How many pet cats can I import into Canada?
I'm moving from Australia to Canada soon & I have alot of cats. I've been rescuing them from my street, and don't want to have to wait in Oz til I rehome them all, but also don't want to run into problems trying to bring them to Canada. I know all about the import requirements & will have a pet transport company handle the paperwork etc, but they can't be sure how many customs will allow me to bring in. At the moment it looks like I'll want to bring at least 12! I've got a website up trying to find many of them homes, its at http://www.kittiesinthehood.com but I've only found homes for 2 of the 11+ cats so far & I'm getting worried & would rather take them with me (if I can) than postpone the trip. Does anyone know the answer to this or done something similar? Thanks
you would need to find out what the cat bylaw is in the area you are moving too
but overall I would suggest leaving them behind no matter how difficult this may be… there are plenty of cats in Canada who can use your help too (I am in Canada myself)
I will warn you though – its not allowed to simply rescue cats off your street.. if you find a stray you MUST report finding it or you can be charged with theft
ALSO flying is dangerous.. cats are smaller than dogs and such a long flight will be very difficult on them.. although rare there are horror stories about pets freezing while in flight – again something more likely to happen to a small cat than a big dog..
There are also by-laws in Australia in regard to how many cats you are allowed to keep.
The cats you wish to take, are they the ones still out on the street? It may be very traumatic for them, as CF said, for a 17(?) hour flight. Please consider taking then to a shelter.
Hi there…each Canadian province have special requirements, as do other federal departments and agencies such as Environment Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Therefore you need to contact the province you will be moving to to learn if there’s a limit on importing pet cats. I’ve included some links below if you haven’t already seen them.
CFIA Web Contact:
http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/tools/feedback/commene.shtml?anima_questions
Canadian Animal Health Offices: http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/anima/heasan/offbure.shtml
FAQs on the Importation of Domestic Cats:
http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/anima/heasan/import/cat_chat_queste.shtml
Importations of Domestic Cats three (3) months of age or over from countries Canada recognizes as rabies-free:
http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/anima/heasan/import/cat_chat_1e.shtml