Sailing with boat cat to South Pacific and Oz/NZ

[SailAllDay]

Hi all,

We have been planning to cross the pacific from Mexico this year to the South Pacific. Our boat cat, Frankie has fully adapted to boat life and it would break our hearts to leave him behind. He really wants to see the South Pacific islands.

I know that we wont be able to dock with the cat aboard anywhere in the South Pacific or in Oz/NZ, we can probably deal with this but would we be able to carry out the process to get the cat legalized while he's locked up on the boat or is it better to let him stay in the states and do the process from there, which would involve shipping the little guy in a crate

I'm wondering if anyone has any links or stories of boats taking their pets across the Pacific and over to NZ or Oz successfully or unsuccessfully?

[JPA Cate]

The most unsuccessful one i know of was some folks whose dog was lost in a squall. Still haunted them a couple of years after the fact.

Cats fare pretty well at sea, tend to hide out when it gets rough. But, the importation is a major problem. In Oz, it requires 6 months in quarantine, and you pay for it, and are allowed visitation. Sorry, don't recall where they quarantine the animals, but it is not near the entry ports. Some cats survive the quarantine okay, others are traumatized by it, suffer changed personalities.

Some acquaintances had rescued dogs in Hawaii. HI has no rabies, key fact. They were able to quarantine their dogs in NZ for 3 mo., iirc, and that allowed said dogs to be allowed into OZ because they had their NZ certificate.

We knew some people who paid $3,000 in fees for the NZ quarantine visits to view their tabby cat which was confined on board. We have heard of boats sharing that expense.

I know it would be d-----d hard for me to leave a beloved pet, knowing it would be the last time I'd see him/her. But, it would be worse to be unable to turn back and rescue it...........

I'm glad you're considering finding your animal friend a new home, it shows me you really care, and realize the stresses you'd put it to. The Quarantine is not meant to be unkind, it just winds up that way.

Ann

[angelfish2]

Ann, I'm curious...hasn't anyone gone RTW with a kitty onboard? If so, would they not have to pass through some of these places?

[Shrew]

Robin Lee Graham sailed "Dove" around the world and had cats onboard. started with a few, lost a few, gained a few. The cats he returned with were not the cats he started with. He wrote two books "Dove" and "The Boy Who Sailed Around the World Alone".

Dove was a good read.

@SailAllDay. Your cat does neither shares your dreams nor comprehends geography.

[Boatguy30]

There was a thread on this a few months back. Cat import into NZ.

Given the stupid crazy money people spend on animals these days it doable and I guess cheap enough for some. Will cost a couple thousand

[SailAllDay]

I did my research on google and found some interesting blogs regarding this.

Ceilydh who recently finished their circumnav with a cat, had to send the cat home to Canada while they sailed through the Islands over to Australia. Then they successfully imported him into Oz jumping through all the beuracratic hoops.
Ceilydh Set Sail: Search results for cat

Chaotic Harmony had to deal with all the BS while sailing the Islands, but it sounds like they were successful in the end. One interesting thing was that they had to find another boat to leave their cat with while they hauled their boat out, because cats are just not allowed to come to shore.
Chaotic Harmony

Then there's some noon site articles:
Missing on-board pet causes problems with Fiji Bio-Security —

If anyone finds more articles please post them up!

[robert sailor]

Not that many pet cats that are worth 3 grand...I'd find a good home for my pet before I left. Not so bad when your hanging out in one general location but long passages offshore and checking into multiple countries that really discourage bringing in pets to begin with is not that great although Johnny Depp got away with it for awhile.

[SailAllDay]

Looks like we'll be taking our pussy to the states to live with family while we cruise the South Pacific. We wanted to stop in Oz for a while and live there, but that would mean importing the cat in a cargo crate on a really long flight and then having him spend 10-30 days in a "jail" of sorts

[flee27]

There is a podcast from a guy that sailed his catamaran Dos Gatos through the pacific with a cat 2009-2011. The cat is not the focus of the podcast but does talk about the issues if any while doing it. Like you stated the only places I really recall it being an issue was Aus/NZ. They could not dock the boat in those areas with going through the quarantine process which they did do because the wanted to stay in that area for awhile.

It was a entertaining podcast series to listen to for those that like sailing podcasts.

PodCastaway: Liveaboard Cruising

Foster Lee

[robert sailor]

Probably a good decision as your going to busy enough dealing with all the normal "boat issues" without adding any new frustration to your otherwise fun times.

[a64pilot]

My take is that the six month quarantine is way tougher on the cat than learning to deal with a new owner.
I would go so far as to suggest that to put an animal through that is selfish, either stay home with the cat of find it a good home.

P.S. We have found a good home for out Daughters 7 r old Chocolate Lab.

[angelfish2]

Hmmm, interesting... I wonder if it would make any difference if the kitty was a comfort/service animal. It seems as if here in the states, they achieve "royal" status. 😊

[JPA Cate]

Angelfish,

I, personally, don't know anyone who completed a circumnavigation with the same cat. There were a number of cat lovers who rescued cats in SE Asia, a couple of couples I can think of offhand who rescued dogs in Mexico and returned to the US with them. One couple who returned to Oz with two cats from here who did have to be quarantined. One of those cats got weird, terrified of humans, whereas it had been outgoing before; the other took it all in its stride, and the cats got home to their boat.

It's so easy to want your pet with you. You'd have to check -- and get it in writing-- relative to a "care pet." My guess is that quarantine would be required. The issue is that these islands are rabies free, and don't want it introduced, and don't trust the vaccination. Whether their position is right or wrong isn't the point. The point is that it is law, and a law that is generally approved of. Unlikely to change.

Interestingly, there is a virus, the lessa virus, in Australia, among the fruit bat population, which is communicable to humans, and does respond to anti-rabies treatment. I don't know quite what to make of that.

Ann

[svstrider]

Our boxer / dalmatian rescue dog spent 4 years sailing with us thru Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, PNG, Vanuatu & Solomons. It cost us $2500 in bureaucratic fees to get him out of Oz, including vet exams & rabies shots. The first 3 countries did not want to know that we had a dog on board, most especially the Muslim ones, as they don't want ANYTHING to do with dogs. Apparently Mohammed was a cat person, according to the Haddith.

We went to the Pacific because if your animal is in a 'rabies free' country for 6 months, they only get 10 days in quarantine. Included amongst rabies free countries are Solomons & Vanuatu.

Hard to believe that those countries Agricultural Depts really know what diseases their mangy, starved & often ill treated dogs are carrying. We weren't supposed to bring him into Bali as it was declared a 'rabies free' area despite the fact that they the cops were busy shooting rabid dogs while we were there.

Animals can only be quarantined in Sydney or Melbourne. It they arrive by boat, they have to fly (only on an international flight) to one of those cities from where you clear in. To get him on an international flight we would have had to pay for a quarantine officer to drive the animal in a 'secure' vehicle from Bundaberg to Brisbane to catch a transiting international flight. Don't ask me why they can't go on a domestic flight.

Cost of quarantine is $150/day. For that the animal gets one meal of biscuits daily and you are NOT allowed to visit. On arrival they are inspected ($300) and if they have a tick or flea, they are sent back to their country of origin. He had to have blood tests in Vanuatu for various tick borne diseases. These were sent to Perth for testing ($400). If he had any positive tests, he would not have been allowed in.

Kaspar de Wonda Dawg was 13 when he came back to OZ. It cost approx $8000 to get him in LEGALLY. Quarantine told us we were crazy and to put him down. I figured that it costs at least a million dollars to bring up a child, so I was still ahead.

I was annoyed that Johnny Depp thought he could smuggle his two dogs into Australia and get away with it. In fact, he was only found out when they we pictured at the pet parlour on the local news. I wonder what else the quarantine inspection missed during their search of his private jet.

Our K had 2 years back on land, lying in the sun before he left on hid final adventure last December. He had lots of adventures in exotic locations and got to chase lots of cats who had never met a dog before. Apologies to Mohammed and your cat.

[angelfish2]

Originally Posted by svstrider

....He had lots of adventures in exotic locations and got to chase lots of cats who had never met a dog before....

Strider, you really did not have to include this sentence. I do hope you maintained enough control of your dog that he didn't hurt any of these kitties. I've seen the result of a dog attacking an unsuspecting kitty. It's pretty terrible.