Every week we search for interesting stories about cats and their owners. This week we spoke with Janice, who currently lives in Amsterdam. But in 3 months she will move with her family and 2 cats to New York in the United States for at least 1 year.
House, tree, pet
Just outside the center of Amsterdam, Janice lives with her family and 2 cats; Beer and Balou. One is a 5-year-old British Shorthair and the other a 1-year-old mix. Since November 2022, the cats have also become big brothers to the daughter of Janice and her partner.
Why does Janice have two cats? "Beer first had a British Shorthair brother, but unfortunately he got sick and passed away. Because we felt sorry for Beer that he would be alone, we announced in our circle that we wanted a second cat. Through a friend of my mother, we came across Balou, born from an unplanned pregnancy but oh, how cute he is!" Janice tells about her Beer and Balou, who get along more than well!

The Big City
For work, Janice and her partner had already spent a longer period abroad before they had cats and a child. So when the opportunity arose this time, the couple did not hesitate: "this time everyone is coming with us!" says Janice, who absolutely cannot and does not want to be without her cats. As of June, the family is moving to The Big City for at least 1 year; they are already quite familiar with it and have therefore chosen this time to go for a family home in Brooklyn instead of an apartment in the heart of New York.
“In many ways, the temporary home in New York is similar to our home in Amsterdam. And of course, we have done our homework on how to approach this,” says Janice, who has been preparing for months to ensure everything runs smoothly.

We briefly considered leaving the cats at home, but especially Beer is very attached to one person.
Ready for the trip
“To take a cat from The Netherlands (NL) to New York, you must comply with various rules and regulations for pet importation from the United States,” says Janice. And that is of course for good reason, because besides the welfare of your own pet, it must not pose a threat to the United States. “The cats must be healthy and fully vaccinated, they must not have contagious diseases, and this must be verified by a veterinarian,” she continues. Janice now has all the required documents in her possession. The trip is also planned, and their own belongings are arranged on site as well.
“We have good contact with the owner of the house, so he takes care of, among other things, having the baby items ready upon arrival, but also those for the cats,” says Janice, who has now placed an order with our American webshop Cat Tree King. “Beer and Balou have a Maine Coon Lounge here in Amsterdam, so in New York they will get a similar one, but a bit larger in size; it turned out to be the Royalty,” Janice says.

TO NEW YORK CITY
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The superior cat
Every week we search for interesting stories about cats and their owners. This week we ended up in Surrey, United Kingdom with Hannah. She told us about her British Shorthair, Etna, who seems to have invented the word ‘cattitude’.

