cats?

evcs: 'Chickens on the balcony', now that's a memorable image. John

Tell us later of ur exp crossing border with the pets. Afair there some strong rules about importing home pets in Ecuador.

evcs: thanks for the heads up on the apostillado, a step I had forgotten. I spent some time with American Air yesterday to sort out their regs, still not done; I have to match up the right cat carriers with the correct planes, as you well know.

Looks like I'll be coming into Quito with two cat carriers, a bike box with a mountain bike, and a knapsack for my earthly garments & a mac mini drive. At this point I wonder if I should rent a van in Quito - intuition says yes, for ease when I reach Cuenca to shop for lodging with two disoriented cats. This is all based on my ignorant assumption that my Quito flight doesn't continue to Cuenca - something else to look into.

cheers

bob zimway wrote:

Looks like I'll be coming into Quito with two cat carriers, a bike box with a mountain bike, and a knapsack for my earthly garments & a mac mini drive. At this point I wonder if I should rent a van in Quito - intuition says yes, for ease when I reach Cuenca to shop for lodging with two disoriented cats. This is all based on my ignorant assumption that my Quito flight doesn't continue to Cuenca - something else to look into.

cheers

If you can afford it, wouldn't it be better (and less of a stress on your cats) to take a trip to Ecuador, rent a place, and then return later with the cats?

I'm a cat lover and so look for any possible methods to reduce the stress on them (and for that matter any animal).

Also, I have heard from some expats that on some airlines you can take a cat into the cabin with you as a "carry-on". They have to be in a proper carrying case. This seems to me a lot better than having them stored in some storage area that is totally unfamiliar to them. At least as a "carry-on" they will have you as a "familiar" which should help to reduce their stress.

Also, I have heard but never tried this myself that "Bach Rescue Remedy" helps to calm an animal. This is a natural inexpensive herbal remedy (roughly $20). It is a liquid and can be added to food or just dropped into the cats mouth.

Some things to think about.

@ bob: Van trip from Quito to Cuenca takes like 9 hours, and sometimes the weather and the roads are not in the best condition, you have the chance to take a flight from Quito to Cuenca. It takes 45 minutes and probably cheaper than the van.
There's flights in the morning and in the evening.

@MikeGB: Some airlines don't allowed to sedate the pets.

Vinny

vinny: the flights I find from Quito to Cuenca are both morning flights, unless someone has confused a 12am midnight departure with 12 pm noon. Are you saying that there is a 12 midnight flight to Cuenca? thanks

There's 3 national airlines companies flying from Quito to Cuenca. All three have departures time around 7 Am and 7:30 pm.

Vinny

vinny: The US flights I'm looking at don't arrive at Quito until around 11 pm.

Then, I think the best option is find a hotel in Quito for the night.

If you arrive that late, find a van or bus to Cuenca it will be dificult.

good point

vinny66 wrote:

@MikeGB: Some airlines don't allowed to sedate the pets.

This is not a drug. It is a herbal remedy. It doesn't sedate the animal it just makes them relaxed. There is no way the Airlines would ever know you had given it to your pet as there is no significant symptoms.