Cats moving to Australia- what would you do?

candytwinkle

I want to start by saying we love our cats.
However in 12 months time we are moving to Australia.

They are both 13 years old, one has recently had a thyroid removed and also has a slight heart murmer.

What would you do?
1,Take them to Aus? -2 cats will cost approx £4000. If they were younger it wouldn't be a issue but I am worried about their age, the stress it would cause them, and life expentancy in a hot country is short, the expense etc

2,Rehouse them? We don't have family that would take them and I would worry about them if someone else had them

3,Have them put to sleep?, if that is legal? they have had a good quality of life and it would save them the stress of moving thousands of miles away

catkins

You will be very lucky if you can manage to rehome them. Cat rescue centres all over the country are struggling to cope with the amount of cats and kittens they have. A lot of them are having to turn people away who want to rehome their cats. Also a lot of them would not take yours because of their age.

I personally would not be able to live with myself if I had two reasonably healthy cats put to sleep but, to be honest, I don't know what I would do in your situation. Probably as both me and OH are big softies we would take them to Australia with us.

We went to live abroad some years ago and took 6 cats with us. While living abroad we got a dog. After a couple of years I was desperate to come back as I missed my family so much but I wouldn't because our dog would have had to go into quarantine for 6 months and I could not bear the thought of that.

Once the laws on bringing dogs into the country changed we came back with our dog and 8 cats!

I rehomed two 12 year old cats last year because the owner became very ill and could not look after them. No rescue would take them because of their ages and she knew no one that would take them. I could not begin to think she might have to have them put to sleep so I took them even though we didn't want more cats. I didn't know the owner but heard about the situation through a friend

stir_crazy

candytwinkle wrote: »

I want to start by saying we love our cats.
However in 12 months time we are moving to Australia.

They are both 13 years old, one has recently had a thyroid removed and also has a slight heart murmer.

What would you do?
1,Take them to Aus? -2 cats will cost approx £4000. If they were younger it wouldn't be a issue but I am worried about their age, the stress it would cause them, and life expentancy in a hot country is short, the expense etc

2,Rehouse them? We don't have family that would take them and I would worry about them if someone else had them

3,Have them put to sleep?, if that is legal? they have had a good quality of life and it would save them the stress of moving thousands of miles away

I'd have to take them with me. My pets are my family.

Unless you know someone who would be able to take your cats it would be incredibly hard to get them rehomed. As catkins said above, centres are having lots of trouble trying to rehome the animals they already have. Unfortunately, people tend to want younger cats or kittens who they will be able to keep for a longer time. If you could get a centre to take your cats, its likely that they wouldn't be rehomed.

Regardless of legality, having a pet PTS is a last resort for me, and not something I could bring myself to do to a healthy animal, especially a beloved pet. Its not something that would even cross my mind.

jd87

It's not a question of legality but I doubt you will be able to find a vet who will PTS two healthy cats for no good reason.

candytwinkle

Thanks for your replies.

It is a real dilema they are our family and spoilt rotten.
The decision has to be what's best for the cats not us and our feelings.
I don't want them rehomed (even though thats appears virtually impossible from what your saying)
I certainly don't want them put to sleep
but I don't want them to go through the trauma of the flights, quarantine etc.

Just interested what other peoples decision would be

catkins

They would probably have to be sedated for the flight - maybe not totally out of it but something to keep them calm so it may well not bother them that much.

They could live for many years yet. I know people whose cats have lived to 18, 20 even one that lived to 22.

Yes it would be hot in Australia but cats are sensible and would probably stay indoors if it were very hot. They would find somewhere cool to lay or you could have a fan for them. It's not red hot all year round either.

You say they are "your family" but surely if this were true you would be taking them with you without even thinking about it. I would never have gone abroad without my cats and would not have come back without my dog and cats.

I was totally miserable abroad and very depressed but no way would I have come back without them or to have to put my dog in quarantine.

If you have/had children I doubt you would be asking should you take them with you

~Beanie~

As much as I love my cat, I couldn't put him through it. My BIL emigrated to Aus a couple of years ago and took his dog (a Westie).

It was collected from home and had a 3 hour car/van journey to Heathrow. Then it spent some hours at the airport before the flight to Australia. Upon arrival it went into quarantine in Sydney for a month. Sadly she didn't survive the journey and died 3 weeks into the quarantine period

I just couldn't live with myself if that happened to my pet.

candytwinkle

catkins wrote: »

They would probably have to be sedated for the flight - maybe not totally out of it but something to keep them calm so it may well not bother them that much.

If you have/had children I doubt you would be asking should you take them with you

They do not sedate animals for the flight, they spray something to calm.

Thanks for your reply but I have a child and cats? im concerned for the cats welfare not my own selfish need to keep them)

catkins

candytwinkle wrote: »

They do not sedate animals for the flight, they spray something to calm.

Thanks for your reply but I have a child and cats? im concerned for the cats welfare not my own selfish need to keep them)

What I am trying to get at is if someone moves abroad they take their children but a lot don't take their pets even though they say they love their pets, they are like family etc. If you would not leave your child behind why would you leave your cat or dog?

If I could not take my pet I would not be going

candytwinkle

~Beanie~ wrote: »

As much as I love my cat, I couldn't put him through it. My BIL emigrated to Aus a couple of years ago and took his dog (a Westie).

It was collected from home and had a 3 hour car/van journey to Heathrow. Then it spent some hours at the airport before the flight to Australia. Upon arrival it went into quarantine in Sydney for a month. Sadly she didn't survive the journey and died 3 weeks into the quarantine period

I just couldn't live with myself if that happened to my pet.

Thats exactly what im worried about. My female cat has a heart murmer and she loves lots of fuss.

Iain_L

No-one can make your decision for you (and I don't envy you one bit), but one thing I would say is if you are considering rehoming, you start trying now. It may mean that you have to lose them earlier than you want, but better that than being driven into a corner at the last minute. One of the biggest problems we see with people going abroad is those who have hung on to their pets too long, and we suddenly get the phone call saying "we're emigrating and need to rehome our cats, and by the way we leave next week". Another problem, and a sad one, is those families who believe they have made arrangements in good faith, who then find the people who were going to take their cats have changed their minds. Hence my advice of make sure you have enough time.

If you want to take them, then if you follow the correct procedures they will only have to stay 30 days in quarantine in Australia.

Good luck, it's exciting for you, but also stressful.

Iain