Dog and cats

No, they don't expire, but every time you travel the next box in the passport has to be completed and signed and stamped: Flossie has filled up her first passport and only has three empty boxes in her second, so after August she'll need a new passport!

Would love to see photos please Fiona - Maine Coons are gorgeous!

Hi Diana

When you say near the end of her second passport do you mean there is a date on them? I have a pssport for our Border terrier but I don't see and expiry date?

I brought my two cats (Maine Coons) over in the car. 26 hours from loading them at the cattery to arriving here in The Dordogne. I used two large dog crates joined by cable ties - one with blankets and cage hung food and water bowls and one wth plenty of newspaper and litter tray. They were as good as gold even after the front passenger window was shattered by a stone 20 minutes this side of the tunnel and the remaining 500 miiles with plenty of fresh air and some rain through the missing window!

Our Airedale travels in the car with us all the time, French motorways have so many rest areas that she gets plenty of exercise en route. She's near the end of her second pet passport, and loves the journey to the UK via the tunnel. Dogs have to see a French vet or worm tablets and a stamp on the passport 1-5 days before returning to the UK. The process starts with the chip and the rabies jab at your Scottish vet who will provide the passport.

ALWAYS check the details on the passport carefully, we had to visit a Calais vet the year our French vet used the wrong year one January!

Hi
I have 2 cats which I moved from Newcastle to the Pyrenees.
They travel to UK twice a year too.
We travel by car or in the campervan. They have cat harnesses and elongating dog leads. We clip them to D rings which are in the boot (its an estate car). Their litter and food is in the boot and the leads are adjusted so they can move round the car but not into the front seats.
The cats have pet passports. They have to be chipped for this. They have rabies vaccinations to allow us to bring them back to the UK.
You will find all the official info on the DEFRA website.

You're very welcome. I have 3 cats (and 3 dogs!) and I know I'd be absolutely beside myself if any of them escaped on the journey as there is absolutely no way you'd get them back. The lab sounds adorable and he should be find just slouched on the back seat. He'll probably sleep through most of it. The cats - absolutely cages. They may yowl and howl and screech but you'll switch off. I drove 2 cats, 1 dog and the kid down from Paris (5.5 hours) but managed (just) to keep my sanity despite the noise. Oh, maybe earplugs ...

Thank you Valerie …so cages it is…the dog is a big soft lab too scared to venture far from the car…poor him big adventure awaits!

Yes to passports, jabs and chips for all of them. As David says, the vet will be able to give you all the details and proper schedules.

Yes, absolutely put the cats in a cage unless they have a fixed harness as you'll need to make petrol/pee stops and you don't want even the slightest chance they'll jump out.

If the dog is any type of dangerous breed (s)he'll also need to have a 'seatbelt' so there's also no risk of jumping out, plus a muzzle for pee stops.

Hahaha David thank you for your reply…do you think we will get the dog over there with out a poo in 16 hours…maybe a wee bit longer from Bonnie land…and yes here is hoping that the uk stays in the eu ps did you put your cats in a cage?

Consult your local veterinary. They need to be chipped and vaccinated. They need a pet passport. Not so onerous going into the EU from the UK (just to remind you the UK is part of the EU even though the return journey is a little more complicated) but to return the UK demands a worming for dogs in 24 hours of the journey. Cheaper to take them in the car. Our cats enjoyed a sixteen hour journey without a pee or a peep. Good luck and vote to stay in the EU. Or wait for the idiot English to vote out in which case I will desperately seeking some ancient Scottish relative and be seeking asylum in Scotia