I've looked around a bit and found several answers to the general question, but the last thing I want to do is to get to the Canadian border or be on the way home at the US border and have our cat be an issue.
Many of you must have crossed the borders many times with your cat. What do you advise we bring with us to show proof of rabies vacination. We have a sheet of paper with the vets name and address on it that says it's a Current Vaccination Certificate, but I could have printed it myself and made up the details.
Does there need to be something more formal? Does it need a signature or other mark or seal to make it "an original valid rabies vaccination certificate" as stated on the Candian Food Inspection website?
And what about coming back home? Should the same certificate work coming back?
This is our first trip to Canada with the cat, so we don't want to end up stopped at the border.
There is a form "Certificate of Health" where vaccinations & dates given are listed and it is signed by the vet. Your vet should have it - it is not an uncommon request. In actuality, it seems to be rare that these are asked for at the border but you should have it available, anyway. We crossed the Canada/US border 6 times on one trip and were never even asked if we had pets!
A rabies vaccination cert from your vet, whatever it looks like. You do not need a health cert.
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I've crossed the border into Canada and Mexico with my dogs. I always bring their Rabies certificates (not just a print-out of their shots record, but the actual certificate); plus they wear their rabies tags and licenses. It's probably overkill, but I also bring a copy of their licensing records, and I bring shots records (which I always have in my RV in case there's an emergency and I need to kennel my dogs).
In all the years I've travelled, I've had one Canadian agent ask to see their rabies certificate which has my vet's signature and his license number on it. Yeah, I suppose you could forge those, but here in WA, rabies certificates are issued with rabies tags, which are numbered and they have expiration dates. I was in a car at the time.
I've never had US customs do more than glance at my dogs when coming back. Coming back from Mexico, one border agent looked in my back seat and laughed at how mellow and happy dogs were and said "well, those are definitely American dogs."
If your pet isn't licensed with your city or county, I'd get a license. It gives you another piece of paper and tag that shows that your pet is who you say it is.
There's no reason, IMO, for you to go through government-approved vets or USDA like you would if you were travelling abroad. Just do what is reasonable and you'll be fine. Keep in mind that if you made up (forged) documents, you'd be nervous when you went through border crossings and those agents are trained to look for nervous people. So that's why it makes sense to take the effort to get your documents in line...you'll sail right through! I'm sure a lot of people don't bother with any documents, especially for cats, but I like knowing that I have all my ducks in a row. It takes maybe a few extra minutes to photocopy everything. I think that's why I've only been asked once in decades of border crossings. Then I just leave everything in my RV and car all year, so I don't have to worry about it, but annually.
One more thing -- make sure that your cell phone number is on your cat's tags. And that your cell phone works in Canada.
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We've been asked if we have pets (the dog nose hanging out the window might be the first clue) and have been asked if the dog (and cat) have had their rabies shots. I always have the papers in my hand to show, but not one customs agent has wanted to see the papers.
Last crossing into the US we were asked about our dog's food, and when I responded that it was labelled, "Made in USA" the agent replied that I obviously had read the requirements and waved us on.
One crossing back into Canada we were asked if our dog was also Canadian, and of course he was, and I had his rabies certificate to prove it, but again the agent didn't want to see the paperwork.
A "health certificate" is what you need for flying your pet on a commercial aircraft. I've never heard of needing one for any border crossing in a vehicle.
"Information about importing dogs and cats into the U.S. may be found on the Centers for Disease Control page, and in the Code of Federal Regulations Title 9 Part 93:600."
The CDC website then says: "The CDC does not require general certificates of health for pets for entry into the United States. However, health certificates may be required for entry into some states, or may be required by airlines for pets. You should check with officials in your state of destination and with your airline prior to your travel date."
So, it seems to me (although I'm not a professional on this matter) that the federal guidelines do not require health certificates for vehicular crossings. Your destination state might.
So it's wise to check the webpage of the state into which you'll be crossing for additional information. I can tell you that Washington state has no health certificate requirement for family pets (without change of ownership) travelling in family vehicles, other than a rabies certificate. WA Animal Import WAC
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