[skyking8]

Thought I would ask what is the cheapest way to ship the darn cat from the US...

Thanks

[leslie]

lear jet


we were shocked by the palaver/ cost. then cat was poisoned (still dont know) and now we wish we had never complained. its mighty complicated though and they have to have shots in advance etc. recommend you get full story so there aren't any surprises

[skyking8]

Is that all I need?....I'll get one tomorrow.......:)

[catjlin]

The cheapest way is probably parcel post ;)
You should check out the MAF website for all the requirements etc.
www.maf.govt.nz


Cat

[MelissaLG]

The cheapest way is to make the booking yourself with the airline and to handle all the paperwork, vet visits, meeting with USDA, etc. yourself. The process should start no less than 6 months prior to the day you plan for the cat to leave the country. If the cat is not already current on his/her rabies vaccine, you will need to start at least 6 months and 3 weeks prior to shipment. The cat will have to go in cargo unfortunately (not in the cabin with you). Then on the NZ side there is 30 days quarantine and more vet visits. It is all an expensive process no matter what way you go about it. Paying a pet shipper added about $495 total for our four pets, but we think it is worth it. They are handling everything on the day of export and are experts in all the rules and regs that have to be followed. They tell you when to see your vet and what for. They liase with the vet when paperwork problems and the like come up (which they do). Plus we believe we got some discount on the actual airfare for the animals by going through the pet shipper. I don't know that for sure because I never tried to book it myself, but I believe the pet shipper mentioned that they get volume rates that are better than what the general public gets. Its a lengthy, expensive process, but for our canine and feline members of the family, its definitely worth it. :yes Good luck! :nice1

Melissa

[MelissaLG]

One other thing I forgot to mention.....if you feel comfortable with this, it is worth a shot to ask your vet for a discount on all of the export-related services. We called up the two vets (different offices) that we normally go to, explained that we were going to have to be doing a lot of tests and shots and exams over the following 6 months because we were exporting our animals, and asked if we could have a discount if we did everything through them. One of the vet offices said okay and has given us a 20% discount. The discount really has saved us a lot of money!