Chile Forum

What all is involved to bring cats into Chile? I would hate to have to leave the little guys in quarantine or something waiting for the bureaucracy to set them free, or worse have them killed because some important paperwork was missing.

Normally I would just direct you to the search feature, but when it regards pets, I usually have a few bookmarked.

This is a good thread: topic2312.html?hilit=pets

The process for bringing cats should be no different from bringing dogs. We came from Canada, and while I have seen my neighbors to the South have a few more problems bringing their pets in at times, the issue seems to be not with importing them so much as inconsistency as to what is needed or required according to the information available in the States. FWIW, I checked the Chilean Aduana page and cross referenced it with what the consulates listed. I say consulates, because I spoke with the one in Toronto, the one in Vancouver and the Chilean Embassy for good measure. A couple phone calls and 20 minutes of surfing are easy enough and saved me alot of head ache. There is a form that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency provides for Pet Export and it was referenced by the Embassy and only one of the Consulates. Basically, you take your pet to the vet, get their international health certificate and they fill out this form and sign it. Then you take it to CFA and it gets stamped by an official government vet. Costs about $25 or so (on top of whatever the vet charges) and it's all official. When I asked the consulate in Toronto whether I needed it, they said they never bothered, and they didn't have any problems. Being that I am OCD, I ignored them and went to CFA to get this form stamped. When we got to Chile, the ONLY thing the customs vet asked for was the form the Chilean Consulate said we did not need. Hooray for OCD.

Interestingly enough, the Chilean Customs guy couldn't read the Canadian Goverment doc, he just kind of knew what to look for. It was training day the day I arrived and I got to watch him explain to the newbie what to look for. They verified the vaccines (rabies mostly) and that the animal had had a recent parasitic treatment (regardless of whether or not they had any problems, you'll still have to do it) and then the number one thing he told the newbie to look for was the Canadian Government Vet stamp. So the point is, chances are you will speak to a Consulate who will tell you you don't need something. Consulate is, by and large, government speak for Incompetent. Play the paranoid card and just insist on getting it for your own sake. Better more paperwork than not enough.

BTW, don't plan on bringing their food or meds with you. They will be confiscated at the airport. If you don't declare them and they find them, it's a hefty fine. I managed to sneak stuff in mostly because I was lucky and quite frankly I forgot what I packed and where. So I handed over the treats in my carry on when they asked if I need to declare anything, but the food and meds shoved in a couple boots in my checked luggage went through fine. I know of one person that was fined $200+. Go figure.

Oh and be prepared to watch your poor cats come out on the luggage carousel with the rest of the luggage. My Voodoo was not impressed. I got the cold shoulder after he spent a half hour peeing lol. Good luck!

audeo13 wrote:Oh and be prepared to watch your poor cats come out on the luggage carousel with the rest of the luggage. My Voodoo was not impressed. I got the cold shoulder after he spent a half hour peeing lol. Good luck!

Aww poor baby! We took ours in the cabin with us, though they were not much less unhappy. TOTALLY spooked by the SAG dogs, too. Otherwise it was easy peasy from the US. We got the cats their shots a few weeks prior to the trip, had the vet sign the APHIS form, had it stamped by the USDA office and voila. It took all of 5 extra minutes at customs and the cats were officially Chilean. They warned that they could pop in anytime in the next 30 days to make sure the cats weren't being mixed with other local cats, but they never did. Still, we keep ours inside so it's not an issue.

I am not an animal lover. Nevertheless, I do love my children and they miss their pets. So we've brought several dogs and a cat into Chile at different times without major problems. The process from the US is pretty much what Audeo described above. You have to get the certificate from the Vet prior to leaving. There are some timing issues with this. Its dated the day of the vet exam and can't be over 30 days old when you travel. Yet the vet takes 10 days to mail it in and get it back. There is a very small window to get this done prior to travel. Prior to this, our vet required that the pet be free of stool parasites and we had to have stool studies done. One dog had giardia and this had to be treated prior to the issuing of the certificate. So you need to plan ahead. Our vet charged us several hundred $$ for this. (I think I need to go to Canada to see the Vet.)

There are many minor hassles that we have encountered that you need to consider. Also each airline has different regulations. One time we were told we couldn't take our dog because a cat was already booked on the same flight. They didn't want the pets facing off inside the plane during the flight.

You need reservations on the airline for your pet. American Charges $100 - $150 for the pet. Lan has sometimes wanted to charge additional fees but will usually accept them free if the LAN reservation was made through American Airlines.

American Airlines will not take an animal as luggage if the animal and carrier weighs over 120 pounds. Our German Shephard exceeds this now and to ship him as freight is very expensive, so he is now Chilean. (So if your cat weighs over 120 pounds, Forgetaboudit)!

American also won't take the cat or dog if the airports along the way are going to be hot. I think the cut-off is 75 degrees. We Fly through Dallas and on one occasion, they refused our dog because of the heat. I think Delta doesn't have this restriction because they keep their pets air-conditioned. It was quite a hassle to arrive at the airport with our Dog and be told he couldn't come.

We brought 2 dogs with us our last trip to Chile. They are large dogs. Their crates were pristine clean when we took them through customs in Santiago and we took them outside for fresh air and other necessary things while waiting to fly south. We deplaned in Puerto Montt but the pooches never made it to baggage claim. They ended up flying on to Punta Arenas. It was 2 days before the airline got them back to us. The airline never took the dogs out of the crate. So you can imagine what the crates looked like (and smelled like). We had to find a place to hose off the crates and wash the dogs. This was not an easy thing to accomplish.

Our German Shepherd is a great security system. He can distinguish friend or foe in pitch dark without hesitation. Well worth the above hassles.

allegro wrote:

audeo13 wrote:Oh and be prepared to watch your poor cats come out on the luggage carousel with the rest of the luggage. My Voodoo was not impressed. I got the cold shoulder after he spent a half hour peeing lol. Good luck!

Aww poor baby! We took ours in the cabin with us, though they were not much less unhappy. TOTALLY spooked by the SAG dogs, too. Otherwise it was easy peasy from the US. We got the cats their shots a few weeks prior to the trip, had the vet sign the APHIS form, had it stamped by the USDA office and voila. It took all of 5 extra minutes at customs and the cats were officially Chilean. They warned that they could pop in anytime in the next 30 days to make sure the cats weren't being mixed with other local cats, but they never did. Still, we keep ours inside so it's not an issue.

I've already done some checking around online but often run into information that is either inaccurate or outdated so it helps to get stories from people who have actually gone through the process. The info I've found mentions a "health certificate" and that's what I wasn't so sure about. I guess the USDA won't be too much trouble with their office located right across the road from the vet. I hadn't heard anything about inspectors coming to check on them after they enter the country. Mine are indoor-outdoor cats but I'm sure they'll need to be kept inside for a while while they get used to the new surroundings.

I'm also curious about some of the pet moving services. Has anyone had any experiences with them? The ones I've found seem expensive but I'm wondering if it may not be an easier way to transport them instead of bringing them on the same flight.

Hi all! I'm bringing over my cat and this thread of posts was quite helpful one question: did you have to contact the SAG to ensure there'd be a vet at customs to review all the paper work that goes with your pet, or is this "automatic"? The info and regulations on the SAG website don't specifically say if this is necessary, only what you have to have done on your pet and the papers you need.
I would assume you have to contact them with details like dates and flight number and the animal your bringing?

I brought my son's dog from Barcelona into the Us and then to Chile a few years ago. The one thing I remember is that I had to have 2 copies of the health papers - 1 in English and 1 in Spanish. I don't know if that still applies, but you might want to check it out. Good Luck!

Catt, I brought my cat to Chile a few days ago. It was WAY easier than I expected. I had a generic Canadian veterinary certificate (a trilingual one, English, French, and Spanish). The SAG person (a young girl) briefly looked at it, had me sign a "carta de compromiso," didn't even want to see the cat, and off you go! Good luck.

Ventisquero --> I'm also bringing my cat from Canada so you did not have to specifically contact SAG to tell them you were coming with a cat? You just show up with your cat and the appropriate documentation at the airport? Man! If only it were like this for pet parrots!

We just showed up with proper papers at the airport. It surprised me that nobody really wanted to see the cat. I guess if I had a crocodile inside, they would not have even noticed. We flew Air Canada. The cat was with us during the flight.

Thanks! That's simple and straight forward at least. Yes, you could probably get away with a crocodile instead of a cat if they aren't that vigilant
Sorry to bug you with one more question - is your cat microchipped? I just noticed in the vet certificate that there is a space for a microchip number....our Kitty isn't microchipped. Is it necessary?

No, our cat is not microchipped. Nobody asked about it at SCL.