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Bringing a cat from Ireland to the United States

Yes — and for cats this is the simplest US route on this site: there is no CDC cat import form, no federal rabies certificate and no USDA APHIS animal-health requirement at all for a pet cat from Ireland. Federally, your cat only has to appear healthy on arrival. The real paperwork is European: an EU pet passport with a microchip and an in-date rabies vaccination, which your airline will expect and which your cat needs to be able to return to the EU.

None

CDC import form

There is no CDC form for cats — the dog form does not apply

None

Federal rabies proof

CDC does not require rabies proof for cats

None

APHIS requirements

USDA APHIS states it has no animal-health requirements for pet cats

Healthy

Arrival test

Must appear healthy; an ill cat can be held for a vet exam at your expense

Step-by-step checklist

Requirements — Cat · Ireland → the United States
Step	What to do	When
Do NOT use the dog form	There is no CDC Cat Import Form. CDC's mandatory Dog Import Form, its 6-month minimum age, its titer rules and its restricted ports apply to dogs only — none of them apply to your cat. Anyone selling you a 'CDC cat permit' is selling something that does not exist in CDC's rules.	Before booking
Microchip, rabies vaccination + EU pet passport	EU pet passport from your vet in Ireland — the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) says a pet leaving Ireland for a non-EU country must still be able to qualify to return, and that for non-EU trips you follow the destination's certificate rules; if a destination does require a government-stamped health certificate, contact your Regional Veterinary Office at least 2 months ahead. The United States imposes no such federal certificate (see below), so for this route the passport is the document that matters. This is an EU/airline requirement, not a US federal one: under Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/131 (which replaced Regulation (EU) No 576/2013 on 22 April 2026) the chip must precede (or be read on the same day as) the rabies vaccination, the first vaccination must be at 12 weeks of age or older, and it is only valid 21 days after the primary course. Keep it in date — it is your cat's ticket back into the EU.	≥21 days before travel if a primary vaccination
Federal US entry: appear healthy	CDC requires that cats appear healthy upon arrival. Cats are subject to inspection at ports of entry and may be denied entry if they show evidence of a zoonotic disease; if a cat appears ill, a further examination by a licensed veterinarian at the owner's expense may be required before entry. CDC does not require proof of rabies vaccination for cats, though it recommends vaccination.	Arrival day
No APHIS health certificate	USDA APHIS Veterinary Services states it does not have any animal health requirements related to bringing a pet cat into the United States from a foreign country. CDC likewise does not require a general health certificate for pets. A certificate may still be required by your destination state or by your airline — check both before you travel.	Final 2 weeks
Check the destination — Hawaii and Guam are different	All cats arriving in the state of Hawaii and the territory of Guam are subject to locally imposed quarantine requirements, even from the US mainland (CDC). For the mainland states there is no federal quarantine, but destination-state rules are set by the receiving state or territory (APHIS) — look yours up before you book.	Booking stage

Your preparation timeline

1Any time — Microchip, rabies vaccination kept in date, EU pet passport issued
2≥21 days out — If this is a primary rabies vaccination, the 21-day EU validity wait must have run
3Final 2 weeks — Confirm destination-state rules and your airline's pet and health-certificate conditions
4Travel day — Travel with the EU pet passport and vaccination record for airline and EU-side checks
5Arrival — Port-of-entry inspection — a healthy cat with no sign of zoonotic disease is admitted with no federal form

The mistake that causes trouble on this route: Copying the dog rules onto a cat — in either direction. Owners waste money on titer tests, 'cat import forms' and age calculations that US federal rules never ask for; the opposite mistake is just as common: because the US asks for almost nothing, owners let the EU pet passport rabies vaccination lapse, then discover at return time that getting back into Ireland is the hard leg. The US leg is easy; the round trip is the thing to protect.

Costs you can plan for

There is no CDC form fee and no USDA APHIS federal charge for importing a pet cat — neither agency publishes an import fee for this route because neither imposes a federal document to pay for. Your costs are the European vet/passport work and the airline's pet charge; no official EU or Ireland fee schedule for that vet work was found in the sources checked for this page (checked 2026-11-12). The one contingent federal cost is real, though: if your cat appears ill on arrival, the veterinary examination CDC can require is at the owner's expense.

✈️ Government rules are only half the trip. Airlines set their own pet carriage rules (crate size, breed limits, seasonal embargoes). Re-confirm carriage with your airline after you meet the rules above.

Questions people ask about this route

Is there a CDC import form for cats?

No. CDC created a mandatory import form for dogs only (in force since 1 August 2024). Cats have no CDC form, no CDC permit and no CDC rabies-certificate requirement — they must simply appear healthy on arrival.

Does my cat need a microchip or rabies vaccination to enter the US?

Not under US federal rules: CDC does not require rabies proof for cats, and USDA APHIS has no animal-health requirements for pet cats at all. Your cat still needs a microchip and an in-date rabies vaccination recorded in its EU pet passport for the EU side of the journey, for most airlines, and to return to Ireland afterwards.

Does my cat need a health certificate?

Not from CDC or APHIS. CDC does not require a general health certificate for pets entering the United States. Your airline, or your destination state, may require one — that is where to check, and it is the most common reason a vet visit is still needed in the final days before a flight.

Is there quarantine for cats arriving in the US?

Not federally for mainland destinations. The exceptions CDC names are Hawaii and Guam, where all arriving cats — even from the US mainland — are subject to locally imposed quarantine requirements.

Related guides

✓ Last verified: 2026-11-12

Official sources for this page

We check each rule against the exporting country's official page and the destination country's official page. If the two disagree, we show the disagreement instead of guessing.

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