dinkydoo

I had a tub of Vaseline inside a plastics draw set that we had filled with with odds and ends inside the container, the Vaseline melted and then set again all over the draw because it had fallen on its side in transit. That was a messy job to clear up!!

The cats in spotswood have a bed box with a lid on with some fleecy bedding in it.

The short term rental that we are staying in allows pets. We have been here now for 7 weeks, 5 of them with our cat. We were turned down for one long term rental because we have a cat but he next one we applied for we were successful with. Luckily the landlord is a cat lover/ owner too! Just waiting for our furniture to arrive then we will all move to our new house, hopefully without too much stress!

I had the same concerns when Ozzy was going to be in quarantine and he was a fussy little blighter before!! In quarantine he didn't eat much the first few days and I think this was out of nervousness. However after a few days he started eating the dry advance food and I got him the same stuff for when he came home, now he eats it and enjoys it and I give him one pouch of whiskers a day split into two meals as a treat. In the UK he would of had 3 a day and not much dry food. So he's doing well so far. The only reason I gave in and gave him wet food again was that when we brought him home he was a it nervous and went back to not eating much!

I think they will eventually eat when they are hungry!

We are in Berwick. We initially wanted to be by the sea but it wasn't really ideal for where my hubby works. We are used to ocean beaches and waves and the bayside beaches are not like that so we decided that it wasn't worth the extra money for rent there. We just drive to a beach at the weekend if we want to see the sea!!

The weather hasn't been great recently though

I'm keeping him in at the moment because the cottage we are staying in is in the countryside and I think he would get lost, we are moving in to our long term rental when our stuff arrives in the next few weeks. Then I will keep him in for a few weeks and then decide whether he can go out or not. He was in quarantine for 30 days.

We are settling nicely thank you, although I can't wait to move in to our house and have familiar things around us.

​Where are you thinking of settling when you come over? Or have you not got that far yet??

We arrived 5 weeks ago and yes we brought our cat with us, was a bit traumatic for him but he's a sensitive cat anyway!! He's settling now after a few weeks of hiding under the bed!!

If you are using a pet shipping company I can recommend Pet Air, they were great.

​

We applied for SS last year in my husbands occupation of engineering technologist and it took 19 weeks for a positive outcome, our agent told us because it wasn't a popular occupation the panel didn't get together very often to assess. So I guess if you have a popular occupation it will be assessed more quickly because they get together more often.

Hi Emma,

he seems a bit better now, he's eating a bit more than he was but still hiding under the bed quite a lot. We have a feliway diffuser and spray, not sure if its helping! We used them in the house before we moved out as well. And when we get the keys to our new place I will put on I. There before we move in. I guess it all takes time!

Good luck with collecting Finlay. X

Ozzy isn't very happy. He has sulked under the bed for most of the week. He has a few minutes of running around but he's seriously moody!!

He has been on dried food in quarantine so I bought the same food, he was happy to eat it for a day then started refusing to eat it, knowing that I would give in and give him some pouch food, so I started giving him half a pouch a day, now he won't eat anything!!

Im hoping that if I ignore him he will eventually eat the dried food! He is certainly making me feel bad!! He will probably just get used to the holiday let and we will have to move to our long term rental!!

Wish he would be his cheeky self again. I might regret saying that!!! But at the moment it's not easy seeing him so sad and lethargic

Where are you based? Have sent you an email

Is the vacuum still available?

Glad they are all home safe and sound now, Ozzy has been a bit better today after a night of jumping around on the bed and meowing very loudly at us! He's quite comfy on the sofa next to me but every time I move he follows!! I'm sure he's going to be fine with lots of cuddles. He will just about get used to the house we are in and then we will be moving into our long term rental in a month or so!!

At least he's got a bit more room than in quarantine !!

We went to collect Ozzy this morning at 8am, he cried all the way home in his crate and as soon as he got in the cottage he had a quick smell around and went to hide under the bed, he hasn't moved since! Thinks its going to take some time!! Poor little chap!

Yes we are looking forward to collecting him and helping him readjust

Yes we are collecting Ozzy on Friday! I'm sure he will be a little bugger for a while!!!

​Hope you are settling in and your 3 babies don't give you too much trouble as pay back!!!

I'm going to pick up my cat from quarantine on Friday and I'm hoping it won't take too long for him to recover from the ordeal! He's not coped with it very well. Feeling incredibly guilty for putting him through it all. It would have been much better for him if we could have had a shorter quarantine period.

Aww I know just what your going through. We brought our 2 dogs over to melbourne last June. Our Siberian never missed us for a second, looked at the whole thing as one big adventure, our old english sheepdog took the move quite badly. As we entered the kennel in spotswood he seen his carer open the door and he just stood there and wet on the floor :sad: it broke our hearts to see what WE had done to him. But as soon as he seen us he went mental, jumping all over us. We visited at every opportunity as I dont think he would have got through it if we didn't and with each visit he slowly got back to himself. As we got them home they settled back like they had never even been away from us. Its been almost a year now, and life has never been better, they have loved the summer months and are now enjoying the cooler walks too. So hang in there, they do get over the ordeal, even if they make us pay for it for a while!! having them here with us now has more than made up for all the worry and heartache and it will be for you all too, I promise :yes:

​Thank you

Fridays visit wasn't as good:( he sat hiding in his box again, trying to bury his head under the blanket. 6 more days to go!!

​Hopefully he will return to his cheeky self after a few days/ weeks??

Well I went to see my boy on Tuesday and when I called him he came out of his box to greet me, which was better than last time. I spent an hour just sitting in the pen with him and stroking him, he was more responsive and wanted to sniff my hands and lick them so I think he was happier to see me than the first time. After a while he was scared with all the noises so went back in his box.

i think I'm going to go again on Friday even though its a long old day just to spend a hour with him, I could of stayed for 2 but he was falling asleep. Just 8 more days until we can collect him then the fun begins!! He will sulk for weeks I imagine, even though we have bought a new scratch post that looks like a castle!!

.......Off to the vet later this morning for the final check-up & then to Heathrow tomorrow to deliver my three......

They fly at 9.25pm.......into Sydney......

I have sold a couple of large items of furniture on eBay & asked the winning bidders not to pick up until Wednesday.....I don't want any other 'changes' until they've gone.....

I hope the buyers understand - tough if they don't..... !

hope they travel ok and don't find it too traumatic like my boy!

Finlay arrived in Melbourne safe and sound - feel so guilty thinking of him stuck in a kennel there! We've got a dogwalker to go and visit Fin as we're in Adelaide and don't have time or emotional strength to visit him and leave him again. They visited him on Friday and had him out in the paddock which was nice, had a couple of photos from them too - just desperate to hear the next update and counting down what seems like forever til we can pick him up.

 

Did you manage to go and see Ozzy? Really wish I could be close by!!

Yes, we went on Friday to see Ozzy and to be honest it broke my heart to see him there! He was cowering in his box and wasn't that bothered that we were there! Not the reunion I was expecting! My husband has now started work and my car isn't coming until next week so I'm going to take a cab and 2 trains to go and see him again tomorrow, although it will upset me we think it will help in the long run for him to get some tlc as he's not happy at all! I just hope he will forgive me after its all over and done with, I knew he would find it tough because of his personality but I'm now feeling very guilty about putting him through it. There were other cats there that were just lazing in the sun but he was hiding under a blanket in his box obviously terrified. Counting the days until we can collect him on the 26th! No doubt then he will make me pay for weeks!!!

Thank you, we are still recovering!! Had a busy day yesterday sorting out bank accounts and looking at cars, going to collect the hubby's company car today so hoping to go and see Ozzy tomorrow?

Not long now until you fly??

Had a lovely email today from spotswood responding to my email with an update about the cats, I think coca especially might be being abit of a tart as they mentioned how loving he was!

 

Now have no furniture and sorting out the loose ends in our rental.

 

Have a good flight

Have just got up early to ring spotswood to see how Ozzy is before we fly on Sunday, last chance as they won't be answering calls over the weekend, I'm glad I did because I got to speak to his carer. But boy do I feel guilty now! He's not spending much time out of his sleep box, she said he's not scared but he doesn't come out unless she goes and puts her hand in and says hello! He is generally a nervous cat but he can also be quite mischievous, now I think the experience will have scared him for life!!

I hope I've done the right thing in bringing him and that he"ll "bounce" back when he's with us??

feeling very sad and slighty selfish right now!:unsure:

the next 3 weeks can't go fast enough, just hope we can sort a car out next week and visit him, but not sure if that will do more harm than good? He might feel like we have walked out on him again when we have to leave!!

I rang last night to check how they were getting on, as soon as I said I wanted to check on my cats Jinx, Millie and Coca she straight away said oh I know your cats, which made me think what are the monkeys up to!!:yes: Especially Jinx she is far to intelligent for her own good and very quickly learns some interesting skills, in our last house she used to stand on the letterbox half way up the door and hang on the door window pane until you let her in, its is so comical you always did and she got what she wanted!

 

She just clarified that they were eating, and using the facilities well and had settled, I was very happy to hear that they are in pens next to each other and that they can see one another as I thought the old boy might think he had been abandoned again but happy in the knowledge the girls will be driving him bonkers!

 

I will ring again probably end of the week or early next week to see how they are. We had thought about visiting but decided it would be best not to as wasnt sure it would be fair on them or us (not sure my OH would cope leaving them), especially seeing as Coca hasnt be away for more than a night at the vet and never been in a cattery before that I know of, like you I wish I had put him in for a few day to get used to it.

 

When you visit Ozzy if you happen to see two mental black and whites next to a handsome tabby, give them a tickle for me.

 

Movers in as we speak, after 4 days mental days of stress getting everything sorted its a huge relief.

Will definately keep and eye out for them if we visit Ozzy! Was going to ring tonight but was told to ring after 11am Aussie time and that's in the middle of the night here so maybe I'll try early morning here so its afternoon here?

Good luck with the packers, waiting to here when ours will be on its way, the bank holiday weekend hasn't helped, was packed up last Wednesday and its not a full container so we need to wait till its full before it leaves.

our last week seems to be going very fast!! Only a few more days with my parents!!