Bringing cats to Singapore

[tigerbalm]

Hi all and mainly the cat owners,

lurking on this board it looks like there is quite a number of people who own cats.

I have only one rescued dog and rabbit, so I am not familiar with the cat issues.
Now friends of mine from Germany want ot relocate to Singapore and bring 2 of their cats with them. I am already looking at the AVA website, but can someone share an experience with putting their cats through quarantine or any other issues that came up while relocating the cats?
Any good cat hotels for them to contact later when living here and having to travel? They will probably not have live in maid.
Any other issues to think of?

Thanks so much in advance to all the cat people

[FurBaby]

hi Tigerbalm, welcome to the 'Porum!

not sure about the process of bringing cats in from Germany, but i've pet-sat in our quarantine facilities and they are very well-maintained. the staff there are also geniune animal-lovers (they would call out to the dogs i was walking by name, as we came out to the exercise runs).

i'm afraid there are no nice cat hotels in Singapore. the boarding facilities i've visited are pretty grim - wire cages all lined up together, so the cats are all staring into each others' cages ... which tends to make all but the most laid-back cats rather anxious.

your friends can always give me a call i'm a professional pet-sitter, and sit the kitties of a few of our Singaporum members, i think they'll vouch for me

[FurBaby]

ps. have moved your post to the Pet Talk forum

[tigerbalm]

Hi Furbaby,

thanks for the advice, I will let them know.

I actually told them already, it might be better to arrange for a petsitter, because I know my dog prefers to be a bit lonely and have shorter walks, but stay at home when we are not around.
(Yes, he told me ))

Do you know if the cats can be visited while in quarantine? I will call the place tomorrow, just being curious.

Thanks for moving the topic, I never even looked at the other forums...(where is that red faced smiley again?)

[FurBaby]

yes, you can definitely visit the kitties in quarantine. the hours are quite restricted though, and kitties have to stay in their room at all times:-
Mondays - Fridays : 4.00 p.m. - 6.00 p.m.
Saturdays : 2.00 p.m. - 6.00 p.m.
Sundays & Public Holidays : Closed

here's the quarantine station's FAQ page:-
http://www.petmovers.com.sg/quarantinefaqs.html

[Lichtgestalt]

I might be in the same position with Porto bringing him over (back) to Singapore. It seems that cats from Germany have to go into quarantine, if you fly them in from the UK they wont..... make your own conclusions....

[Lili Von Shtupp]

I might be in the same position with Porto bringing him over (back) to Singapore. It seems that cats from Germany have to go into quarantine, if you fly them in from the UK they wont..... make your own conclusions....

It's because anything from Germany should be treated as potentially rabid.

[slinky]

I might be in the same position with Porto bringing him over (back) to Singapore. It seems that cats from Germany have to go into quarantine, if you fly them in from the UK they wont..... make your own conclusions....

It's because anything from Germany should be treated as potentially rabid.

Tigerbalm -- We got our cat here, so didn't have to move him, but years ago when we first arrived we did bring a dog with us and she had to spend 30 days in quarantine. The quarantine facility was out in Jurong back then, but I'm pretty sure the same operation runs it. It was well run and the animals were all well taken care of. I actually sent my dog ahead of my own arrival by about 2 weeks and they were great. I received emails and photos of her upon her arrival and detailed info on how she was doing. When I visited it was clear she was being well looked after. I remember being told by the guys out at the quarantine station that all animals arrive a bit 'shell-shocked' due to being on long flights, etc., but that they perk back up to normal after the first day or so. I'm pretty sure quarantine is harder on the people (owners) than it is the animals Just advise your friends to visit as often as they are able.

[baloo]

When we flew our cats to Australia the quarantine people there suggested visiting the cats only once to let them know you are still there, then to leave them be. Their concern was that cats will stress out every time they see you and it's ultimately not that healthy for them.

Dogs on the other hand they recommend visiting as often as possible.

[chocolate]

I might be in the same position with Porto bringing him over (back) to Singapore. It seems that cats from Germany have to go into quarantine, if you fly them in from the UK they wont..... make your own conclusions....

It's because anything from Germany should be treated as potentially rabid.

[slinky]

When we flew our cats to Australia the quarantine people there suggested visiting the cats only once to let them know you are still there, then to leave them be. Their concern was that cats will stress out every time they see you and it's ultimately not that healthy for them.

Dogs on the other hand they recommend visiting as often as possible.

Proving once again that cats really are the prima donnas of the pet world

(Seriously, didn't know that about visiting cats, so disregard my advice about visiting as often as possible)

[tigerbalm]

Thank you all for the advice, copying the page to my friends!

The visiting dilema again brings up the question: "How do we know they (cat, dog, hamster) want us to visit once, often, never...?"

Seeing what my adopted abused dog went through and he turned out relatively normal, I think they are far more resistent then we think.

Lili, I am German, you want to see rabid ?

[Lili Von Shtupp]

Lili, I am German, you want to see rabid ?

LOL!

[Burbage]

We're getting better with new people. We only accuse them of being rabid now.

[Lili Von Shtupp]

We're getting better with new people. We only accuse them of being rabid now.

I'll take that over the spammer mullet avatar.

[Lichtgestalt]

Baloo, how did the cats react when you finally brought them home? Still shell-shocked? Porto did need a week or two before he went back to his normal behaviour

[Tas]

what, he only murdered 1 mouse a day instead of his usual 3 or 4.

[baloo]

Baloo, how did the cats react when you finally brought them home? Still shell-shocked? Porto did need a week or two before he went back to his normal behaviour

Ours are fairly oblivious to anything but food. They came to the new place, came over to tell us they were pissed off with us then went exploring the new house. Took them all of 30mins to be back to normal.

At the Quarantine the lady looking after them said they were quite agitated before we turned up. Once they saw us they then started planning their jailbreak and every time she went to their cage they would tag team her to see which one could escape. Apparently they were right as rain after seeing us that one time.

[Lichtgestalt]

what, he only murdered 1 mouse a day instead of his usual 3 or 4.

Unbelievable but true... he was actually shy and quiet....

[Kooky]

We visited our cats twice at the Q station - once to let them know we hadn't abandoned them, and again in the middle of the month to feed them more fresh chicken and ensure Bo hadn't faded away completely as the carer couldn't get anywhere near her.

Fu put on weight in there - being speshul has its plus side.

[Pinklepurr]

I felt awful that I didn't see my guys for the whole time they were in quarantine, but I just couldn't get there during the hours it was open. However the staff were brilliant and happily answered questions and they were the ones who told us to ring any time to check on how things were going. Took our two a couple of weeks to totally acclimatise themselves. As soon as they found familiar things they were happy.

[tigerbalm]

Ha, ha, yes I remember seeing the discussion here - how to get more people using this forum?
Well for me the option to actually get an usefull advice with a full link does the trick. Unlike on AB where one has to post things like - the big store in Little India that starts with M...
So call me rabid or whatever - I will be back

[Lili Von Shtupp]

Welcome, tigerbalm!

Nothing's as rabid like the AB!

[JJ]

My two went through the Q here in Spore on their way to Australia from Vietnam in 2007. The facilities had just been renovated so they were good - spotless "rooms" and excellent carers. I was even allowed to redecorate and totally "pimped out" their cage with cushions, beds, toys etc.

One thing that I would mention though: there are two choices for cats - air con and non air con. I chose non-air con as my cats, being the tropical princesses that they are, hate air con. However, if they had to do it again I would go for the air con option, as the air con "rooms" have windows and are therefore brighter and the residents can have a bit of a looksee outside. The non-air con are interior and despite being very clean they are a bit dismal... even with my refurb efforts.

Oh and book early, as the air con units get booked up ... i wanted to change their accommodation once they got there but by that time there were none free.

[Fat Bob]

You could always put them in a sack with a couple of bricks and throw them in a nearby water feature. The tides and flow of water around the world, plus your love, will ensure they arrive nice and safely with no worries about quarantine or anything else. And cheaper!