Korean Job Discussion Forums

[eventually]

Do they possibly let me have him under my seat or will he be considered luggage? He's a sensitive boy...

[warmachinenkorea]

Depends on his size.

My wife and I brought our cat from The States to Korea. She was under the seat in a kennel. If your cat is too big then it will need to go as checked baggage.

http://www.animalrescuekorea.org/resources

Look around here for info.

[Joe Boxer]

Jesus, I clicked on this because I thought the title said "talking cat -- how does it work?"

[Troglodyte]

[coralreefer_1]

As someone who is allergic to cat hair, let me be the first to suggest you show some consideration for your fellow travelers, and make arrangements to check the cat as luggage.

Aside from the allergy/dander issue, if the cat is sensitive as you say, I can imagine those around you will suffer through a long flight of noise, scratching, meowing, possible odor from the cat relieving itself in the carry case...etc etc.

[cat_herder]

I am interested in hearing advice/thoughts about this. I had tentatively planned to have someone take care of my cat for me while I am gone. But as moving is starting to sink in a bit more, that plan is getting a bit harder to think about. I am a little afraid that traveling that far might be really stressful for her, though. How feasible is it? My cat is microchipped, which I understand is usually a requirement.

Also, I noticed on the EPIK application that they ask whether you are planning to bring any pets with you. Does that mean it's actually acceptable? I had previously assumed that it wouldn't be.

[Troglodyte]

If you want to know whether your cat will take it then put it in a cage with a dark cover on it. Fasten it to the back seat of a motorbike and go for a ride around town for a couple of hours. If the cat starts freaking out, then don't even dream about putting it on a plane. Some animals can't handle it. They know that something isn't right. They are stuck in a box for >10 hours, under a seat, in a room full of unfamiliar people, smells and noises, plus the air pressure changes and the room seems of be moving in all directions. Even some humans can't handle that and we at least know why we're feeling those strange sensations. Imagine how the cat might feel. From what I've heard (and I'm not a vet so you should ask someone who knows about this stuff to confirm it) apparently riding in an airplane can give some animals a heart attack or other stress related incidences.

If nothing else, give a bit of thought to your fellow travelers. Have you ever been sitting on an intercity bus and had to listen to someone's screaming kid for the whole trip? Now imagine if that was an 11 hour trip with no smoke stops and the kid wet his pants and took a big foul dump on the seat in front of you. If your cat has never flown before then there's a pretty big chance that this is what will happen. For the cat's sake, leave it at home. If you do bring it along, put it in the baggage hold otherwise you're gonna have to make a run for it after you clear customs to avoid being lynched by the other passengers.

[Troglodyte]

[warmachinenkorea]

Yes, it's gonna be stressful on the cat. They will get over it in a few days or a few weeks depending on the cat. The cat being in a new environment will be stressful also.

It's really simple to get a cat into America or Canada. Other countries and Europe, especially Europe, are more difficult and takes some work on your part.

My wife and I are working with a lady in Germany now. She adopted a stray cat while working here in Korea but travels for her job. She works for an oil company. It has cost here around 500,000 so far just for micro-chipping, blood tests and other care while the cat is in a foster home. Germany just changed their rules so now she has to do this stuff all over again. Then she plans on flying back to Korea to pick the cat up.

It can be tough and cost a little bit of money but it's worth it for you and your animal.