The punishing saga of transporting my cats

 By Jayvee Vallejera

You’d think that going from Point A to Point B is as straightforward as what mapmakers would have you believe, but as any traveler can tell you, the actual act of traveling is so much more complex. Transporting dogs or cats adds even more layers of intricacy to the task, making the idea not only overwhelming but also super expensive.

Bringing my three cats from Saipan to Leyte Island in the Philippines in 2023 took several months of planning and coordination that required several permits, lots of medical requirements and finding a company that would handle all that for you.

The entire process included asking for help from the Saipan Humane Society, a 28-day holding period, two trips to Guam, a trip back to the CNMI, obtaining live animal shipping permits in both the CNMI and Guam and several months of back-and-forth with Pet Shippers Guam.

For those who want to go straight to the good part, yes, Amber, Miss Catty and Pete are now with me in Leyte and get along with the seven Leyte-based cats. But the tale of how it happened is so much more head-spinning than anticipated.

The biggest hurdle was actually flying Amber, Miss Catty and Pete from Saipan to Manila. At that time, only Korean Air could do that, going from Saipan to Incheon and then Manila. No other airline offered that service.

However, Korean Air would only allow in-cabin transport and one person must accompany each cat. One person, one cat. I have three. That ruled out my initial plan of flying to Manila with my pets. The cats would have to travel on their own.

The next viable option was to fly the cats to Manila via Guam. After reading many horror stories about pets being mistreated by cargo handlers, I initially planned to hire someone to shepherd the cats through the process.

I found somebody in Guam who offers this personalized service, but the cost was just too prohibitive. On top of his quite expensive fee, I would also have to foot his airfares, hotel stays and meals (on Saipan, in Guam and Manila), plus the cats’ airfare themselves. So, no.

Plan C became the most viable option. That meant finding a pet transport company. There is no such service on Saipan, so the best option is flying them via Guam. I found one: Pet Shippers Guam.

It wasn’t that cut-and-dried, though. First, the cats must be fully vaccinated, have up-to-date anti-rabies shots, and be microchipped. All three cats have already been spayed or neutered, are fully vaccinated, dewormed and are microchipped.

They didn’t have up-to-date anti-rabies shots, though, because only a licensed veterinarian can administer that. Saipan doesn’t have a veterinarian.

That required flying the cats to Guam so they could get their anti-rabies shots. Fortunately, Pet Shippers Guam has a veterinary clinic, Harper Valley Kennels, that can administer the cats' required shots. Thanks to the help of fellow cat-lover Leigh Gases, the cats were able to go to Guam and Pet Shippers Guam handled all the Guam requirements, including entry into the U.S. territory.

You’d think that’s it—the cats can now be loaded on a plane and fly straight to Manila. No, no, no.

First, you’ll have to wait at least 28 days before traveling to comply with Philippine regulations and ensure the vaccine has had enough time to take effect.

Pet Shippers Guam can certainly keep the cats while waiting out the 28 days, but they charge a hefty boarding fee per cat, which would make it quite expensive. It was much cheaper to have the cats be flown back to Saipan where they can wait out the 28 days.

After the required holding period, the cats were shipped back to Pet Shippers Guam, this time for their flight to the Philippines. However, the only airline that flies directly from Guam to Manila, United Airlines, suspended its pet shipping program, PetSafe, in 2018.

That meant the only way for the cats to fly to Manila was via Korea since only Korean airlines allow pet transports.

After several hours of travel that included a layover in Incheon, Amber, Miss Catty and Pete finally arrived in Manila on Oct. 19, 2023. A separate pet shipping company picked them up at the Manila airport and brought them to a veterinary clinic co-owned by a cousin, who agreed to board them for a few days while they waited for me to arrive from Saipan days later.

The entire process was not only mind-numbingly wearying but also quite expensive. The cats’ airfare was more expensive than mine. I used miles and paid only $12 for my ticket. But my pets are family, and I could never leave them on Saipan.

Of course, bringing the three cats to Leyte meant another bunch of hoops to jump through, but that’s another story.

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