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Hi, /u/freelifreed I have done exactly this - my fiance and I took our cat from Beijing to Los Angeles last year. Here's the process we went through. Please ask me if you have any questions!

It's good that you're starting this now because even with the paperwork we already had, the whole thing took us several months to organise.

So here's the rundown. My fiance and I did this ourselves without using an agency, we were pleased with how it went although it was expensive (probably 600 dollars overall.) It was totally worth it because as we know, China has an "eh, close enough" culture and I wasn't willing to trust anyone except myself to transport my kitty across international waters. I was also insistent that she travel in the cabin with me instead of being checked into cargo, too many horror stories of pets arriving dead or dying.

Pre departure:

• We adopted kitty from a reputable shelter in Beijing and they were very good w/ documentation. When we adopted her she came with a red book/passport showing her name, age, description and records of her microchip and rabies vaccinations as well as all vet appointment records. It was required for her to leave China. If you don't have your cats red book you need to get on that asap.

• Cat had to be rabies vaccinated at least 30 days prior to departure but not more than 12 months ago, if your cat hasn't been vaxxed recently that's a top priority. Vax date is then printed in the red book mentioned above. Cat must also be microchipped.

• Booking the flight. Only a few airlines allow animals in the cabin and they usually have a limit of 2 animals per flight. We flew Asiana the whole way and they were really excellent. We chose the flight we wanted, called up their customer service line and confirmed that there was space for a live animal. After they confirmed, we booked it online, they have an option to include a live animal. The flight was 2 legs, Beijing - Seoul - LA, each leg cost about 120 USD to include the cat. I think I called them two more times before the flight to triple check that they had confirmed the live animal allocation, probably unnecessary but greatly helped with my peace of mind.

• Bought an airline regulated cat carrier (has to be officially approved) and started to leave it open in our apartment with treats, catnip etc inside it so that kitty would be comfortable being zipped inside. We bought this one and I really recommend it, it has an extendable side so the cat has more room to stand up and stretch. It's also very sturdy. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073T6YHV1/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_VwbNAb8JQG3RQ

• Bought several, extremely thick "puppy pads", put one in the bottom of the carrier and carried the rest with me in my hand luggage. She didn't actually end up peeing as I put her in the carrier just after she had used the litter box in Beijing, and she didn't eat or drink much during the flights.

• Chinese exit requirements dictate that the cat has to be checked up by one of the few authorised vets between 7-10 days before departure. We found one in Beijing and took her 10 days before the flight. She's a healthy cat so no problems there, they provided her with a certificate in Chinese and English stating that she's healthy to fly.

• We then took all of those documents to the Quarantine Bureau in Beijing and received an "animal exit permit", this took 5 days to process and is valid for 10 days. This is really important, your cat can't leave the country without it. If you cannot speak Chinese you need to have a Chinese speaker with you imo. The timing on this is crucial, the validity is really short!

Departure Day

• Cat in carrier, puppy pad at the bottom, I also included a tshirt of mine for comforting smells and one of her favourite toys inside the carrier. I also recommend buying a harness and keeping the body part attached to her, and carrying the leash separate. You'll need it for airport security. I feed her wet food usually but I bagged up some handfuls of dry food and put it in my hand luggage. She ate a bit during the flight but not much.

• With red passport/vaxx record/exit permit and vet certificate in hand we checked in. Kitty had never been to an airport before and started meowing a lot, I found it helped to place a scarf over the mesh for privacy and I also kept my hand in the carrier and zipped around it, this helped with her anxiety.

• Check in was easy, they made us write out a few forms with cats information and then provided us with her boarding passes.

• Obviously make sure your flight is either direct or a direct transfer so you're not going through immigration with a live animal in the transfer country.

• One thing about Asiana is the total weight of the cat + carrier is supposed to be 5kg max. My cat is pretty hefty (4.8kg) and the total weight when they weighed her at check in with carrier was just over 6kg. I was a little worried about this, and if they would try to make her fly in the cargo hold, but I'd read online that the rules are lax when it comes to weight and I gambled that they wouldn't care. it was a risk and if they wouldn't have let her on I wouldn't have taken the flight that day and found another route. My gamble paid off and no one cared that she was 1kg overweight. It's up to you if you're willing to risk this. If your cat is smaller than mine it's no problem.

• Security was the worst because obviously they can't X-Ray the cat so I had to take her out of her carrier (she was extremely reluctant) and walk through the scanner with her. The lady at the security had never seen a cat going through customs before and even with all the paperwork she wouldn't let us pass. it took quite a while of arguing and then eventually calling her manager over before they let us through. Kitty was not happy at this stage, so many alien sounds, smells, bright lights and people poking her. She didn't need any encouragement to get back in the carrier after security. We had to go through security again in Seoul when transferring and it was much of the same. Be prepared for this part, keep a good grip on kitty (this is where the harness comes in handy), although my cat had her claws hooked into me and was clinging on for dear life anyway.

• Boarding the flight was easy, no one even looked at the carrier on my shoulder or asked to see her boarding documents. We showed them anyway and they were like "k".

On the flight

• Takeoff was the worst part. It's noisy and the pressure changes and I don't know if her little ears were painful due to the pressure. She meowed a lot at this point. I put her carrier on my lap and stroked her and held her. She was not happy but happier than she would have been in the hold, all alone.

• After takeoff she calmed down a bit. I kept her carrier on my lap. When the lights dimmed I actually took her out of the carrier and attached the leash to her and put her down. She sniffed a bit around the seat and then jumped on my lap, I covered her with my blanket and she fell asleep on my lap/shoulder. Air stewardesses saw me doing this and just thought it was really cute. They were all great about it. She slept for a few hours like that.

• I offered her food and water several times which she had a nibble at but wasn't really that interested.

Arriving at LAX

• Literally the easiest part. No one checked or asked to see her paperwork even though it was obvious we had a cat with us. Immigration didn't care, neither did customs, nothing was checked, we were stamped in and just like that, kitty is American now.

• I heard sometimes if you don't do the paperwork right, there is a quarantine for animals entering the US but this was't required for my kitty. I was obsessive about getting everything right to avoid this, but it didn't matter anyway because no one checked anything.

Settling in

• She spent perhaps a day sulking in a cupboard before coming out and being totally fine. I don't think that this is something I'd want to do regularly, I was super stressed that something would go wrong and I'd walk through fire to stay with my cat, but everything turned out ok in the end. She definitely didn't enjoy the experience but it doesn't seem to have affected her negatively and I'd do it again in a heartbeat if it meant keeping my cat with me.

I hope this helps - I don't think I've missed anything. Any questions let me know!