Cats moving to Australia- what would you do?

Dumbe

I know people who have emigrated from the uk to Aus and brought their cats with them..

A couple of things to consider..

They make sure they have water etc..On the flight and in transit.

They are not manhandled by strangers through passport control baggage control etc.. They go straight through a dedicated animal section to trained personnel..to their quarantine..which is well run.

You can visit them in quarantine . The whole process is extremely professional..and my friends were impressed.

but you cannot just allow your cat once in Aus to go outside.. It's not the heat it's the snakes and spiders..which your cats will not know not to chase and are deadly not just to humans but some also to animals.

stir_crazy

candytwinkle wrote: »

Please re read my post, I am in a situation where I need to make a decision on what is best for my cats.

Sorry, I thought of this last night or I would have put it in my post from yesterday. My vet has a notice board where amongst other things, you can advertise if you need to rehome pets.

Do you know if your vet has something similar or if they know of any local charities who could help with the rehoming process (if that's the route you go down)? Perhaps if you could use the line "my vet recommended you...." it might help.

Mojisola

stir_crazy wrote: »

Sorry, I thought of this last night or I would have put it in my post from yesterday. My vet has a notice board where amongst other things, you can advertise if you need to rehome pets.

Do you know if your vet has something similar or if they know of any local charities who could help with the rehoming process (if that's the route you go down)? Perhaps if you could use the line "my vet recommended you...." it might help.

Asking at the vet is a good idea.

We got one of our dogs through the vet - I'd gone in with my Yorkie and the nurse asked whether I would be interested in another one. She said a man had just been in, asking for the vet to put his dog to sleep (the children were all at secondary school, his wife had got a job and the dog was a nuisance!).

She told him that no vet would put a healthy dog to sleep and was worried about what he would do. She'd been able to get him to leave a phone number so I contacted him and had the dog from him the next day.

He was a lovely dog - only about 3 years old - and we had many happy years together.

LittleMissAspie

I don't think my cat would survive the stress of a journey like that so I wouldn't go. I couldn't rehome her, I accepted responsibility for her life when I adopted her and passing that on to someone else would be letting her down.

If you are blas! enough about your cats that the thought of having them killed even crossed your mind, then you should have no problem rehoming them. That's the best option for both you and the cats. Advertise on internet boards, at work, at the newsagent etc, someone is bound to feel sorry for them and take them on.

Edit: The exclamation mark is supposed be an e with an accent, it looked fine when I typed it...

Gigglepig

Yes Catkins, I have pets. Pts is NOT necessarily the worst fate for a pet.

As a responsible pet owner, I know that PTS whilst devastating to the owner, at least ensures the animal will not suffer. Personally i would always try to find a permanent loving home first, but realistically, some animals may find it very very stressful and once you rehome a pet you have no control of what happens to it. the last thing I would want for a pet is to passed from pillar to post, and end up neglected and miserable somewhere.

Whilst i love my pets and aim to keep mine for life, i realise there are situations such as allergies, serious illness, relocation due to work, where people need to let go of their pets. It doesn't make them bad people.

gingin_2

I think whether you take them depends on your cats - and only you know whether they can cope. I have one that I am sure would be fine and one who I don't think would.

I would go on Britishexpats.com - you'll get a lot of people who will have been in a similar situation. It's a brilliant website.

purple.sarah

Check if your vet thinks your cats could handle the journey. If not, I recommend rehoming them. I adopted a 16 year old cat whose owner was going into a home. Tiggy adjusted very well and lived with me happily until she passed away peacefully aged 17. This goes to show that your cats could have a few years left yet and that some people are prepared to adopt golden oldies. Good luck.

Person_one

Gigglepig wrote: »

I think in this situation I would put to sleep

'Put to sleep' is a very nice euphemism for euthanasia when an animal is so elderly or unwell that its quality of life is such that a painless, gentle death is preferable.

I don't think its an appropriate term to use when you're talking about killing two cats because they've become inconvenient!

I wouldn't go, you knew how long cats live for when you got them, and you made a commitment to them for the whole of that time, not until something better came along. I used to think I'd quite like to work abroad, but now that I have my animals its no longer an option as long as they are around.

The thought of killing my dear wonderful dogs so that I can swan off abroad actually makes me feel ill, I love them, I don't want them to die prematurely for any reason, certainly not for my benefit! :mad:

catkins

Gigglepig wrote: »

Yes Catkins, I have pets. Pts is NOT necessarily the worst fate for a pet.

As a responsible pet owner, I know that PTS whilst devastating to the owner, at least ensures the animal will not suffer. Personally i would always try to find a permanent loving home first, but realistically, some animals may find it very very stressful and once you rehome a pet you have no control of what happens to it. the last thing I would want for a pet is to passed from pillar to post, and end up neglected and miserable somewhere.

Whilst i love my pets and aim to keep mine for life, i realise there are situations such as allergies, serious illness, relocation due to work, where people need to let go of their pets. It doesn't make them bad people.

A true animal lover would NEVER suggest putting a healthy animal to sleep just to suit themselves.

Do you honestly think that reasons such as allergies, relocation etc are a valid reason to have an animal put to sleep?

There may sometimes be a valid reason that someone cannot keep a pet but killing them should not be an option. Having had quite a lot to do with animal rescue over the years I have learned that most supposedly valid reasons are just an excuse to get rid of an animal.

catkins

Person_one wrote: »

I wouldn't go, you knew how long cats live for when you got them, and you made a commitment to them for the whole of that time, not until something better came along. I used to think I'd quite like to work abroad, but now that I have my animals its no longer an option as long as they are around.

The thought of killing my dear wonderful dogs so that I can swan off abroad actually makes me feel ill, I love them, I don't want them to die prematurely for any reason, certainly not for my benefit! :mad:

But you, like myself, are obviously a true animal lover who regards your pets as family. People get animals without thinking about the commitment and then just get rid of them because they have a baby, or they have to move etc.

As I said before, if you wanted to move abroad but could not take your young child with you, you would not go. You wouldn't be posting on a forum asking should you put your child up for adoption or have it killed would you? To me a pet is no different. I would not have gone abroad if I could not take my cats and I would not have come back if I could not have brought my cats and dog back even though I was desperately unhappy abroad.

I know plenty of people who have moved abroad and taken their animals, some of which were elderly but I also know quite a lot who decided to get rid of them.