Bringing Cats to China, and visas.

[knadolny]

I checked on coming back to America with the cats and surprisringly America doesn't have any bans on bringing in cats from China.

Except possibly Hawaii. They have their own rules.

Did you take your cats from New York to Japan in cargo or was it allowed as a carry on?

I wasn't able to bring my cat on the plane with me. All the American carriers require you check your cat after the trip is a certain length in time and all the Japanese carriers require you to check your cat (even domestic flights here).

They put your cat in a special compartment on the plane which is climate and pressure controlled just like the cabin people sit in.

Tips

Buy a sturdy kennel. Order online and they are about 50 dollars. I believe Continental has some guidelines on their website which you should follow. Get some pads to soak up water/pee in the kennel during the flight. Maybe buy a soft pad for them to sleep on. Buy some "spill proof" water containers, the one with the lip so water can't fall out. Freeze the water before your trip so it melts and spills slowly.

Make sure you book your flight with a decent carrier. And book a non-stop flight.

Continental has the best reputation for taking care of cats in the US (I believe). They have a special service that just looks over cats. Call them up. They know their stuff and are super helpful. But they were expensive.

I took my cat with ANA since I love their customer service and they were cheapest for cats (not for me). I figured that would extend to cats as well.

I would be worried about one of the second tier Chinese operators. Flying with pets is a pretty new thing in the US, but the service has gotten better. I wouldn't assume Chinese carriers are better.

And no sedatives on the trip. That is not good for cats and might be grounds to reject their boarding.

[aroberts42]

Thank you so much! Those are some great tips. I love the one about freezing the water. I made the huge mistake of using sedatives for the cats on a cross county move by car, huge mistake. I got the pills from the vet and they were weighed and everything, but I thought my cats were literally going to die when they weren't tripping. It was a horrible trip. Hopefully this one will work out. We aren't leaving for 8 months, so we still have plenty of time to talk to people and make plans. But thanks for the tips and keep them coming!

[doumeizhen]

I guess you must have made it to China by now. Did you ever find out about taking the cats on a train? I'd love to know how it works!

[Shelley]

Hello,

I have 6 cats and I too would not want be parted from my family:) I would not take them, in fact I wouldn't go. How old are your cats? Do really want to put them through all of this? And never to go outside again? Poor cats:) I would postpone my visit untill i had no cats. If it is really important to go and you are only going for a year or 2 I would try really hard to find someone to care for them in your home country. This is only my opinion but I feel its too much for the cats. Going in the cargo hold...would you want to spend all that time in the hold? i couldn't do it to my cats.

What ever you do good luck and for peace of mind let us know how it goes:)

Shelley

[doumeizhen]

Thanks for your input Shelley. If it were any other cat we would try to find someone locally, but this one is a special case. I've traveled with animals before, and while they didn't like it (who does?), it wasn't too bad. I'll post back once its done and let you know how it goes!

[doumeizhen]

Update!

We were able to bring kitty in on a tourist visa, no questions asked. We also flew through a certain city connected to Beijing by high speed train, as that city didn't have a quarantine. We were also able to take Kitty on the plane for 220 dollars in Korean Air. She had to be in a small cage that fits under the seat, but I think that other coming out to walk through the metal detectors with me (can't x-ray the kitty!) she thought the whole process was annoying, but ok. She just zonked out and slept through the whole flight. If only I'd been so lucky!

[Guest erotichnaya]

Hi! Congratulations with entering with no problems! We are going to move also next week.

I wonder, what was this certain city, where you entered into China?

[Brian US]

My aunt and uncle had a terrible experience bringing their cat to Beijing from the US a few years ago. Something about the cat would be in quarantine for 2-3 months unless they paid a $700 rush service. Not sure if it is common to have problems with the quarantine or they were just duped by an agency.

[aroberts42]

Hi Everyone,

thanks for the replies. At this time we have opted against bringing our cats over. Partly because at this time we are only staying for two years so we don't want to traumatise them just to have to do it again in two years. But if we decide to stay longer we will probably bring them over. The only issue is getting them to our home from the entry point. If China does not allow us to take the cats on a bus or train, how will we get them to Hunan? *sigh* I guess we will have to cross that bridge when we come to it. Oh! I did, though, find out that Delta will whip the cats from America to either Beijing or Shanghai for around $300 a piece. They just have no internal carriers to bring them to Hunan.

[agconsengco]

I saw the post that someone was successfully able to bring in their cat on a tourist visa which I believe is an L Visa.  I will be travelling with my dog to Shanghai and initially will not have my Work visa until later when the company is setup.

 

Did anyone have any troubles bringing in your pet on a tourist visa or L visa?  Also, does it help if I employ the services of a Pet Re-location company to take care of the back-end once I enter customs to get around the visa issue?  I am very worried what will happen to my dog if they do not allow him into Shanghai because of wrong visa.  Finally, are there any issues when checking into the flight with airlines company if visa is a tourist visa travelling with a dog?  I assume the airlines doesn't care as long as you fulfill the documents they require for the flight.  I will be travelling from LAX on China Eastern and driving to LAX because of the restrictions all the airlines have with snub-nosed dogs.  My dog is a French Bulldog so very difficult to find airlines with no embargoes.  I flew from Shanghai to US on Korean Airlines and he was fine, just made sure it was fall weather versus in the middle of summer.

 

When I brought my dog into Shanghai from Japan I had a work visa and no issues but they never really focused on my visa, just the documentation for the dog.  If anybody can help would appreciate it...China seems to very inconsistent in their "official" policies.

[jmeberhart]

agconsengco did you have any problems with the L visa? I am bringing a dog into Weihai and I only have a L visa for  now so Im worried.

[agconsengco]

Jmeberhart: I contacted a friend of mine who knows somebody at customs at PVG airport and they told me that it is okay with L visa.  I bring my dog in on March 7, 2014 so will respond back if I have any problems but I was assured that an L visa is okay.  I do remember that when I did bring my dog from Japan I only had an L visa and it was okay, they never really looked at the visa type, they were more interested in names of dog matching passport name.

 

I will let you know if I have any issues but hopefully it will be okay.

[BringingDogToChina]

@Agconsengco

 

I know it's been a long time, but I was wondering if you were able to bring your dog to China on a tourist visa as you haven't updated. I'm in the same boat as you right now and would love to know if I can bring my dog as my company is going to do a tourist visa for me.

 

Thanks!.

[agconsengco]

Yes, I was able to make it with an L visa, no problem.  In fact, they never even looked at my visa, they just checked the paperwork and then took my dog for 2 weeks.  He was so skinny when I saw him and they don't really take care of them.

 

You can get in on a Tourist visa and will not have any issues with your dog or cat. 

 

Safe travels!

[BringingDogToChina]

Thank you so much! That's very reassuring to hear. I'm planning to teach English and many of the jobs go the tourist visa then work visa via HK route rather than work visa right away. Especially if you find a job last minute as the work visa takes about two months to process.

 

I really appreciate you responding after all this time

[eion_padraig]

Hey BringingDogToChina,

 

I brought two dogs and later two cats to China. I don't know if it's possible, but if you land in Guangzhou and you have proper paperwork they allow you to do the month long quarantine at your home. I was able to take my dogs home the same day. I've heard the quarantine period in Beijing is 1 month and Shanghai is 2 weeks. I don't know about any other cities that can be your first transit point into China (Chengdu?).

What is quite important is whether they are brought in as excess baggage (this is what you want) or as cargo (try to avoid that). My dogs were classified as excess baggage (I flew direct from LAX on China Southern). My partner and I were both moving to China so we had 1 passport per pet. After filing out a 1 page sheet in Chinese and showing them my paperwork from the US with the USDA stamp on the animal check out that the USDA certified veterinarian filled out, we were able to take them from the baggage area. No one ever came to visit me to check on the quarantine.

The cats ended up being routed to an off site area where all cargo goes. It was heavily on red tape and even though I have passable Chinese, I was only able to navigate the process by getting help from a fixer. I was still able to take them the same day.

Bringing my pets was the most stressful part of my move. Of course, I had lived in China many years before. Good luck with the move. I've heard an occasional horror story from people I know who have moved pets, but I also have friends and colleagues who have moved their pets to and from China without incident.