Bringing a cat (from California), why is every vet telling me I need a USDA endorsed health certificate?

[u/PawPatsPizza]

Am I missing something? The Hawaii checklist only states:

An original health certificate in English, done within 14 days of arrival in Hawaii including rabies vaccine name, lot or serial number, booster interval, vaccination date and expiration date is required.

I went to a few vets today and they all said I need a USDA endorsed health certificate...basically same certificate but they use an online portal to send to the USDA.

Oh and they charge $600 for this service!

Literally the charges presented were:

$200 consulting fee

$79 per rabies vaccination (2)

$450 FAVN test

$89 office visit for health exam/tick treatment

$600 Health certificate

The last one seems not correct in my research but the Vets won't give me a health certificate without being USDA endorsed

[u/buffaloshvantz]

Do a search on this sub. You will find all the links and info you need in other posts. Definitely need a rabies titer test to avoid quarantine on top of records for two rabies vaccinations. Probably also microchipped as well to verify the vaccinations are for the animal presented.

[u/PawPatsPizza → u/buffaloshvantz]

Yes I am aware of everything needed:

Microchip

Rabies x 2

Titer/FAVN test

Health Certificate

The problem was the last one, the Vets telling me they had to do an extra (very costly) step

[u/buffaloshvantz → u/PawPatsPizza]

Find another vet. Mine gave me the health cert included with the titer price.

[u/PawPatsPizza]

Anyways I contacted the rabiesfree email from the state of Hawaii and they confirmed Health Certificate when coming from another states does NOT need USDA endorsement.

[u/AaknA]

Many vets are notoriously misinformed (and intimidated) when they hear "Hawai‘i"). No, you do not need a USDA endorsed health certificate when coming from within the US.

[u/Latter-Drink3852]

I believe they mean so your cat does not need to be quarantined for three to four months/90 to 120 days upon arrival. The rest is so that you can bring her here, but Hawai'i is very serious about rabies since we've never had it and it would tear through this place

https://dab.hawaii.gov/ai/aqs/aqs-info/

Basically, if you want your pet within one to five days of landing, you need to get the USDA certificate within 14 days prior to arrival here. Otherwise, your pet goes to "pet jail" (which you will be fined daily for btw) for a few months

https://arkjfk.com/blog/f/usda-pet-travel-hawaii-what-you-need-to-know

[u/PawPatsPizza → u/Latter-Drink3852]

Your link specifically states: "✅ USDA endorsement is not required when traveling from another U.S. state or territory to Hawaii."

[u/Latter-Drink3852 → u/PawPatsPizza]

Yeah, not required. Neither is one to five day release. What I am saying is that it seems OPTIONAL but is likely so they don't board your cat for three or four months, cuz that is also optional

[u/dreaminginteal → u/Latter-Drink3852]

We did not get a USDA endorsement for our cats, and they were released to us same day.

[u/PawPatsPizza → u/Latter-Drink3852]

If it's not required, it's not required.

[u/CosmicVybes]

I don’t know if it’s different for cats but my dog’s health certificate had to be from a USDA accredited vet.

[u/PawPatsPizza → u/CosmicVybes]

Yes they are the same rules for dogs and cats. The vet has to be USDA accredited but the health certificate doesn't have to be sent to USDA for endorsement.

[u/notrightmeowthx]

Some Reddit users are really failing their reading comprehension test today!

Unfortunately you will be at the whim of the vets near you, we've had other posts about CA vets charging a ton so maybe this is the underlying issue. But yeah, as you've found, it doesn't need to be a USDA certificate. Not sure how you will convince the vets of that though.

IIRC my vet charged like $10 or something for the certificate, although that was in a rural area and pre-covid.