Hi I’m planning to come to Taiwan this year, and I really want to bring my cat over with me. I’ve checked with the governmental department that is in charge of importing pets to Taiwan, and the staff told me that they normally only have to be quarantined for 21 days, providing all the right procedures were taken and that my cat was ok.
But I’ve been reading some other posts and I saw comments that said cats are quarantined for MINIMUM 21 days and OFTEN quarantined for 3 months-6 months??? Is that true???
And would the cat get sick???
I would really REALLY appreciate it if anyone can give me any advice on this. Thanks!!!
No. The quarantine area is extremely hygienic and lovely.
There is applesolutely nothing to worry about. Trust me. If they give you grief, you can blame me. 21 days is max. And they’ll call you for the first few months to check up to see how your cat is doing. They even made a couple of house calls to my place. Very impressed.
Hi pet owners, is it easy to find an apartment for rent in Taipei when you have a cat? I know many people don’t like to rent their places to people with pets, so I’m just wondering what the situation in Taipei is like. If anyone can offer me some advice, it would be great! THANKS!!
In about 16 (?) landlords while in Taiwan, I never had anyone even ask if I/we had a pet. Landlords generally expected their apartments to be trashed by tenants, and some of them preferred renting to foreigners because they figured the place will be better looked after.
Also, there is less potential problem with a cat in most Taiwanese apartments. I’ve never seen one with wall-to-wall carpeting with a thick carpet pad underneath, which is the #1 problem in American apartments if the cat “misbehaves”. The surface stain can be cleaned but the odor persists deeper down.
Conclusion: don’t even mention the cat. But check yourself if the apartment has the right “cat” conditions (like if you want an enclosed patio or something like that). We had one landlord who installed metal bars on the back patio, not specifically for the cat (as far as she knew) but because we asked for them. We put some plastic netting over that and then the cat had a secure place to get outside without getting away.
You are not coming to a funny version of America. This is a different country. All your assumptions must be revaluated.
But please look at our pets forums about bringing cats into Taiwan. It can be very hard. There is a 0 tolerance policy about rabies and a horrible quarantine area.
thanks! that’s interesting to know that we don’t HAVE to tell them we have a pet! are there buildings that don’t allow pets though? for example if you have a dog and you can’t let them “SHOW UP” in the building?
i did check on the pets forum. in fact, i posted a thread myself about bringing cats into taiwan. but i’m getting lots of different opinions. i even called the governmental department to check. lots of people told me that it’s really hard and all, but another poster told me that it’s not and they shouldn’t be giving me any trouble, that’s also what the governmental department said. so i have no idea what i’ll be facing when i bring my cat into taiwan. i don’t mind doing all the procedures but i just don’t want my cat in quarantine past 21 days…like definitely not for 3-6 months…and i don’t want her to get sick in quarantine.
the reason why i’m considering is because i might not stay in taiwan for a long long time, so there is no point to make her go through all of that if i decide to leave after a year, but if it’s only 21 days, i’ll probably bring her. any advice???
Well. If the apartment tells you ahead of time that no pets are allowed or the building policy is not pets then there you go, but most don’t have that. It is “polite” to ask first, (that is what we did apparently) but is usually not a problem.
As for getting it in. It will be in lock up for about 1 month. But before that you need to get it in to the limited number quarantine slots, and you can not make an appointment. Its first come first get, and dogs seem to be first in line. This means your cat might be waiting in the (filthy) animal holding area at the airport for a long time. So the total can be 3 months. And none of the conditions are good in any way at any time.
It can be done and you might be lucky. My friend brought his bird over with problems but the bird was ok.
But before that you need to get it in to the limited number quarantine slots, and you can not make an appointment. Its first come first get, and dogs seem to be first in line. This means your cat might be waiting in the (filthy) animal holding area at the airport for a long time.
I see, is that the reason why people say their pets are kept in qurantine for 3-6 months??? Can I call them before I go to Taiwan to check if there are any slots?
Btw, is there any policy saying that I have to have stayed in Canada for a certain period of time before I brought my pet over to Taiwan? Because I was planning to drop by in HK for 10 days first.
Yup. That’s why we say it is longer than a month and can be up to 3. I never heard 6 months but odd things happen here.
I think going to HK would only add to the paper work (and add weeks to its journey) and really stress the cat. If it leaves the customs area in HK you might really mess things up, as it might then need all the same paper work and vet certificates from HK. It might even need them if you don’t leave the airport, but that is less likely.
I would see if you can have the cat shipped straight here. I left my cat at home because of all this, and the fact that I would not let a cat go outside here. He was an indoor/outdoor cat and would hate apartment living.
Try and avoid the importing/quarantine routine. A work acquaintance’s two dogs caught some terrrible disease and died at the quarantine facility near CKS airport.
It seems like only 1 person and the staff from the governmental department are telling me that pets are kept in quarantine for 21 days only and that they don’t get sick. All other people are telling me it can range from 21 days to 6 months. I really don’t want my cat to go into quarantine for more than a month or get sick during quarantine.
Any other pet owners care to share their experiences? So I can get more opinions!!!
llama_lout, oh no!!! that sounds REALLY scary. I want to keep my cat with me for life…I just can’t imagine leaving her here. Didn’t they have vets on the facility to cure the dogs??? That sounds REALLY dangerous…
how long were your acquaintance’s two dogs quarantined for?
llama_lout, oh no!!! that sounds REALLY scary. I want to keep my cat with me for life…I just can’t imagine leaving her here. Didn’t they have vets on the facility to cure the dogs??? That sounds REALLY dangerous…
how long were your acquaintance’s two dogs quarantined for?[/quote]
They caught something called “kennel cough” but I don’t know what the sad details are. The owners were pretty cut up by the whole thing.
