the pet into the EU if you do not have proof that your pet is vaccinated and has developed antibodies against rabbies.

The antibody testing is quite costly, as far as I remember it costs almost 200�. On top of that you need written proof from the local vet for the other commone vaccinations.
You also have to pay for the official verification of the lab report.

If you need more info you can PM me and I can ask on a German/Turkish forum where this question comes up every now and then. There are some regular posters who have taken dogs and cats to Germany from Turkey.

Importing a pet to the EU is quite a hassle and costly but it is doable. You just need a lot of time and energy.
Do you speak German? Are you able to look up the relevant German websites about importing pets and the veterinary authorities?

[dagi]

Quickly browsed around for you and summarize a few things incase you cannot read German.
Your pet also needs to be chipped (ca. 30�) and the rabbies test costs about 70�. There seem to be vets in Istanbul who offer the rabbies testing via a lab in Scottland (that is what my vet back home told me, too). They organise all the paperwork as well and it'll cost about 250�.
After the rabbies vaccination you need to wait one month, before the blood test can be performed. The test has to be performed at least 3 month prior to entering Germany e.g. leaving Turkey.

In Turkey/Istanbul you need to find a vet that is called "Amtstierarzt", don't know the English word but it's a vet that works for the state authorities. Such a vet should be able to give you more information and adresses of vets who can do the chipping/rabbies testing for you.

On the G/Tk forum I found this:
"Unser Tierarzt (Aykut Bey) ist in Yenilevent (Tierklinik Veterinerium, Beyaz Karanfil Sok. No. 34, 3. Levent; Tel. 0212-2788887) und hat uns einen Preis f�r Chipen und Bluttest von 160 Euro angeboten. Der Bluttest wird in Schottland gemacht. Der Bluttest ist �brigens nur einmalig notwendig."

A vet called Aykut Bey in Yenilevent does the job (inlc. testing in Scottland) for 160�.

If you leave Turkey in less then 3 months you can basically forget taking your kitten with you.
One positive remark: once you did that rabies-antibodies-testing-certification your kitten is done with it for life-time. All you need is to renew the rabbies vaccination every year (ON TIME!) and keep the vaccination booklet as proof.

[007]

[tarte tatin]

I have recently been looking into taking a cat back to the UK and can really sympathise. I think UK regulations are even more stringent and you can't take in a pet if it has been outside the EU within the past six months. It also has to have proof of injection against ticks and tapeworm.

I would like to look into the vet that tests via Scotland, but in the end I should probably resign myself to re-homing the cat here. The journey will no doubt be stressful for the animal anyway.

I should have re-homed her when she was still a cute kitten and before she and I really bonded

I look after a whole group of cats that live round my apartment and I will be devastated to leave them. I am sure they will forget me in a week but still, I have sort of convinced myself they cannot manage without me!

[dagi]

Indeed, taking a pet into the UK is even more difficult. They put all pets in quarantaine, no matter how many tests and vaccinations you've done and can proove.
The whole EU regulations about importing pets is bollocks anyway. Look at this case of taking a pet into Germany. They are total a**** about rabbies tests and vaccinations but Germany is not a rabbies free country. And pet owners in Germany have no obligation at all to vaccinate their pets against rabbies.

[windstar]

[quote="007"]

[scot47]

I query the use of the verb "NEED" in the title. "Want" would be more appropriate.

[samuraiwriter]

According to EU regulations, you need to have blood tests made by the laboratory in Etlik, Ankara for the cats. And unfortunately, you have to wait for three months after the blood test to take the cats to Germany. Vet Ali Ulker at Arti Vet Clinic in Levent knows how to send blood samples to Etlik Ankara. I would suggest you to contact him and have your blood tests ready. Ali's telephone number is 0532 2365534. He speaks English. The rest of the bureachratic procedure is when you are going to fly. YOu should take some permissions from the municipality and agriculture department. We can help you with these. Now you should have the blood tests ready.

Please contact me via PM for more info... I think I can help you make contact with some good people.

[dagi]

samuraiwriter, are you sure about that lab in Ankara? The labs performing those tests and issueing the certificates must be certified by the EU and as far as I know no lab in Turkey has got that certification.
And I don't think you have to wait 3 months after the blood test, but BEFORE the blood test. This the time the animal needs to develop sufficient antibodies against rabbies.

[spiral78]

Wow, guys, I bring my Canadian dog into Germany frequently. He has the microchip, EU passport, proof of rabies vaccines back to his childhood - but no blood tests ever required.

Are things more stringent for cats or is it because the animal originates in Turkey (maybe rabies is more prevalent there than Canada?).

And the UK has ended the quarantine thing. It's just Australia and maybe New Zealand, now - I think

[dagi]

Could be because your dog is Canadian. The EU has a few different regulations for certain countries, in particular Western countries e.g. the US and Canada.
If rabies is more prevalent in Canada or Turkey, that woud be a bullshit argument because there is still rabbies in Germany. It's not like someone would bring a disease into the country that doesn't exist there.
My parents live in a rabbies area. Every forest area you enter has warning signs.

[spiral78]

Yeah, I think that's what I said...except the part about the rabid German forest

[scb222]

cats carry many many more diseases than just rabies. too, labs in turkey arent reliable as standards are often low and results taken often shabby. not trusting labs here is not unreasonable.