Moving Abroad With a Cat: A Complete Owner's Guide

If you are relocating out of the United States and your cat is coming with you, the good news is that cats generally handle international moves better than owners expect. The harder part is the paperwork: it has a strict order, a real cost, and for some countries a waiting period measured in months, not weeks. This guide walks through the owner's side of the decision, not the step by step process, which lives in our full international pet relocation guide.

How cats actually handle international travel

Most healthy adult cats tolerate a long flight and a change of environment better than their owners assume, especially when the trip is planned around the cat rather than around convenience. Cats are territorial and routine driven, so the stress of a move usually shows up more in the days after arrival, in a new apartment with new smells, than during the flight itself. A cat that is already anxious, elderly, or has a chronic medical condition needs a conversation with your veterinarian well before you book anything, since some conditions make air travel a poor fit regardless of the destination.

The single biggest factor in how well a cat travels is whether it flies as accompanied cabin baggage in a soft sided carrier under the seat, or as unaccompanied cargo. Airlines and welfare groups both favor the cabin option for cats whenever the airline, aircraft, and destination allow it, because the cat stays with you, avoids the temperature swings and handling of the cargo hold, and skips a separate customs process on arrival. Cargo becomes necessary mainly for larger cats over the in-cabin weight and carrier size limits, for airlines that do not accept pets in the cabin on international routes, or when you are not flying on the same day as your cat. If cargo is unavoidable, book a direct, nonstop flight, avoid extreme heat or cold on the ground, and use an IATA compliant hard sided crate. The IATA Live Animals Regulations set the crate construction, ventilation, and labeling standards that airlines and customs officers expect worldwide.

Preparation matters more than temperament for how smoothly the day goes. Start acclimating your cat to the travel carrier weeks before departure, not the morning of the flight, by leaving it out at home with familiar bedding and treats so it becomes a resting spot rather than a source of stress. Skip sedatives and calming drugs unless your veterinarian specifically prescribes and clears one for air travel. The AVMA's pet travel guidance advises against sedating pets for flights, since sedation can interfere with a cat's ability to regulate its own body temperature and balance at altitude, and airlines can refuse a visibly sedated animal outright. A well rested, lightly fed cat in a carrier it already trusts almost always travels better than one dosed with anything, human or veterinary, to make it drowsy.

The export basics, and why the order matters

Every country that accepts pet cats from the United States builds its entry requirements around the same core sequence, and getting the order wrong is one of the most common reasons owners have to delay a move. First, the cat needs an ISO compatible microchip, implanted or confirmed before the rabies vaccination that follows it. Second, the cat needs a current rabies vaccination administered after that microchip is in place; a rabies shot given before the chip generally does not count for export purposes, because the vaccination record has to reference a chip number the officer can scan. Third comes an official health certificate completed by an accredited veterinarian, which for most international destinations must then be endorsed by a USDA APHIS Veterinary Services office, either on paper or through the USDA's electronic certificate system, within a short window before departure, often 10 days.

Skipping or reordering any of these three steps, chip, then vaccine, then endorsed certificate, is the paperwork mistake that most often forces owners to rebook flights or, worse, arrive with a cat that a customs official turns away. Build in extra time before your intended departure date specifically to get this sequence right, and confirm the exact requirements and current fees for your destination directly on the government page for that country rather than relying on a blog, since rules and endorsement windows change. Budget for the paperwork itself as a real line item, not an afterthought: the accredited vet visit and health certificate typically runs somewhere in the low hundreds of dollars, the USDA endorsement carries its own separate fee, and a rabies titer test at an approved laboratory adds more on top of that, before you even get to airline pet fees or a shipper's charge.

If you plan to move back to the US eventually

Many international moves are one way for now but not forever, and it helps to know that the rules are asymmetric. Cats face comparatively light federal requirements coming back into the United States: the CDC does not require a rabies certificate or an import permit for pet cats entering the country, and USDA APHIS has no separate import requirements for cats either, though vaccinating against rabies is still strongly recommended for the cat's own protection and some individual states require it. That is a meaningfully different picture from the dog rules, where the CDC requires an ISO compatible microchip, a minimum age, an online import form, and in many cases rabies documentation depending on where the dog has been. If your household includes both a cat and a dog, do not assume the two pets face the same paperwork on the way home; they do not.

When your destination requires a rabies titer test

Countries that are rabies free or that treat rabies control strictly, including Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Japan, Hawaii, and several others, generally require a rabies antibody titer test, sometimes called a FAVN or RNATT test, in addition to the standard microchip and vaccination. The test measures whether the vaccine produced a strong enough antibody response, and it can only be drawn after the rabies vaccination the country will accept, at a laboratory the destination approves. Most of these countries also impose a waiting period after a passing titer result before the cat is allowed to travel, commonly around 90 days from the blood draw, though the exact window varies by country and can run longer for some.

Add the vaccination timing, lab turnaround, and waiting period together and a titer required move often needs six to seven months of lead time from the day you start the paperwork to the day you can legally arrive, sometimes more for a rabies free destination like New Zealand or Hawaii. If your job offer, lease, or school start date gives you less runway than that, start the process immediately and talk to your veterinarian about whether an earlier vaccination or a different destination timeline is realistic; a titer test is not something that can be rushed. Our pet passport guide explains this documentation chain in more detail, including why the informal term pet passport does not mean the same thing in every country.

Destination rules vary more than most owners expect

There is no single set of international pet rules, and assuming your destination works like the last country you researched is a common and avoidable error. Countries in the European Union generally accept a USDA endorsed health certificate plus microchip and rabies vaccination without a titer test or quarantine for cats coming from the United States, since the US is recognized as a rabies controlled country, which makes an EU move comparatively straightforward on the health side, even though the paperwork itself still has to be done correctly and on time. Confirm the current requirements on the official UK government pet travel page or the equivalent page for your specific EU destination before you finalize plans, since post-Brexit UK rules and individual EU member state details differ from the general EU picture.

Australia and New Zealand sit at the strict end of the spectrum. Both require the rabies titer sequence described above, additional testing depending on the cat's origin, an import permit applied for well in advance, and in most cases a period of quarantine on arrival, arranged and paid for before the cat travels. The Australian government's cats and dogs import page lays out the current step by step requirements, which change periodically, so treat any secondhand summary, including this one, as a starting point rather than the final word. Other destinations fall somewhere in between: some in Asia and the Middle East require import permits and specific test panels beyond rabies, while a handful of island nations effectively mirror the Australia and New Zealand approach. Canada, by contrast, asks for little more than proof of a current rabies vaccination for cats over three months old, making it one of the simpler moves on this list, though you should still confirm the current provincial and federal rules before you travel rather than assume they have not changed since your last trip. Our quarantine rules by country breakdown and our rabies titer explainer go deeper into both pieces if your destination falls into a stricter category.

What the process actually looks like once you know the rules

Once you know whether your destination is EU style straightforward or Australia and New Zealand style strict, the mechanics of pulling the paperwork together, choosing a flight, and preparing the cat for travel are the same skeleton for every mover, just with a shorter or longer runway depending on the country. Rather than duplicate that process here, our moving overseas with a cat guide walks through the full step by step sequence: which vet visits to schedule, how to source and label the correct carrier, what to pack for the flight itself, and how to help a cat settle into the new home in the first weeks after arrival. If you are a dog owner reading this for a mixed household, our moving abroad with a dog guide covers the equivalent journey for dogs, where the CDC's US entry rules and some destination requirements differ meaningfully from the cat side.

When a professional international pet shipper earns its fee

Plenty of owners manage a straightforward EU style move with one healthy adult cat entirely on their own, and there is nothing wrong with doing your own paperwork if you are organized and start early. A licensed, IPATA registered international pet shipper earns its fee in a narrower set of situations: when your destination requires quarantine booking, import permits, or a titer sequence you are not confident managing on a deadline, when you cannot fly on the same day as your cat and need someone to handle an unaccompanied cargo booking end to end, when your move involves multiple pets or a tight corporate relocation timeline, or when you simply do not have the months of lead time a strict destination demands and need an expert working every angle in parallel. A good shipper handles the export paperwork, books IATA compliant crates and flights, coordinates customs clearance on both ends, and delivers the cat to your new address, which is worth paying for when the alternative is missing a hard deadline or making a paperwork error that turns your cat away at the border.

Whichever path you choose, confirm every requirement directly with USDA APHIS for the export side and with your destination's government pet import authority before you commit to dates, and loop in a USDA accredited veterinarian early, since only an accredited vet can complete the health certificate the destination will accept. Rules change, and the guidance in this article, like any general guide, can go stale faster than the government pages it is built from.

Step | What happens | Typical timing before travel
1. Microchip | ISO compatible microchip implanted or confirmed, must come before the rabies vaccination on record | 6 to 7 months out for strict destinations, otherwise as early as convenient
2. Rabies vaccination | Current rabies shot given after the microchip is in place, referencing the chip number | Immediately after the chip. Must predate any required titer draw
3. Rabies titer test (if required) | FAVN or RNATT blood test at an approved lab, needed for Australia, New Zealand, UK, Japan, and similar destinations | Drawn after vaccination. Results plus a waiting period, often around 90 days
4. Health certificate | Accredited vet completes an official health certificate, endorsed by USDA APHIS | Typically within 10 days of departure
5. Import permit or quarantine booking (if required) | Applied for with the destination government. Quarantine, where required, is booked and paid before travel | Weeks to months, depending on destination processing times
6. Flight and arrival | Book cabin or IATA compliant cargo transport. Clear customs on arrival with the endorsed certificate | Final step, scheduled once earlier requirements are satisfied

Frequently asked questions

Do cats handle international flights well?

Most healthy adult cats do fine, especially flying in the cabin with their owner in a familiar carrier. The bigger adjustment is usually the days after arrival in a new home, not the flight itself. Anxious, elderly, or medically fragile cats need a veterinary consultation before you book anything.

Should my cat fly in the cabin or as cargo?

In the cabin, whenever the airline, aircraft, and destination allow it. The cat stays with you, avoids cargo hold temperature swings, and skips a separate arrival process. Cargo becomes necessary mainly for larger cats over cabin size limits or when you cannot fly the same day as your cat.

What is the correct order for a cat's export paperwork?

Microchip first, then a rabies vaccination given after the chip is in place, then an official health certificate from an accredited vet endorsed by USDA APHIS shortly before departure. Reversing this order is one of the most common causes of delayed international moves.

Does my cat need a rabies titer test to move abroad?

Only for certain destinations. Rabies free or strict countries such as Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and Japan typically require a titer test plus a waiting period, often around 90 days, which can push total lead time to six or seven months. EU countries generally do not require a titer from US cats.

Should I hire a professional shipper or handle the move myself?

A straightforward EU style move with one healthy cat is manageable solo if you start early. A licensed international shipper is worth its fee for quarantine destinations, tight corporate timelines, multi pet moves, or unaccompanied cargo bookings you would rather not manage alone.