Cats entering the UK from abroad
Rabies is extremely rare in the UK. There have only been four deaths in the UK since 2000 – all
in people who were bitten by dogs overseas. However relaxation in the laws surrounding the
import and export of pets in the UK has meant that it is now more likely that rabies could enter
the UK from overseas. The potential impact on human and feline health and the reputation of
the charity would be hugely significant if a cat in the care of CP was found to be infected with
rabies. It is important to have appropriate policies and guidelines in place to protect our
people and cats.
What is rabies?
Rabies is a viral disease that can infect all warm-blooded animals, including cats and people. When
clinical signs of rabies occur, it is an almost invariably fatal disease. The virus can be shed in the
saliva of infected animals and bite wounds that inject saliva beneath the skin are the usual means of
transmission of infection. The incubation period in a person i.e. the time from being bitten until clinical
signs occur is typically one to three months however periods of between four days and six years have
been documented. Incubation in the cat is typically three to eight weeks (generally less than in the
dog). Death usually occurs within ten days from the first onset of signs.
Are there any other exotic diseases we should be concerned about?
As well as rabies there are other diseases that may be brought into the UK by imported cats. The
ones we are most concerned about are the tapeworm Echinococcus multilocularis which can cause
fatal disease in people. Tapeworm treatment used to be compulsory as part of the PETS travel
scheme but is no longer compulsory for cats. Tick-borne disease such as babesiosis and ehrlichiosis,
heartworm and the zoonotic disease leishmaniasis can all cause severe and sometimes fatal disease
in cats.
What are the current PETS travel scheme and quarantine requirements?
Prior to the introduction of the PETS travel scheme in 2000, cats entering the UK were subject to six
months’ quarantine, primarily to keep the UK rabies-free. The PETS travel scheme was introduced to
allow dogs, cats and ferrets from the EU to enter the UK without being subject to quarantine providing
they had fulfilled certain criteria. This included microchipping, rabies vaccination, passing a rabies
antibody test, tick and tapeworm treatment. The scheme has been amended several times and was
made significantly less arduous in 2012 by allowing animals to enter the UK three weeks after
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vaccination from certain low-risk listed countries, where previously they had to wait for six months
after a successful antibody test. This three week period gives time for the vaccine to induce an
immune response but does not allow for an animal already infected with rabies before vaccination to
be identified before entering the UK. Animals entering the UK from ‘non-listed’ (high risk) countries
can only enter the UK three months after they have had a successful rabies antibody test taken thirty
days after vaccination. Animals that do not comply with these rules must be held in official quarantine
facilities until they do comply.
In light of this, what is the level of risk posed by animals entering the UK from abroad?
The numbers of animals entering the UK from abroad has markedly increased in the last few years.
Since the regulations for the PETS passport were relaxed in 2012, this has led to a 67% increase in
the number of cats entering the UK legally that year and numbers continue to increase. A Dogs Trust
investigation in 2014 found that there were inadequate controls at UK ports and many dogs are
entering the UK illegally. No-one knows how many cats are entering illegally but with the inadequate
checks it is likely to be more common than DEFRA claim. The risk of rabies entering the UK has
increased, albeit the risk is still low.
Although theoretically all animals entering the UK from abroad should be checked at the point of entry
including being scanned for a microchip, no central record is kept of all animals entering legally. This
means that when a stray cat is found to have a foreign microchip and the owner cannot be traced, we
do not know whether it has entered the country legally. These cats should be treated as an illegal
entry which must be investigated by Trading Standards.
What should be done if CP is approached by an owner to take a cat with a foreign microchip
into CP care?
Owners who wish to relinquish cats with a foreign microchip to CP should present the cat’s Pet
Passport along with their cat. The Pet Passport logs the movement of the cat abroad and will provide
assurances that the cat was up to date with all the required preventative treatment prior to travel.
All owners relinquishing cats must be asked if the cat has been outside the UK at any time. If so they
should be requested to bring in the cat’s Pet Passport. If they do not have the relevant paperwork
they should be asked to get copies. If they cannot do this and the cat travelled from a country that is
not rabies-free within the last six months, the cat should not be taken into care. Contact the Branch
Support Unit (BSU) on 080800 191919 if you are at all unsure.
What about if CP is contacted by another charity or a veterinary practice to accept a stray who
has a foreign microchip?
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CP should not accept a stray into CP care that is already known to have a foreign microchip. This
would usually be a request from a veterinary practice or another charity, which have a responsibility to
approach Trading Standards themselves.
Cats may have been brought into the UK by well-meaning individuals or groups for the
purposes of being rehomed in the UK. Should CP accept these cats?
CP should not accept cats (often street cats with a high risk of carrying infectious disease which are
not suited to being confined) into care that well-meaning (but often misguided) individuals or
organisations have brought into the UK with the aim of rehoming them here. We would prefer to
discourage people from doing this, not only because of the risk to human and animal health but also
from the perspective of the welfare of the cat in undergoing a long and stressful journey to the UK.
Individuals wishing to help cats overseas should be encouraged to instead donate funds to services
local to the cats (for example, a locally based animal rescue organisation or veterinary clinic).
What should be done if CP has taken on a stray cat that is subsequently found to have a
foreign microchip?
The cat may have come to the UK accidently by getting into a car, lorry, boat or plane or may have
been imported illegally. When trying to trace a foreign microchip, it may appear that the microchip has
not been registered. However it may well still be registered to a foreign database.
The cat should be kept in isolation and handled as little as possible. Protective clothing should be
worn.
All adoption centres and branches must report any cat coming into CP care that they suspect has
entered the UK from abroad without evidence of them complying with regulations to BSU. Please
contact BSU on 080800 191919 with the details and they will be able to assist you and will contact
Trading Standards.
You can find some further information on foreign microchips in section six of ‘Cats Protection’s Guide
to Microchipping’
Will CP pay for the quarantine of cats with a foreign microchip when the owner cannot be
traced?
CP may pay for the quarantine of a cat in some circumstances:

When a cat with a foreign microchip has arrived in the UK accidentally;*

When a cat with a foreign microchip has come into CP care, but the owner cannot be traced.
CP will not put a cat through quarantine if:
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
The cat has a known owner who either deliberately smuggled the cat into the UK or was
ignorant of the rules;

The cat is feral, extremely fearful, seriously ill or unweaned.
A fixed budget is allocated for the purposes of quarantining cats where necessary and is controlled by
BSU. BSU must be contacted in the first instance whenever quarantine is considered for a cat in CP
care.
* If cats have come from an EU country they just have to be quarantined long enough to comply
legally i.e. they are vaccinated and then held for in quarantine for three weeks. If the animal has come
from an EU country that is high risk such as Lithuania it should be considered whether we keep the
animal in quarantine for the time it takes to be vaccinated, tested after thirty days and held for three
months as would be the case for a non-EU high risk country.
What advice should be given to new owners who adopt cats that came into CP with a foreign
microchip?
The necessary steps must first be taken to ensure that every attempt has been made to trace an
owner and that the cat is no longer a rabies risk. Contact BSU for advice.
Adopters should be informed if CP is aware the cat has been outside the UK at any point.
Should CP staff and volunteers who handle cats on behalf of CP be offered rabies preexposure vaccination at CP’s expense?
The cost of vaccinating those working with cats within CP would be in excess of £300,000 for the
initial course. A booster vaccination would be needed every three years. The risk to a CP staff
member or volunteer in coming into contact with a rabies-infected cat in the course of their duties is
very low and is too low to justify the costs of mass vaccination.
However, individuals may request a rabies vaccination at their own expense by contacting their GP.
CP may cover the cost of a rabies vaccination for a limited number of individuals who are concerned
or are at a higher risk. Staff and volunteers may request a rabies vaccination by contacting their RDM
or DM, who will consider each request on a case-by-case basis.
What should be done if you have been in contact with a cat that may be at risk of carrying
rabies?
Anyone who is licked on bare skin, bitten or scratched by a cat that has been in a non-rabies free
country in the last six months, in the course of their CP work, must seek medical advice immediately.
You may be advised to receive a post-exposure vaccination. Report this incident to CP Health and
Safety.
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