Moving a cat from the United States to Australia

Last verified: 2026-08-25

What is different for a cat

Everything on the United States corridor page applies. For cats the differences run in both directions — one thing is simpler, one is stricter.

Simpler: no extra blood tests

The Leishmania, Leptospira and Brucella tests Australia requires are dog-only. A cat’s laboratory work is the RNATT and nothing else, which removes several appointments, several fees and several opportunities for a rejected test type.

Stricter: the hybrid ban, and Bengals

Non-domestic cat hybrids cannot enter Australia. Named: Savannah (crossed with serval), Safari (Geoffroy’s cat), Chausie (jungle cat) and Bengal (Asian leopard cat) — plus any crossbred offspring derived from them. The department states the list is not exhaustive.

As of 1 March 2026, Bengal cats are no longer permitted to enter Australia.

That change is recent, and a lot of pet-travel material online still describes the older position where some Bengal generations could qualify. If you have a Bengal, this is not a timing problem or a documentation problem — the pathway is closed, and the cat needs a different plan.

The ban comes from environmental-protection law, and the authority is the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water — not the department that issues your import permit. A cat identified after arrival as possibly a hybrid may be investigated. If your cat is spotted, rosetted or unusually large, settle the question with DCCEEW before you begin.

Feline vaccinations

Vaccination against feline enteritis (panleukopenia), rhinotracheitis and calicivirus is not mandatory for import. But those diseases exist in Australia, and vaccinations should remain valid for the whole post-entry quarantine period. Check the dates before you travel — Mickleham is not where you want to discover a lapsed vaccination.

The order, for a cat

1. Microchip verified — ISO compliant. For cats under six months, verify identity before starting the process at all.
2. Identity check Parts 1–3 — two USDA-accredited veterinarians at different clinics, then the USDA declaration. Before the RNATT; blood cannot be drawn until after the second microchip scanning.
3. Rabies vaccination — at 84 days of age or later, by a USDA-accredited veterinarian.
4. RNATT blood sample, 3–4 weeks later.
5. 180 days from the sample’s arrival at the laboratory. No exceptions, and it is residency, not quarantine — your cat lives normally through it.
6. Import permit through BICON.
7. Quarantine booking at Mickleham — 30 days, or 10 with the identity check.
8. External parasite treatment from at least 21 days before export; internal parasite treatment twice in the final 45 days, the second within 5 days of departure.
9. Export health certificate — the US cat certificate from VEHCS, endorsed by USDA.
10. Travel as manifest cargo, direct to Melbourne.

At export your cat must not be under quarantine restrictions, more than 30 days pregnant, or nursing kittens.

Where cats most often come unstuck

• A hybrid question raised late — especially Bengals, given the 2026 change.
• The identity check done after the blood draw, costing twenty extra days at Mickleham.
• A lapsed rabies booster, which restarts the whole 180 days.
• The second internal parasite treatment falling outside its five-day window when a flight moves.

What this page does not cover

• How hybrid status is determined, or which generations of descent are affected.
• Whether your individual cat qualifies as a hybrid — only DCCEEW can say.
• Carrier requirements for cats travelling as manifest cargo, including crate specifications.
• Quarantine routine and medication rules at Mickleham.