Pet Care in Shanghai

When moving to Shanghai, bringing our cat along was non negotiable. If we were moving, so was she.

I previously outlined the steps we took to bring her overseas, but also wanted to share some resources we have found since moving here.

Pet Supplies

Wills Pet: I order all of my cat food and litter from Will's Pet. Their website is bilingual and they offer free same day delivery service. That's right, they deliver 25 lb boxes of cat litter to my door. They also stock a nice variety of imported pet food, treats, and accessories. And they text me when the food I buy is in stock. This is by far one of my favorite vendors to work with in Shanghai.

Pet Zoo: Before discovering cat food delivery, I bought Snowball's food and litter here. And I probably would have continued to buy her food here if they hadn't stopped stocking the food I was using. They offer a number of different imported food brands, all of which Snowball stubbornly refuses to eat. They also have in house grooming and veterinary services, none of which I have personally used.

Mignon Boutique: I loathe pet stores and firmly believe in adopting pets not buying them from stores. So while I do not endorse them as a pet shop, I have found Mignon Boutique to stock imported foods, treats, toys, and litter. Plus, they are around the corner from my apartment which makes it easy to for me grab food if I am in a pinch.

Veterinary Services

Shanghai Pets Are Wonderful (PAW) Veterinary Clinic: Snowball goes to PAW for her checkups for a number of reasons. First, they follow international standards for veterinary medicine. Many local vet training and licensing standards lag behind those in Western countries and I wanted to ensure she got the best care possible. Second, PAW came recommended by Second Chance Animal Aid, one of the animal rescue organizations in Shanghai. PAW takes care of all the shelter kitties which endeared them to me immediately. The staff here speak English and are all well trained.

Doctors Beck and Stone: I have not personally used this vet however, they also follow international standards for veterinary medicine and employ a large number of Western educated doctors. Their staff speak English and come highly recommended from JAR, another animal rescue organization located in Shanghai.

Pet Sitting

I have a good friend who looks after Snowball when we are out of town. She snuggles her, watches movies with her, and loves her as much as we do. However, if she is unavailable, we turn to:

Pet In Shanghai: Offers reasonably priced pet sitting in your home while you are out of town. They come 1-2 times per day and even water plants if you ask them. Very trustworthy and worth the peace of mind when I'm away from my baby.

Do you have any favorite pet vendors in Shanghai? Anything I left off the list? Feel free to leave a comment below with your tips for taking care of our furry friends in Shanghai.

Anatomy of A Street Cart

Noodles and pancakes aren't the only thing street vendors sell in Shanghai. They also sell pets.

And yes, chipmunks qualify as pets here.

Bringing Your Pet to China

As you all know by now, we were fortunate enough to bring our cat with us to Shanghai. We knew that having her along for this journey would help make Shanghai feel like home. Plus, I told Matt I wasn't going unless she was. While not too hard, there were a number of steps we had to take in order to bring our favorite furball with us.

First, I should mentioned that we did contract a pet relocation company to help us figure out the logistics. While I am pretty sure we could have navigated the import process on our own, we both felt better knowing someone else was helping us along the way.

In order to bring Snowball into China, we needed two forms of paperwork: a rabies vaccination record and an international health certificate. The requirements for each of these were fairly specific. 

The rabies record was easily obtained from our usual veterinarian. Animals entering China must have received a rabies vaccination at least 30 days before your departure to China and no more than 1 year prior to entry to China. Thankfully, our cat had been to the vet in November for her usual shots and was fully covered for her rabies requirements.

We also obtained an international health certificate, which was needed by the Chinese government upon our arrival. We were provided this document by our relocation company. No more than seven days prior to leaving, we had to have Snowball examined by our vet to ensure she was in good health. Once the vet had signed our international health certificate, we sent the form to the USDA office in Albany, NY. Once the USDA had certified her certificate, they shipped the form back to us. While not a hard process, we only had a short timeline to complete this form.

There are a number of ways to actually transport your pet into China. You can ship them as air cargo, you can check them as excess baggage, or like us, you can carry your pet onto the plane. Just not in your actual luggage as my cat apparently thought.

Once we arrived in Shanghai, we had to take Snowie and the certificates to the Plant and Quarantine Office. Because we had used a relocation company, our agent took care of the quarantine fee (about 1000 RMB per animal) and had already provided copies of our information to the quarantine officials. After a quick photo shoot of us and our cat (to ensure she was returned to the proper owners), we had to leave Snowball in order to complete her mandatory quarantine. All pets are required to be quarantined for 30 days. The first 7 days are completed at a government quarantine facility. After the initial 7 days, if the animal is approved as healthy, home quarantine may be allowed for the remaining 23 days. Thankfully, the vet gave Snowball the stamp of approval to come home to us after one week. While we certainly did not love the idea of being away from her for a full week, our pet relocation company checked on her each day and reported back to us in order to let us know she was okay.

And how is Snowball doing now that her entire 30 day quarantine is up? Well, you can be the judge.