How to move to Turkey with pets?
  • Last Update: 01/09/2022

  • 809 times readed

Many of us have furry companions and want to travel with them. However, for some of you, this idea may seem to be too complicated and expensive. Today we share our personal experience of transporting a cat to Turkey.

A few general rules first.

NOTE: each airline has its specific terms for animal transportation. Our college first found out all the transportation rules, and only after that, she bought a ticket.

The document checklist is different for different countries, but these requirements are valid for every case:

  1. Electronic identification: a microchip implanted under the animal's skin according to the SO11784, SO11785 standard.
  2. An international pet passport in English with a photo of your animal.
  3. Health certificate, which must contain information on the following vaccinations:

- 2 from distemper

- parvovirus

- rabies, etc.

According to the requirements for Turkey, all vaccinations must be done at least 30 days and not more than a year before the animal leaves the country.

  1. Animal transport containers must comply with the requirements of the International Air Carriers Association. If the cage does not meet the requirements, the pet is not allowed to board.

A month ago, our corporate cat flew in the cabin of a Pegasus aircraft in a soft backpack carrier. The Pegasus low-cost airline allows pets to be carried in the cabin only. Pegasus does not allow animals in checked baggage, so if you have a large animal, please contact Turkish Airlines.

Your brief step-by-step instruction:

  1. Before you buy a ticket, check if your pet is ready for transportation. All vaccinations must be done at least 30 days before the flight.
  2. Rabies antibody titer test is the most difficult of all procedures and can take up to 2 months. Therefore, you need to do this as soon as you first have thought of taking a pet with you. Not all countries require this. However, if you make it once and renew it annually with a rabies vaccination your life will get easier.
  3. Call the hotline and find out if it is possible to register the animal for your date. Only 2-3 animals are allowed on board. If you first buy a ticket, and then it turns out that there are 3 cats on the plane already, yours will not be registered. Therefore, call first, get permission, buy the ticket and immediately register the pet.
  4. The day before (sometimes up to 48 hours), go to the state veterinary clinic to get a certified permit to transport a pet.
  5. Prepare sedatives if your pet is not used to sitting in a carrier. You can get one from your veterinarian or dissolve a quarter pill of Dramina in water, and drop it on the tongue. It lasts from 4 to 5 hours.
  6. At the airport, show all documents at the check-in desk or at the airport veterinary. That's it. Enjoy the flight!

Hope this information is helpful, if you have any questions about the property in Alanya or Mersin, please, contact us. 

It can be interesting for you:

December 31st is the deadline for microchipping pets

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