hello everyone,
i was wondering if any of you had experience with bringing home your EG from another country.
I live in Canada and my f1 is coming from the USA so there is some extra fun paperwork including, the TICA registration, 5-generation pedigree, import permit, export permit, CITES permit. I think we are only waiting on the CITES still.
there is also the flight and inspection fees on the day of bringing him home.
Anyhoo, my question is, do any of you have the slightest idea how much something like all this costs? My breeder says it shouldn't be over an extra $1000 from what my kitty costs but i feel like that is a low estimation.
Especially with how the economy is right now (our canadian dollar is only like $0.80 american :(((((( ) i want to make sure i am well prepared ahead of time.

any information is so very much appreciated.
Thank You,
Emily

Emily, I'm sure your F1 is costing you a ton of money. I didn't realize you were getting Luca from the US! I hate to think of the little guy being caged up and on a strange plane with strange noises. Cats don't like that and I can only imagine the stress he will go through trying to get to you. Interesting about a 5-generation pedigree when you are getting an F1. Although in Raiden's pedigree, an ALC was bred with an F4, so I guess Luca's pedigree could go back a ways.

$1,000 is a lot of money to spend to get your kitty to you. I would be more worried about the trauma to the cat and how that will affect him once you get him home. With all the other things going on with introducing him to your Avi, I would hate to have added all that other stress to the mix. I would have much preferred to pick the cat up myself to meet the breeder. You're spending a ton of money on a cat you've never held from a breeder you've never met in person.

I'm really hoping all goes well for you. Good luck!!!!!

Hi Sherry, Thank you for all your responses :)

Yes, Luca will be coming form the states..in fact, I don't think I found any breeders in Canada for f1s. It took me a very long time finding the right breeder- being vegan, all the ethical corners surrounding breeding and shipment were very important to me (don't worry, luca will be on a raw diet!), which is why i chose this specific breeder. in our contract it does say that the breeder must fly carry on with him or i fly to her but in our situation, my breeder was advised not to do that since Luca would have to go through another inspection going as carry on which will be a lot more stressful for him we were told. option b was for me to criss the boarder and meet my breeder in bellingham but then we realized that is a very long car ride for him following a flight which again is stressful for him plus if anything happens with the paperwork i rather be stuck and vancouver airport rather than in a different country with an exotic animal.
So yes, it was a hard decision to make to do it this way putting him on a flight alone :(
i don't know how much it will help but my breeder is going to get him used to the crate he will go in and with his blankets and toys in there with him...one of my worries is him going to the bathroom there.
one of the reasons i did choose this particular breeder though was because she refuses to sedate him for the flight which we both felt would be inhumane and stressful and could cause a reaction.
i do not think i will sleep the night before!!!

as for the money part, hoping for the best, preparing for the worst as you said. I'm also aiming higher because of the conversion to american dollars (that is killing me!!!!) plus i still have to pay taxes and inspection fees on my end. i really have no idea how much the permits will cost either.

Emily, I truly hope this goes smoothly for you. Where is the breeder located in the States? Has she shipped to Canada before? Are you sure you can have an F1 in Vancouver? Do you have a vet who will treat such an animal -- there are some vets who won't even treat bengals, much less an EG. You not only have to have the income to purchase and ship such a beautiful cat, but to simply care for it. And, as Brian pointed out in a previous post, if you rent, will your landlord allow this cat on the premises?

Your posts are probably the most intriguing at the moment. I think everyone here is fascinated by the EGs and not too many posters here have owned any. The EGs are spectacular creatures and I know yours will be a stunner. It is apparent you are trying to keep the stress level as low as possible, but cats don't really like "strange" new things. I'm glad you're not sedating the cat. However, I would be extremely cautious when you finally open the crate upon arrival to your home. The cat will be quite anxious and I'd be afraid of a full-blown attack if he is approached.

All I can say is I wish you the best with this and look forward to hearing how things go.

Hi Sherry!
Thank you for your concern :)
We have covered all our bases. Hybrids cats are allowed in British Columbia but not in every province, not in Alberta I believe until f4. We made sure of everything before paying deposit.
My landlord is aware and there is no problem, she didn't even make me pay an extra deposit on top of the one we paid for the first cat!!!! Bless her soul for that since bringing the cat th Canada costs nearly as much as luca. We also plan on baby proofing our place.
The breeder is in Kentucky so it is approximately a four hour flight. Ya I'm planning to back off from him if need be once we get him home but I also don't want to put him in a bathroom by himself and shut the door on him when he is scared so we will play it by ear. I won't open his crate until he is in my bathroom ( other then the inspection at the airport when he arrives). I'm preparing for the worst and taking lots of time off work for when he arrives (in only part time usually anyways but still )

My breeder is really confident that thugs will be okay, a little rough at first but that the cats will get used to each other and the new life within good time.
I'm excited to share my journey with everyone on here!

Oh also! Yes. I've called around at many vets and found one that his cat only that is willing to take him in. Still looking into where to get insurance for him though.

The breeder has shipped to canada before. There is a lady in another pronvince getting a kitty from the same litter aswell which is nice because we can split the cost of the export permit.

When do you think you'll be getting Luca? I'd love to countdown the days with you -- as I'm so intrigued over this whole transaction.

As soon as the CITES permit goes through we can book a flight. I think the other kittens staying in the states can go home any time now. When we have our date I will tell you!!
I'm so excited! My boyfriend says he wants to be surprised when luca arrives. He knows it's hopefully this month but I'm keeping him in the dark about everything else ;)

for anyone who may want to be updated on this: May 25th is the date!one week from today...it took FOREVER for that CITES permit

Good luck with your F1. look forward to photos

Appreciate the update! Monday is really close! Can't wait to see pictures and read how the little one settles in. I really hope all goes well with the travel.

Thanks everyone! I will post pictures as soon as he is settled and when i can figure out how to do that on here

Monday is just around the corner now. Check the "Gallery" section here on how to post pictures. They have be hosted online. You can post a link to the pictures or actually insert the picture into your post using the [img]before%20the%20http://%20and[/img] at the very end of the link.

Can't wait to see the little guy.

Thanks for the tips!

One more sleep! Tomorrow will be right down to the wire with his flight and inspection appointment. If we miss it then he has to stay over night in a kennel which would just be the worse so I plan on talking to the airline to see if they can get him off the flight ASAP when it lands.

For anyone who might be interested in bringing an f1 to Canada from the states and wants to know the process, here was my experience:

The longest process was waiting for the CITES permit to go through-it's not supposed to take longer than 90 days to be approved. In our case that was not true at all. We submitted the permit in the first week of February and it only went through about a week ago. They really dragged their feet on that one. Aside from that we needed the following:
Import/export permit, USDA health certificate, TICA registration, 5 generation pedigree and a certificate for rabies vaccination. And of course a purchase agreement with the kittens prices so that they can hit you with taxes when he enters canada.
These were the requirements for the kitten to come from the USA info Canada. I'm not sure what the requirements are for other countries or states.
Additionally,
Before Luca can fly he needs to go through an inspection at the airport which cost $273 plus an additional $239(if I remembered correctly) because he is flying on Memorial Day so they like to make extra money that day lol. His flight will cost approximately $300 give or take fuel charges on a given day. The airline guessed it should be about $300 though. We won't find out how much his flight costs until tomorrow when he is dropped off. We also had him neutered a couple weeks back which was about $100ish I think
All of this came to about $1450 USD which converts to approximately $1900 CAD right now (the Canadian dollar is at an all time low right now)

When he gets to Canada:
Upon his arrival here, canada requires him to go through another inspection but this one is only $36.75. It's to check paper work and make sure he is okay after the flight. After that we go through the CBSA (Canadian border service agency I think) and have to pay the taxes on him (this is based on the price on American dollars that I paid which totally sucks). In BC that is 12% for us so it should come to $300 for that roughly. Plus they charge an extra $55 just for processing that interaction. I have no idea why....
Then he can go home!
So roughly the additional fees for bringing Luca from the states to BC are $2400. I knew it was going to be pricey so I over budgeted for him. So for anyone thinking about doing this, make sure you are prepared for these extra costs that come with importing an f1 (or probably any (EG)it's more than just paying the breeder for the cat. I was really lucky that my breeder gave me a huge break on what she charged me for Luca since I was willing to go through all these hoops and money to get him.
I know it is a lot of money (about $4000 cad) to get him but I feel it is so worth it and I would do it again.

Sorry if this was a long boring post for anyone reading! I just wanted to put this information out there for anyone considering getting an f1 and bringing it to Canada from the states. We really didn't know how much it all was going to cost until a couple days ago so hopefully this gives someone out there a rough idea about how much it comes out to and what the process is and what the requirements are. Another thing to think about is taking the cat to an actual vet within a couple days of getting them (for health gaurentee and especially after a flight) which I will be doing on Friday.

Very excited!
Going to the pet store today to buy more toys(because I felt I didn't get him another my first time around haha).

I just realized how long that post was. Sorry!!