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Jun 19, 2017

Bringing your pet to Japan

Hi, I'm just wondering if anyone has ever experienced bringing their pet over. Is it as overwhelming as it seems?

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Pau

Pau

Aiming for a more intentional pace in life!

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8 Answers

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  • JapanExpert

    JapanExpert

    on Jun 26

    It's quite a costly exercise to relocate a pet, but for many people their pet is family so want to keep them with their family. I suggest you speak with a relocation company to look at costs and the process. It's also important to consider your accommodation - will it allow pets? Unfortunately it's harder to find landlords to accept cats compared to dogs. If your place does accept cats or you find somewhere that does, expect to pay additional deposit and cleaning fees.

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  • helloalissa

    helloalissa

    on Jun 20

    I have not experienced this, but my best friend brought her kitty to another country. In addition to all of the horrible paperwork, shots, fees, etc. required, they ended up moving right back home after around a month. Not saying you'd do the same, but it was hardly worth the trouble. The worst of it was, after that experience, the kitty was so stressed out and depressed. He actually was prescribed kitty Prozac for a while because it was so bad. In my opinion it's not worth it to do that to your pet if you care about them at all. Hopefully there is someone close to you who's willing to temporarily (?) adopt your pet instead.

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  • edthethe

    edthethe

    on Jun 20

    same thing happened with a friend of mine as well. They were living in Japan and had everything set up and went through the6 month quarantine with their kitty and at the last minute, their board of education decided to change their mind and say the cat couldn't come. It was all kinds of terrible

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  • Pau

    Pau

    on Jun 21

    @helloalissa, @edthethe thank you ladies for your stories! Sounds stressful indeed. I have a friend who successfully brought her dog over from the US. However, that's the only story I know. I was particularly interested in the case of cats because I don't come from the list of rabies-free countries that are exempted from this red tape. my stay here in japan is continually extending.. my foster cat parents are currently experiencing a change in household, one member of the family isn't getting along with her.

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  • genkidesu

    genkidesu

    on Jun 25

    I'm actually going to have to worry about this in reverse...we got our dog here in Japan so when we eventually are back in the States it's going to be navigating that side of things!

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  • Pau

    Pau

    on Jun 27

    @JapanExpert, I'm currently looking into a few apartments here. There are several where cats and small dogs are negotiable. Is there a relocation company that you know of? I was thinking of winging it all by myself, going home and preparing my cat. @genkidesu, oh good luck with that :) I hope you keep us posted with what happens.

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  • Wanderingteacher

    Wanderingteacher

    on Dec 1

    It can be a bit difficult they’re very careful and do a lot of testing from what I’ve been told since there isn’t rabies here. Also a lot of apartments don’t allow pets. For ones that do you can check gajinpot.com and filter for cats/ dogs allowed.

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  • cheeseris

    cheeseris

    on Jul 25

    You have to prepare for it for almost a year. There are a lot of documents you need to process. When you get to the airport, they will inspect your pet and if it doesn't meet the requirements, it will still be quarantined for days or maybe months. Maximum is 6 months. You'll have to pay about 10,000 yen for quarantine as I've researched.

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