Has anyone taken their cat to Hawaii using the Same Day Release option? (Hilo: 2013, mobile home)

[smarino]

We plan on moving back to Hilo, but our cat has lymphoma cancer. She's stable now, finally, but needs her meds regularly (chemo and steroid), and of course she doesn't need to be stressed. I called the quarantine people on O'ahu and they said that she could be eligible for the same day release option (which they have in Kona too, and we could just drive over to Hilo), assuming we do all the steps necessary.

We were going to wait here on the mainland until she died, which could be a few months or a few years, but now I'm thinking that if we heavily sedate her for the trip, and if she doesn't have to be taken away from us for quarantine, the stress level MAY be doable. Has anyone here brought their cat to Hawaii on this program?

[whtviper1]

I've brought my cats. What would you like to know?

Forms are available online - off the top of my head, you need current (and multiple rabies shots), blood test, waiting period (essentially your quarantine at home), another check up before you leave, paperwork sent to Hawaii ahead of time, and lots of $$$'s to make it all happen.

[Jungjohann]

Pic on the right should have a caption reading,

"Think I look cute now, just WAIT until you see what I left in the pool"


Aloha popoki kolohe

[sthn]

Yes, I have. As whtviper1 stated, the forms and instructions are all on the Hawaii animal quarantine web site. However, briefly -

The cat needs to have had two rabies shots in her life with the most recent one not being expired upon arrival in Hawaii. You have to have original signed copies of the certificates to send to Hawaii. She must have a microchip implanted. She will need to have blood work sent to Kansas State University to be tested for rabies. The 120-day quarantine begins the day after KSU receives the blood work. She cannot arrive before the 120 days is up, and the test is good for 3 years. The microchip has to be implanted before the blood work as that is what they use to identify the blood sample. You can look up the earliest date you can arrive on the Hawaii web site with the microchip number.

The required documentation has to be sent to Hawaii more than 30 days before your arrival. This includes the rabies certificates, notarized import form found on their website, and payment which is $145 for arrival in Kona. You must also contract with a vet on the island to meet you at the airport. There are only specific vets that do this, also listed on the Hawaii website. We paid about $200 for this. It's more for an evening or weekend flight. Once Hawaii gets the documentation and payment, they will send you the neighboring island permit that you will need to bring on the plane.




You also need a health certificate dated within 14 days of arrival to give to the airline and vet in Kona, although I believe the airline wants it to be within 10 days. She will also need to be treated by a vet with a specific product for ticks within 14 days of arrival. Also, as far as I know Alaska Air is the only airline that will allow her to ride in the cabin with you to Hawaii. Many airlines allow pets in the cabin to other locations or leaving from Hawaii, but Alaska was the only one we found that would allow pets in cabin to Hawaii. They charge $100 for the pet to ride in cabin.



Hope that wasn't an overload of info for you. It sounds like a lot, but it is really not that difficult. Again, all of the information is on the Animal Quarantine website. Good luck!

[KauaiHiker]

Great info from sthn, it matches our experience of several years ago. The only difference was with this:

Originally Posted by sthn

Also, as far as I know Alaska Air is the only airline that will allow her to ride in the cabin with you to Hawaii. Many airlines allow pets in the cabin to other locations or leaving from Hawaii, but Alaska was the only one we found that would allow pets in cabin to Hawaii. They charge $100 for the pet to ride in cabin.

In 2011, no airline allowed us to take two cats in cabin, so they had to go in two crates as cargo, which we had to pick up at the ag office in HNL for immediate release--except they were left somewhere for 1hr until transferred and released to us. I know the in-cabin policy changes periodically, so check with the airlines, and specifically for the TO-Hawaii segment as sthn says.

Also, when we did fly with cats in cabin way back in 2004, the stewardess took the cats from us before landing and handed them to the ag inspector as soon as the plane door was opened (and then we picked them up from the ag office 30 minutes later). I'm not sure how it works with neighbor island release through a local vet, because we never did that. But I do know they really don't want to give people a chance to sneak pets into the state, so check what the current procedure is, especially if you think your pet will suffer even if out of your hands for 30-60 minutes.

[Green_Mountain]

We've only started the process but one thing we were told is don't just assume that because you've submitted all the paperwork properly everything is going to go as it should. Call ahead before you book your final trip and confirm they've received everything and have all necessary paperwork in hand to release your cat when you get there. I'm told they will be able to give you that verbal confirmation. I was also told to have copies of all paperwork you've submitted on your person when you arrive even though it's already been filed. In other words, play it as safe as you possibly can.

[PMA.AD]

I moved my dog over in the summer of 2013 and agree with the info provided in the previous posts. One thing I want to add is that the airlines (as far as I know) will not permit your animal to be sedated. My experience was with a dog and United airlines, but this is something you may want to double check early on in the process. Also, we did direct release in Kona and the whole process only took about 15 minutes once the plane arrived.

[Green_Mountain]

Good point, from what I understand they can be given a mild sedative to help them calm down, but if he/she truly meant heavily sedated literally, that could be an issue.

[smarino]

Well, that's it then. We can't bring Sissy, and we'll just have to stay on the mainland until she passes away. I am not going to put her into cargo. If she can't fly in the cabin, it isn't going to happen. I called a few places that facilitate things (they help w/ sending the paper work ahead, would meet us at the airport, have their own vets, etc), so that's helpful. What concerned me though is that on the Hawaii quarantine website, the officials are not very up front about providing what I would call information that you can count on. After I slogged through all of their requirements that WE would have to go through, I see this disclaimer in caps..... " WARNING: INSPECTION HOURS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE". So from that reading, we could conceivably show up, there could be no one to check us out, and who knows what happens at that point? It's too bad, as the same day release in Kona would really help. It would have been easy to just go from there to Hilo. This is an unnecessary uncertainty that I am not happy with. You should be able to count on the people being there during the hours they say they will.

I'm still talking w/ some of the people that help w/ moving your pet through the process, but its a moot point if she has to be in cargo by herself, not knowing or understanding what is going on or why she's there, and suffering through all that noise and with the pressures changing. I can't put her through that and run the risk that the stress will trigger her cancer again. She's stable now (finally), the chemo and steroid are doing their job, and all in all she's doing pretty well. That can't be jeopardized. I'll double ck that no airline other than Alaska will let her in the cabin w/ us, because that's the deal killer.

Of course, we just sold our mobile home a few days ago (its under contract, no money is in my hands yet, but it looks good), so I'm wondering what now? I'd thought this wasn't going to be an issue. Well, life is interesting, yes? We'll just see this as an adventure, and look for an interim city not too far from us that suits us better (too many conservatives and mean Yankees here in our part of Florida). Just settle down and spend some quality time w/ the little black furry creature that we love. Thanks for the help!

[KauaiHiker]

Not to be harsh, but you changed your plan significantly enough to sell your house before even asking your vet if your pet could fly, either in cargo or in cabin? Has your vet cleared your cat to fly? With those meds for that condition, it could be the bigger factor. What about the 120 day waiting period after sending in the blood sample for rabies testing?

In any case, I hope you can find in-cabin flights for your pets, and that you can bring your cat to Hawaii safely.

Note that in cabin, there is still noise, pressure changes, and you aren't supposed to open their carrier--I know that talking to them can help, but it's still not all that comfy for the cats. BTW, cargo is pressurized, no worries there, but I've heard the pilots control the cargo heat, so we always tell a steward to remind the pilot there are live pets in cargo on this flight, and they've been very accommodating and confirmed with us.

Our 2 cats were 14 years old and survived cargo SFO-HNL, HNL-LIH and another 4 years on Kaua'i.