moving the pets

[mumboman]

I've got a cat that needs to move with me just want to make sure I've got things in order with him. Basically he needs to be microchipped, rabies shot after the chip and vaccinations taken care of about 10 days before departure and come with vet certification and pet passport. Is there anything that I'm missing here

[Hank W.]

apart from freezedrying thats about it. I think you have more **** from the airline (and the cat) than from the vets.

[Xochiquetzal]

We only needed the current vaccinations (and proof thereof). At customs, no one even checked the cat. We brought it over to the customs area and called someone out. They looked in the cat carrier, said, "oo kissa" and then handed it back. We tried to hand them the paperwork but they waved us through.

[karen]

We only needed the current vaccinations (and proof thereof). At customs, no one even checked the cat. We brought it over to the customs area and called someone out. They looked in the cat carrier, said, "oo kissa" and then handed it back. We tried to hand them the paperwork but they waved us through.

Same with me.

[holly]

No one even checked my dog either, but if you are getting a pet passport for the first time then you have to wait for 30 days until after the rabies jab for the blood test to check that there are enough antibodies - if not, another shot and another 30 days wait - only then will they issue the passport. If you already have the passport, then ignore all of the above!

[emimi]

You also need to have a certificate of Echinococcus multilocularis deworming and of treatment against external parasites. The pet passport has special pages for these.

The antibody titer test is needed only if coming from outside EU or travelling to the British Isles, Sweden of Norway. Then there has to be about 120 days since the vaccination before the test can be done (in this time enough antibodies have developed) and the test must be done in an EU-approved lab. One titer test is good for the whole lifetime if the pet is vaccinated yearly. Anyways, it seems Canada is a low risk country so no titer test needed.

If travelling from one EU country to another, there has to be minimun 21 days since the rabies shot in case this was the first rabies shot ever. If the pet has been vaccinated earlier (i.e. yearly), the 21 days is not requiered.

I've never been asked the passport when travelling, but better safe than sorry! Last time I flew to Finland with a dog, the customs lady only checked his birthday from the passport and then told today was her own dog's 2nd bithday

I noticed you're coming from Canada, so these are the rules that apply for you (from the Finnish Ministry of Agriculture web page http://www.mmm.fi/el/raj/tuo_elaimet_EU ... _en.html#2 )

Import of dogs, cats and ferrets from non-EU countries to Finland
A. Import from low-risk countries

The requirements set down in this section concern the following countries:
I. Andorra II. Antigua and Barbuda Mayotte
Iceland Aruba Montserrat
Liechtenstein Ascension Island Netherlands Antilles
Monaco Australia New Caledonia
San Marino Bahrain New Zealand
Switzerland Barbados Russia
Vatican City Bermuda Saint Helena
Canada Saint Kitts and Nevis
Cayman Islands Saint Pierre and Miquelon
Chile Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Croatia Singapore
Falkland Islands Taiwan
Fiji United Arab Emirates
French Polynesia United States
Hong Kong Vanuatu
Jamaica Wallis and Futuna
Japan
Mauritius

In order for the requirements for import set down in this section to apply, the animal must be transported from the countries listed above directly to Finland or so that the animal stays only in one or several of these countries between the country of origin and Finland. In transports by air or sea transiting another non-EU country is also allowed provided that the animal stays on the premises of an international airport or closed in a vessel.

If the number of animals imported from category II countries is more than five, the conditions of so-called commercial imports apply. Further information on this is available at the Department of Food and Health of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.
1. Approved points of entry

A pet animal must be imported to Finland via an approved point of entry, where the Customs inspects the animal's identification and import documents. A pet animal imported directly from a country referred to in point I may, however, be imported to Finland also via another point of entry.

> approved points of entry

2. Identification

The animal must be identified by a microchip or clearly readable tattoo. If the microchip does not comply with ISO Standard 11784 or Annex A to ISO Standard 11785, the importer must provide the means necessary for reading the microchip. As of 3 July 2011 only a microchip will be approved as identification. The animal must be identified before the rabies vaccination. The information on the identification of the animal must also be entered to the vaccination certificates.
3. Vaccination against rabies

The animal must have been vaccinated against rabies with an inactivated vaccine of at least one antigenic unit per dose (WHO standard). The rabies vaccination and revaccination, if necessary, must have been carried out in accordance with the recommendations of the manufacturing laboratory. The animal must be identified before the rabies vaccination. The vaccination must be carried out at least 21 days before import. In the booster vaccination no 21-day waiting period is required if the vaccination was administered within the period of validity of the previous vaccination. Unvaccinated young animals may not be imported to Finland.

The rabies vaccines currently applied in Finland are valid for two years if vaccination is carried out when the animal is over one year old.
4. Echinococcus treatment

Dogs and cats must be accompanied by a certificate issued by a veterinarian showing that the animal has been given not more than 30 days before it arrives to Finland an appropriate dosage of medicine containing praziquantel or epsiprantel against tapeworm causing echinococcosis approved for the species concerned.

Medication against echinococcosis is not required if the animal is brought back to Finland within 24 hours from leaving the country. Medication against echinococcosis is also not required for animals which are less than 12 weeks old and imported directly from Switzerland, Canada or the United States.
5. Veterinary certificate (or pet passport)

The animal must be accompanied by a certificate in accordance with Commission Decision 2004/203/EC or 2004/824/EC issued by an official veterinarian or other veterinary surgeon authorised by the competent authority of the country of dispatch (non-EU country) carrying the information on the animal's identification, rabies vaccination and echinococcus treatment. A certificate which is not issued by an official veterinarian must be endorsed by the competent authority of the country of dispatch. The entry concerning the medication against echinococcosis must be made by a veterinarian authorised to practice veterinary medicine in the country of dispatch. The certificate must be filled out in Finnish, Swedish or English.

The veterinary certificate must be accompanied by supporting documentation (or certified copy of it) including vaccination details. The original documents must also carry the information concerning the identification of the animal.
> a form for veterinary certificate

If a pet animal originally comes from an EU country and it is accompanied by a pet passport carrying the information required for import (parts I-IV and VII), the pet passport replaces the veterinary certificate

[TopDog]

I have 2 cats that will be moving with me to Finland and am wondering if there is a quarantine period and if so, where are the animals quarantined? A friend in Finland told me they are quarantined in the home for 30 days not to be introduced to other animals during that period. Is that true?

[karen]

I have 2 cats that will be moving with me to Finland and am wondering if there is a quarantine period and if so, where are the animals quarantined? A friend in Finland told me they are quarantined in the home for 30 days not to be introduced to other animals during that period. Is that true?

Wasn't true in my case.

[TopDog]

Could you expand on that a bit lol Not sure what part wasn't true

[TopDog]

I have 2 cats that will be moving with me to Finland and am wondering if there is a quarantine period and if so, where are the animals quarantined? A friend in Finland told me they are quarantined in the home for 30 days not to be introduced to other animals during that period. Is that true?

Just curious if anyone has any info on this?

[emimi]

No such rule but anyways it would be a good idea Finland is one of those lucky countries where parvovirus, distemper etc are relatively rare and it would be good to keep it that way, too. I've been dealing a lot with rescued and travelling pets and always recommend a few weeks of home quarantine/avoiding new animal contacts for pets who just arrived to the country.

If your cats have been vaccinated from kitten-times on regularly, they're very safe, anyways. Well, perhaps some home quaranteen could be considered a time of getting used to the new environment.

[TopDog]

Thanks so much for the reply! I feel much better about it now

[Väinämöinen]

Based upon what the vet told me when I brought my dog over here: if the vaccinations and pet passport were not in order, they would have quarantined him.

When it comes to looking at paperwork, Northwest-KLM was very thorough, but no one from customs even bothered to look at it at Helsinki-Vantaa.

[KallioFan]

I'm relieved to hear that it doesn't sound too difficult. I'll be moving three cats over

[Make]

We just moved our cat a week ago to Finland, it was chipped and got the rabius injection and the regular vaccinations. He could just come as handluggage besides the screaming of the cat no problems.