Looking for some reassurance

Im at the stage now where I need to be booking flights for myself and my pets next week. Which would be fine, except I got to the stage where I wasn't really planning on having to bring my cats. After a ton of research and reading up on the Gold Coast council rules about cats, I figured it wouldn't be fair to put them through the stress of the whole shipping and quarantine process to then be cooped up indoors for the rest of their lives when for 8 years, they have been outdoor cats. In fact, one of them only comes in at 2am for something to eat and is back out before I get up as he isn't really a people person! The other worry is that the same cat was feral when the rescue centre we had him from took him in - he goes stiff as a board with fear just during a trip to the vets, never mind on a trip to Australia. I have tried for weeks to rehome them with family, friends and like minded people but unless you are getting rid of kittens no one wants to know. So I guess im just looking for some reassurance from people who have brought their pets out that a) a nervous cat will survive the process and b) they will both adjust to being inside. Also a bit of a worry trying to organise a rental that will take 2 cats and a young Labrador!

What a tough situation. Regulations in Australia are tough for a reason - most of our wildlife is nocturnal and cats can decimate an area's wildlife if they're out at night. But it does make it tough on a cat which isn't used to being cooped up. I don't have enough experience to offer advice, hope others with more experience can help.

My 3 cats are on their flight home as we speak. 3 years in Aus and I kept them indoors, they were mostly fine as long as you have A/C for the summer. You may be able to put up an outdoor shelter adjacent to the house so they can come and go, without actually roaming. As long as it is temporary and can be dismantled it should be OK. Our rental accepts pets, there are rentals who prefwr none, but if you are determined you will find one! You could offer an extra pet bond, write reference letters saying you are a responsible owner etc.

How did they cope with the flight/quarantine? Did they settle in quite quickly once you got them there?

They were all fine! One of mine is quite feral too, but didn't suffer at all. They all settled within hours of being in the new house.

Lets hope mine cope as well as that then - its worse than having kids!

We adopted our cat here in Brisbane so he's never had the flight stress, and he is a semi-outdoor cat - we just let him out for half an hour in the morning and for a while in the evening, longer at weekends. Basically, when we are home. He does stray outside our yard, but the laws are less strict in Brisbane, in fact I just found out registration is no longer required. The way we get him back in is establishing that he won't be fed til he's safely inside, so he tends to come in pestering for food anyway!

 

I've been watching My Cat From Hell (!) on youtube and there are some great tips for keeping indoor cats happy, like strategic placement of furniture and shelves, use of bird-like cat toys and laser pointers etc.

I've kept cats for more than 20 years, still do, a number of those were adult rehomes. If one of your cats is a mainly outdoor/night cat then keeping her/him in will be miserable for you both. The cat is likely to get bored and frustrated - don't be surprised if certain toilet habits start presenting outside of the litter box (sign of stress) and it's possible that the cat will start scratching about the house.

 

Outdoor cats for 8 years? and already not a people person? expect problems...

I have to agree with tickled- Cats are creatures of habit and some of them take a long time to adjust. I found this out the hard way when we adopted a puppy lol. My cat sulked for 6 months. You may find in general that australians are a lot less tolerant of cats. living in the country i saw some wicked things done to cats- often stolen, poisoned, hurt- i'm not saying this will happen, just was an eye opener into how people viewed cats supposedly hurting native wildlife. Definitely more of a dog nation. A lot of people will build an outdoor structure as someone said- so they can get some fresh air and climb but not get into trouble. you can actually buy these online but they are cheap to build. i have a very tom boy outdoor cat who gets anxiety if in indoors- as someone said, lots of issues with toileting and being sick if he's made to stay in. i've given up trying to keep him in but get a lot of negative comments from the vet and people insinuating it's irresponsible to let him out. is there no way at all you can rehome them via the RSPCA or similar? perhaps they will settle but it will be quite stressful if they are used to certain ways. or perhaps they will adapt. dogs seem to cope better- they live more in the moment and can be bought with treats, but cats seem to hold grudges for longer lol.

Definitely more of a dog nation.

While I know plenty of 'cat people' here, this is often evident to me given the balance of availability of cat and dog stuff in pet shops - only the RSPCA shop and Pet Barn have a decent range of kitty stuff in my opinion, I gave up on City Farmers long ago. Also our house is surrounded by homes with dogs in the yards which often stops Chester straying into their yards (good) but then he might go out on the street (very bad). The dog-lady next door hates Chester and accused him of pooping under her house, though his name was cleared when she said he was waking the dogs at night while under the house - impossible as Chester has never once stayed out overnight! Turns out it was another ginger cat who appears to be locked out 24/7.

 

If you are really attached to these kitties, do think about investing in an outdoor enclosure or at least really high cat trees for indoors, some landlords accept pets if they are exclusively kept outside though I see plenty these days happy with indoor pets. Although not cheap, it's minor compared to the cost of your visa and transporting yourself, your kitties and your worldly goods to Australia

We managed to leave our cat with the new home owner. We hadn't planned it but when they came to look at the house they asked if the cat came with it. Sorted. Maybe the new ownerswwould mind a cat visit once a night?

A lot of people do have enclosures erected to the house for their cats these days, however if renting you would want to be able to take it with you. The big cat trees are great I have two for my lot and they love them. Its a problem people who do not like cats tend to blame the nearest and the one they see in the window etc when in fact truth be known there are feral cats everywhere in the cities and towns and its probably a feral cat that is more likely to get under a house. We had an office in an old house in Dandenong and we had feral cats under the house and they were a real problem. Some people feed them and put food out. If the lady next door has dog food out for example that will attract foxes and feral cats.

 

Just unfortunate you have to have her living there.

 

For a short time I was cat free and just had the dogs and in that time more cats came onto my block than ever come now I have cats once more.

 

So people without cats attract cats.

When we moved in there were no dogs in the adjacent houses, Chester was there first! So he must have felt quite put out when the doggies started moving in. But he used to crawl under or jump over the fence and play in the garden behind which was a pain as we had trouble getting him out of there! He's calmer now anyway and much better at staying in our yard and garage, which is like an awesome kitty adventure playground with the shelves and rafters

we just let him out for half an hour in the morning and for a while in the evening, longer at weekends.

 

I hope he wears a loud bell!

I hope he wears a loud bell!

Sadly not, he always manages to remove the collar and/or bell so had to give up on that. But you have reminded me to get back on the hunt for a collar/bell that is safe for him, and Chester-proof. He's a very determined cat and absolutely hates having anything attached to him but yes, I acknowledge this needs fixed.