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