My husband & I will be moving to Bonaire fairly shortly and will be bringing our two adored indoor cats Basil & Felix.

From past experience living in Aruba, trying to buy kitty litter was a bit of a challenge to say the least (we eventually found some places that stocked it regularly). So now that we are moving to Bonaire, we wanted to find out in advance where on the island you can purchase kitty litter. Do they have a different name for it? Also, where can we purchase a litter box or is better just to bring one? Any store names and their locations would be most helpful.

Hoping you can help. Thanks!

Dianna,

Welcome to Bonaire Talk! Kitty litter used to be a huge challenge to find, but the situation has improved greatly over the past few years. That said, it's always good to stock up, and to not be too choosy about type and brand! The most reliable and economical place to find it is Tropical Flamingo, followed by Warehouse. Some other stores carry it sporadically. It's always good to stock up on food as well. Whiskas is probably the most readily available (American) brand, but Friskies can be found if you hunt for it. Occasionally I'll see other brands (e.g. Purina One) and get all excited but then I never see them again . So if Basil and Felix are eating something else now, I'd recommend bringing a good supply so you can switch them over.

Best of luck with your move!
Alex

Hi Dianna,

We moved to Bonaire in July with an indoor cat. I can always find litter at Warehouse. They usually have 3 different brands: Fresh Step (which comes in a plastic bucket and is pricey), Tolet Star (unscented clay litter), and O'Lacy (they have regular clay and also the clumping variety). It's rare that they have all three of these in stock at once, but they always have at least one of them.

Bring a litter box. I have never seen one for sale on the island.

I agree that you should bring a supply of cat food if your cats are used to eating something besides whiskas. I have 2 cats now, and neither of them will eat the O'Lacy crunchies (which is sometimes all i can find without going to a few different stores). I switched my cat to whiskas and she ended up gaining a lot of weight. I've had pretty good luck finding Purina lately at Warehouse. Advanced Hairball Protection is the only variety I've seen.

Good luck with your move!

We've just got here with our three cats. Nothing like as problematic as we expected. We couldn't find any litter when we arrived, so simply used some sand and gravel from outside.
Of course the cat's weren't over impressed as it smelt different from what they had in UK, but guess what - it was all they could find so they used it!
For food, we were pleasantly surprised to find that they are suddenly not fussy. In UK 2 would only eat Whiskas & not if it had chicken or fish in it. The third one would only eat IAMs sachets of chicken or beef in gravy. Suddenly they'll eat anything I put down!

Both vets can get you Science Diet-dry.-I also cook chicken breasts, fish and other fresh stuff for our kitties-meat and fish are fairly cheap here and I don't like to just give them cans or dry food-they need variety-just my opinion-of course all our babies are spoiled rotten.

What are the rules about bringing pets into Bonaire? We'll be moving in late August and we have 2 dogs, a bunny, and an iguana. I'd really like to bring them all with me, but if there are restrictions I'll need to make arrangments soon. Is it hard to get other pet foods besides cat food?

My husband and I recently adopted a small dog and later found out he is diabetic (which is controlled with daily insulin shots). We are madly in love with this little guy and want to bring him next time we travel to Bonaire. We will need to bring his insulin and hypodermic needles with us. What can we expect going through customs in Bonaire?

Vicki, I have traveled several times ( including Bonaire) with prefilled hypodermic needles. No problems with them. When going through security in the states or Bonaire, just have them separated in a clear bag. Make sure that you carry the prescription, and you should not have a probelm.

Jan, Didn't think of pre filled needles. Thanks for the info.

Vicki, If you have a script for the insuline and the needles there should not be a problem. I would take it along with, and just keep them in a clear bag, and declare them when you head through security. I would not put them in your checked bags.

Better yet, you can check the TSA website or call them.

Jan, Thanks again. I was thinking about check-in for the most part. However Snoop requires 2 shots per day (1 after each meal). We're traveling from Salt Lake and last time we went to Bonaire it took 12 hours to get there, with lay overs, so I'm thinking I'll have to carry on 2 doses which means I'll have to go through security with them. What is your experience with this, if any?

oops - Sorry Jan - I guess I should've read your response a little closer - you suggest that I carry it on with the script and declare it at security. Okay, I think I'll call TSA and check it out. Again thanks for your quick responses.