The Export of cats from the Maldives: Preparing cats to travel

Cat adoptions - Cat travel - Travelling out of Maldives - Export out of Maldives

Several times I’ve been asked how tourists could adopt cats from the Maldives and transport them to their safe homes.

Well, when talking about the export out of Maldives, at the same time we need to look at the import regulations of the destination country, and this is where the difficulties lay.

So let’s go through the process if you wanted to export a cat from the Maldives

The first thing to check in the process is always to read the import regulations of the country of final destination for the cat. There is more to consider, for example which airline will accept the cat, and would it let it fly in the cabin with you, in the baggage compartment with the owner on board, or a Cargo without an owner on board?

The longest preparation for cats are when you plan to take them to the UK, to the EU and other countries that require Rabies Titre Testing. Read more about this procedure here.

When Abbie, who adopted little "Milo" from Naifaru, planned to take her to the UK, there was no time for the testing. She managed to travel with her from the Maldives to the UK without the rabies titre testing but with mandatory 3-months quarantine in London. Read Abbie's exceptional experience here!

If you want to take your cat from the Maldives to America or Canada, the procedure is pretty simple. Read about it here.

Dr. Tripta moved her two cats from the Maldives to India. She describes her experience here.  

We thank Emma Stephenson, Founder of Cat Rescue Maldives, for her experience from the Maldives:

"So, you’re on holiday in the Maldives and you‘ve fallen in love with an adorable stray cat that you just can’t bear to part with? I know how you feel, believe me.
In 2021-2022 I was living on a local island in the Northwest of Maldives, and I witnessed firsthand just how problematic the stray cat population is throughout the country. You will have likely seen for yourself by now that these poor creatures are often treated with violence and abuse. If you’ve been following the amazing work of Zoophilist Maldives, you will understand the extent of the problem and will likely want to do whatever you can to help. That is exactly how I felt, and knowing I could never live with myself if I left these innocent little floofs behind, I set up Cat Rescue Maldives. We have now helped rescue 11 cats and re-homed them to safe, loving homes in the UK, Europe, America and the United Emirates.

However, rescuing strays is easier said than done and the level of difficulty completely depends on where you live. For example, if you are importing a cat to America, there are basically zero rules. But, if you’re importing a cat to Europe, it’s a whole other kettle of Maldivian fish."