Things are going right on schedule. We had kind of a hang-up on Saturday with taking the cats to the vet because it was a public holiday. I didn’t even realize it! The vet was closed. Someone let me know on Friday night. Coincidentally, it was the person that recognized me from my blog at Teadot. She noticed the blog post and contacted me on Twitter. Apparently, we’d chatted a bit on Plurk before I stopped actively using the service. I guess social media paid off for me this weekend, because it saved me a wasted trip to a closed vet.
Thanks @_rasyidah!
It turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The vet we were going to take the cats to wanted 104 per cat for the rabies shot and health certificate, but when we called around we wound up finding a vet that would perform the same service, including an application of Frontline to meet the “treated for external parasites” requirement for import to the Philippines, for only 84 dollars per cat. That’s 60 bucks in savings. Plus, the clinic was closer so we saved on taxi fare too.
I’ll list the places we went in my “roll-up” post on how to import cats to the Philippines from Singapore later, on my Philippines blog.
We really had to get the cats to the vet over the weekend to fit our timeline. Immediately after returning home from the vet, I filled out the online form with AVA to have the certificates converted to AVA certified versions. That included scanning them and uploading them along with the application.
So, after this I still have to go pick up the certificates from the AVA, which will hopefully be available by tomorrow afternoon, and then take them to the Philippines Airlines office to present to the customer service officers there. They require that you show them the paperwork before they allow you to board their planes with pets. I suppose it’s a good policy, but it adds a bit more stress. The health certificates have to be obtained within 7 days of arrival at your destination and you have to show it to the PAL office no later than two days before the flight. It creates a sort of time-crunch that we’ll hopefully get over without issue.
As for the cats themselves, this trip was a little less traumatizing for them I think. On their last trip to the vet we were in a much noisier area, with a lot of traffic and then to cap things off we got caught in one of Singapore’s flash rainstorms that left us pretty drenched. They did panic a bit when a dog the size of Marmaduke came into the vet, but I don’t blame them. That thing kinda worried me too. I’m sure it outweighed me by about 30 pounds. It was HUGE.
So, that’s it for now!
Total damages so far: 1075 SGD
Total to go (approx.): 260 SGD
Bradley Farless 
Hi! I'd like to thank you for your blog. It has been very helpful so far and will save me at least a thousand bucks to bring my cat George to Manila.If it's not too much of a hassle I'd like to ask you 4 questions:1) How did you send the letter to the Department of Animal Industry to request for the import permit. Was it via fax or regular snail mail or email? 2) After that initial request, how did they send the import permit? Was it via fax, snail mail or email?3) Where and what is the name of the vet/clinic that gave rabies shot and health certificate service , including an application of Frontline to meet the “treated for external parasites” requirement for import to the Philippines, for only 84 dollars per cat.4) Did the rabies shots come with a microchip too? The vet I am in contact now told me this: “NOTHING SAID ABOUT RABIES, BUT THAT IS A REQUIREMENT BY SINGAPORE ANYWAY.Which also means you will need the pet to have a microchip.”5) What is “Frontline”?Thanks for taking the time in blogging. It has helped me a lot.Cheers!Amp
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Hi! I'd like to thank you for your blog. It has been very helpful so far and will save me at least a thousand bucks to bring my cat George to Manila.If it's not too much of a hassle I'd like to ask you 4 questions:1) How did you send the letter to the Department of Animal Industry to request for the import permit. Was it via fax or regular snail mail or email? 2) After that initial request, how did they send the import permit? Was it via fax, snail mail or email?3) Where and what is the name of the vet/clinic that gave rabies shot and health certificate service , including an application of Frontline to meet the “treated for external parasites” requirement for import to the Philippines, for only 84 dollars per cat.4) Did the rabies shots come with a microchip too? The vet I am in contact now told me this: “NOTHING SAID ABOUT RABIES, BUT THAT IS A REQUIREMENT BY SINGAPORE ANYWAY.Which also means you will need the pet to have a microchip.”5) What is “Frontline”?Thanks for taking the time in blogging. It has helped me a lot.Cheers!Amp
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Hi there! I think most of your questions can be answered by reading the comprehensive 'guide' I wrote about this whole experience. You might get something out of reading it anyway. It's nearly step by step.http://www.bradleyfarless.com/2010/06/importing-your-cats-to-philippines-from.htmlJust to give you a quick answer to your questions though:1) I sent it to them via email. The email listed on the BAI site was invalid at the time. I don't know if they've corrected it yet. Use quarantine_bai@yahoo.com . That should get you through to them.2) I think the permit is typically snail mailed, but due to them providing the incorrect address initially, they accommodated us by scanning and emailing back the permit.3) This information is in the other post, including a link to the veterinary association's page, which lists addresses and phone numbers.4) A microchip is not required to export cats from Singapore, or to import them to the Philippines. Those chips, as far as I know, are only valid in Singapore and would be useless in another country. That vet is trying to get some extra cash out of you that isn't necessary. Our cats don't have chips. One of the cats I exported from Singapore is in the US with me now, and she still doesn't have a chip. Don't worry about it. If you really want verification, I recommend you contact the AVA at the Ministry of National Development on Maxwell Road. They issue the export permit and can tell you exact requirements. I can only relate my experience and what worked for me.5) Frontline is an oily liquid that's applied to the back of a pet's neck. It repels ticks and fleas for between 30 and 90 days, depending on the strength of the one you use. The vet we went to had it on hand.Like I said, these are short answers. I really do recommend you read the other post as it will give you a really clear, step by step example of how to get this done.Best of luck to you and George! And don't hesitate to ask if you have more questions!
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Cats getting their residency permits before you. Haha.I like that. LOL
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Ya. Those little jokers have no idea how lucky they are. It'll be nice to see them playing and running around in a big house though.
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Thanks! I'm just trying to take it as it comes, one step at a time.I'm also trying not to think about the fact that as soon as the cats are situated, I have to start working on my own Visa. Yup… the cats are getting their residency permits before me. Ah… cats.
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Ah, what a small world! Rasyidah is a fellow cat lover too :-)By the way, I'm extremely impressed at how patient you are, going through all these bureaucracy, to get your 3 kitties with you. I don't think its as stressful trying to get the bureaucracy for getting married with Cart :p
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