Pets

[motherof2]

Has anyone had to leave behind their pets? I've to very old cats and can't see them coming over with us as 1. it's expensive and 2. don't know if they'd survive the flight.

[ali]

It's a very difficult one to answer and all to do with what's best for you and your family.

We've decided to take our 14 year old cat, we took the advise of our vet who said she's really healthy and could last a fair few years and there wasn't anything for her to think that she wouldn't be o.k.

The second thing for us is our daughter who adores the cat and would really struggle to leave her behind - for us for her to be happy and enthusiastic about going to Aus is worth the money we're paying, but had the vet said it was a bad idea we would have left the cat with my hubbies parents (and struggled with the consequences of a heart broken 11 year old!).

Ali

[Anita]

We thought long & hard when we first started this migration process and decided that once we had posted the visa application we would set about rehoming our pet dog. She is 11 and we honestly felt that it would be unfair to put her through all the upset involved at her age. She is now in a caring home with a wonderful family who we keep in touch with regularly. We feel we made the right choice even though for the first couple of weeks after she left I was very upset and felt like such an awful person. We still miss her and think of her but we know she's having a good life and that's all that matters.

It's a tough decision to make, good luck with whatever you decide to do.

Anita x

[daisydeeds]

Hiyah

We are very lucky in that one of our relatives is going to look after our elderly moggy - she is 18 years old and obviously would not be okay with the trauma of the flight and the quarantine. We worried about this constantly until a month or so again after mentioning to my aunt, who has two other cats, our concerns for Poo. Thank goodness my aunt is going to take her. What I would suggest is ask around to see if one of your rellies, who are cat people, or any elderly neighbours/couples without children, would contemplate adopting your cat.

We didnt want to give her to cat rescue as you dont know who it is who is going to look after them and if they are nice or not.

Good luck with finding a home for them.

Daisydeeds

[Alison1967]

Brought my cat who turns 14 this weekend and she is timid and a scaredy cat, she came through fine and although got sick 10 days after getting here is playing in the garden without a care in the world at this very moment. She did lose weight but looks well for it.

Our vet said the test was if your pet can survive a general anaestetic then then can survuve the flight and quarantine.

I know its a really hard decision to make, in my case I knew she would not settle with my parents (hates my dad) and I would not settle without her.

I wish you good with making your decision :D

Ali

[motherof2]

Thanks for all your thoughts and advice. I'm hoping that my parents would consider taking them, but as I haven't told them our plans yet (coward!) I can't discuss the cat issue. I'll be very sad to leave them behind as will my kids, but it would be far worse for them to travel and not survive it.

[spray21]

Why not talk to your vet and see what he/she says? You may be surprised and they would be able to do the flight. It would be expensive, but cats are cheaper than dogs and the second pet is cheaper than the first - why not get a few quotes? Then you'll have more info to use to make a decision.
Once you've told parents, then you can explore possibility of them/someone adopting your moggies.

[ali]

My quote for Becky was £1,300 which included everything. Ali