Cats moving to Australia- what would you do?

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Just as an aside - both my oldies were dead at 14 from natural causes. So whatever they had happen to them over the past year was irrelevant, nature got them - they don't all live into their twenties.

Almo

OP,

We brought two cats back from Aus to the UK about 8 months ago. One is 10, the other 4. We were very worried about doing so as they are both highly strung (pure-bred in one case) rescue cats and one had already been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder and goes through periods of pulling her own fur out.

We felt that when we rescued them, we offered them a safe home for life, and also felt that ultimately a 36 hour journey would be less traumatic than going to live with strangers. If we had had family or friends with whom we could have left them we may have considered that as an option but we didn't. They were stressed when we picked them up at Heathrow, I won't lie, but recovered very quickly. One is now spark out on the sofa and the other one asleep on his bed on top of the boxes of stuff we shipped back.

To address the issue of life in Australia, yes, cats are not wildly popular but are well tolerated in urban areas. Most councils require you to keep them in over night (this is when they kill the most local wildlife) and a few actually require that you keep them on your property at all times. There are plenty of cats that go outside, although ours didn't. I don't know whether instinct prevents them chasing snakes etc or what.

With the heat, I wouldn't worry. If it is that hot, chances are you'll have aircon on inside so they will have an escape. If it's not hot enough for you to have aircon on then it's probably not too hot for them.

It seems to me that if you genuinely have concerns over their ability to cope with the flight and the quarantine (and I can understand the issue with quarantine, I wouldn't be too sure about my two) your best bet is to start trying to rehome them NOW.

catkins

MillieMoodle wrote: »

So if it is life or death, go to Oz and consider next options for cat. If it is about wanting to change your lifestyle, have an adventure or find that new fab job, then it is very unfair to a cat to say I value my fun and enjoyment over your life - so death it is and I'll pick up my next pet over there.

It's not really likely to be a life or death situation if the OP has a year before they go is it?

view

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.

NO! please do not do this. Any vet worth their salt will discourage you. The cats are checked along the way and the vet checking will have no idea if your cat is acting 'odd' (if they do) because of the sedation or if they require medical assistance.

You can safely use feliway or another pheromone spray (spray the case 15 mins before putting cat in and leave instructions for vets to spray (once the cat is out for checking) along the way. This spray calms the cat down and they'll be more settled. It's safe but do check with your vet.

We debated this a lot. We will not leave ours behind. Our wee one is part of our family and we won't be without her. She would not wish to be without us either.

The plane trip is 24 hrs. Over and done with in a blink. Most cats get settled after a while with the humming of the plane apparently.

Quarantine is a month, more than enough time to find a place to rent that allows pets (easier said than done in Oz).

Your cat will probably suffer more emotionally being away from you, in their twilight years.

Make sure you check out the guidance online and ensure you have left enough time for the rabies vac and testing (between 3 to 5 months, cant' recall exactly info will be online).

Almo

view wrote: »

NO! please do not do this. Any vet worth their salt will discourage you. The cats are checked along the way and the vet checking will have no idea if your cat is acting 'odd' (if they do) because of the sedation or if they require medical assistance.

You can safely use feliway or another pheromone spray (spray the case 15 mins before putting cat in and leave instructions for vets to spray (once the cat is out for checking) along the way. This spray calms the cat down and they'll be more settled. It's safe but do check with your vet.

We debated this a lot. We will not leave ours behind. Our wee one is part of our family and we won't be without her. She would not wish to be without us either.

The plane trip is 24 hrs. Over and done with in a blink. Most cats get settled after a while with the humming of the plane apparently.

Quarantine is a month, more than enough time to find a place to rent that allows pets (easier said than done in Oz).

Your cat will probably suffer more emotionally being away from you, in their twilight years.

Make sure you check out the guidance online and ensure you have left enough time for the rabies vac and testing (between 3 to 5 months, cant' recall exactly info will be online).

Sedation is now not only not recommended, but not permitted. We used Feliway, we use it anyway for the fur pulling cat, it's great stuff.

By the time you factor in the time sat waiting to board, the stopover, the time at the other end, it's more like 36 hours although I don't know what checks are made at the airport in Aus vs Heathrow - there was quite a wait before we could collect ours but if they're going into quarantine I suppose this might not be the case.

OP, I also meant to say that you might want to check the quote you've been given. We used a pet transport company as we had way too much to do without sorting out paperwork etc ourselves although I believe it's not that difficult. We paid just under $3000 from Aus, so 4000 quid sounds a lot!

southcoastrgi

I wouldn't think of moving anywhere without my two cats & for me there wouldn't be any other option whatever the cost, i am very seriously looking into moving to canada & the cost for transporting the two of them is £2000 & it's just a cost i am allowing for along with everything else

Canucklehead

southcoastrgi wrote: »

i am very seriously looking into moving to canada & the cost for transporting the two of them is £2000 & it's just a cost i am allowing for along with everything else

If you're considering Calgary.....

Kathy535

I think the OP is clearly a dedicated pet owner - her cats are taken to the vets with any issues, diagnosed and treated (hence the thyroid removal). Anyone who was the type of monster that some posters are suggesting would not have treated her pets with this much care.

It's clear that she sees having the cats put down as a last resort suspecting that they won't cope well with the journey and new surroundings - hence the option of having them rehomed. This concern for their overall well-being again suggests that she loves her pets. I would have the same three options for my 4 cats if I was in the same position - with the exception of not moving (which probably isn't a realistic option) what other choices are there?

Responses have established that rehoming, especially for older cats, can be difficult and that taking them with you, while many people's non negotiable position, may not be the best option for the cats.

Having a family pet PTS is traumatic and stressful enough when they are ill. To have to do it because there is no other option must be horrendous and I don't think that any respnsible pet owner would do this likely. Just like we wouldn't ever kick our pets out into the street and leave them to fend for themselves.

OP - circumstances change, only you know why you are going and why you think that your cats won't cope well. You clearly love your animals and I think you can be assured that you'll make the right decision despite the fact that none of them are easy choices. Good luck.

Dimey

I don't understand why the OP can't find new homes now and spend the next year settling the cats gradually into their new homes.

It wouldn't take long to contact the 35 re-homing centres nearby and speak to neighbours and local vet. Putting notices up locally now, might find a nice new home in the cats same territory within a few months.

OK, maybe if none can be found by 6 months then start searching further afield.

I'm sorry I just don't understand why some posters are still saying "put to sleep" is an option. Especially with so long to find a safe alternative. In our modern civilised world I don't think humans should be going around purposely killing anything for convenience.

Georgiegirl256

Dimey wrote: »

I don't understand why the OP can't find new homes now and spend the next year settling the cats gradually into their new homes.

It wouldn't take long to contact the 35 re-homing centres nearby and speak to neighbours and local vet. Putting notices up locally now, might find a nice new home in the cats same territory within a few months.

OK, maybe if none can be found by 6 months then start searching further afield.

I'm sorry I just don't understand why some posters are still saying "put to sleep" is an option. Especially with so long to find a safe alternative. In our modern civilised world I don't think humans should be going around purposely killing anything for convenience.

Exactly, it shouldn't even be an option. The OP has nearly a year to find new homes, there is always someone willing to take in animals to stop them from being pts. To say otherwise is just a cop out.