Would you emigrate and re-home your pets?

Has she completely ruled out taking the cats with her? It is doable. A friend of mine is emigrating to Finland today with her 5 'special needs' indoor cats!

"i know! pets dont fit in with our lifestyle anymore, lets get rid of them". tbh i find things like this disgusting.

when we emigrate our cat will be coming with us, he s one of the family.

Her husband's company is paying for them to go and the accommodation doesn't allow animals unfortunately.

I'd have them myself, but I don't think my 2 would be too impressed!

Is there a particular reason why your friend is not taking the cats to Australia? Australia is a qualifying country for the UK PETS Passport Scheme, so shouldn't be a problem getting them back in if your friend were to move back to the UK. In Australia, the quarantine period is only 30 days in one of 3 Government Quarantine Centres. At five years old, they should be in reasonable health for the journey.

Otherwise, suggest your friend gets in touch with their local Cats Protection or RSPCA and have the cats rehomed through them - much safer for the cats. Sorry if I sound a bit ratty - I volunteer for the local Cats Protection and it's shocking how many placed into CP or RSPCA care because owners do not consider the cats before moving abroad. It's not really a good time to rehome cats - our pens are all full and it's harder to rehome non-kittens. We actually have quite a long waiting list for kittens but not many people are willing to consider slightly older cats - at 5, they are still pretty young.

Why doesn't she take them with her? I would never leave one of my cats behind.

Anyway, I don't know anyone in that area. Has she tried the local vets/cats protection etc?

Glad to see you haven't jumped to any conclusions there NickJ.

"Her husband's company is paying for them to go and the accommodation doesn't allow animals unfortunately."

Could they not request pet-friendly accommodation? I would have thought most employers would try their best to have flexibility on accommodation, as after all, it is costing them money to transfer an employee and it is in their interest to find suitable places. I would send a letter/e-mail the people responsible for this side of any move and say "we have 2 cats who are part of the family and they need accommodating. Can we sort something out?" or something along those lines.

quite agree

there are plenty of places that will accept pets - they should be sorting that end out instead of working out how to dump them

I'm sure if they asked the company would help out. We are moving abroad soon and us taking the cats is non-negotiable.

Nothing like jumping to conclusions huh? They could have already asked and been turned down. Its up to them if they want to rehome the cats really isnt it?

That's really harsh NickJ, there could be plenty of reasons why it's just not possible.

Cats can live 20 years, it's hardly unsurprising if your lifestyle changes massively and unexpectedly in that time frame, it doesn't mean you've not given due consideration to the responsibility of having a cat.

I disagree. You wouldn't move to Australia and decide to leave your children at home. If more people realised that cats / dogs / pets are just as much of a responsibility then perhaps we wouldn't have the crisis in rescue that we currently have.

We'll have to agree to disagree on whether a cat is as much responsiblity as a child.

So the gist is any pets shouldnt be left behind? But if we had to emmigrate theres no way we could take our rabbits, guinea pigs and fish as no one would let us with out quarentine (which we wouldnt be able to afford) so we would have to leave them, the cat might be easier to take with us, but still not that cheap. Its not like they are going and just leaving the cat in a ditch somewhere.

The point is that they SHOULD be as much responsiblity - they aren't disposable. Perhaps if I had kids I'd understand but I cannot, cannot, cannot currently comprehend how anyone can justify not regarding their pets as something which should influence their life choices.

You make a committment to an animal the day you bring it home - that committment shouldn't change over the animal's life.

I can understand but how do any of us know what this person has or hasnt done or thought about?

I actually agree with you Boop, but I know this friend would take them if she could.

I don't have kids myself but as full-time step-mum to an 18 year-old whose mother chucked him out at 14, I know I could never do that to my cats (or my step-son!)

Exactly. This could be the last available option. I very much doubt it's a decision they've taken lately. Not really sure how making sweeping statements about them is helpful at all?

We don't - however they are looking for a new home for two, healthy, young cats, which would more than likely be able to cope with the journey. I'm probably at odd with most people but I wouldn't consider moving anywhere that I couldn't take ours with us. Mr Boop wants, eventually, to do some work in the US. I've already got a list of states / cities I'm not prepared to live in because of their ridiculous dog park / leash laws because the quality of life for Riley wouldn't be high enough.

I wouldn't move without my cats either. But that's not the reason I'm at odds with your view. The reason I don't agree with you is that I wouldn't condemn others for making that painful decision. It's not a decision they would have taken lightly, and could be the last available option. I'm sure they know more about their cats situation than you, and if they could take them, then obviously they would. No-one wants to leave their animals behind, sometimes it's unavoidable.

You don't know that's the case, any more than I 'know' that they're treating their cats as disposable. Give them the benefit of the doubt by all means, however my experience of dog and cat rescue is that the majority of animals are given up / dumped without a second thought, in the same way that they were taken on in the first place without a true understanding of the committment required. Debbie says they would take them if they could - I suspect that they could take them if they tried harder to make it happen (like Peaches did when she moved to Texas, for example) but that they think it's easier if they leave them behind.

Very true, I don't know that's the case, you're right. I guess I'm just giving them the benefit of the doubt. Having taken on two rescue cats myself, I know the agony the owners went through when bringing them round and having to leave without them. I suppose I'm judging them by that standard... rather than assuming they are simply dumping them because they don't fit their new lifestyle. But you're right, that could be the case just as much as my opinion.

i dont care what you think tbh minx. i find it abhorrent that so many people seem to think its fine to dump pets. i agree with boop in terms of the responsibility element, and i would make a choice based on the animals needs as opposed to my own simply because a pet "doesnt fit in". and whatever the reason the OPs friend wants to dump them, i find it abhorrent, hence my comment. i m really not interested in what lengths they have or havent gone to, i m not interested. the only important issue to me is that they want/ "NEED" to get rid of them.

I m not going to enter into further argument with this, not to avoid debate, but because my view on this issue is fixed, will not change, and i feel quite passionate about it. there s nothing you or anyone else can tell me to make me say "oh thats ok then".

I think a few people here are being a touch OTT about this. I have a cat and I love him to bits. However, if an amazing opportunity came my way and it meant that he would need to be rehomed, I'd consider it. It would break my heart, but why should my life be put on hold because of it? I would rehome him responsibly and ensure that he had a happy life. I'd probably cry a lot about it too. It doesn't make me a terrible and irresponsible pet owner. A cat is not a child, it's a pet.

mmm - perhaps the rehoming responsibly bit is the bit that seems to be missing here

because thinking about it - if we got the chance to go back to oz and we couldnt take pop and saff for some reason (i cant imagine what reason because i would do absolutely everything possible) i know they would go to their home from home at mum and dad's - or somewhere equally secure

getting a friend to shout out to a few hundred randoms on a webforum wouldnt cut it really

perhaps this is part of why this made me so uncomfortable

and while i dont agree with boop's take on the child/pet responsiblity thing - it is obvious too many people consider their pets disposable or some transigent part of their lives

I went to a cat rescue the other day, it was absolutely rammed with unwanted moggies, i find it very hard to understand how people can do that

i think pets are as much responsibility as children

obviously they are different but they need the as much care and attention as a child and they rely on their owners to look after them. circumstances change but if i was her I would make sure that they were in a suitable home first - before i agreed to change my life in such a way. I would try anything humanly possible to take them with me but if for some reason it was not possible then thier needs would come first.

everyone is different but there is no way I could leave my cats in a rescue to move to a new life in Australia - i would feek so guilty

good luck rehoming them I really hope they don't end up in a place like the one i visited - it was horrible

Just to reply to this, my friend recently had to rehome her cats via a cat rescue - the reason being her elderly mother who is suffering from early onset dementia has finally had to stop living on her own a nd she has moved in with my friend. She is terrified of cats so after a lot of soul searching my friend has given up her cats.

Just really to say that whilst I agree that people shouldn't get rid of their pets lightly it is, sometimes, the only option to take

Wah! Do you have a child? [PMSL]

My cat spent 12 hours lying in the garden sunbathing and then came in for a bit of ear scratching. If only I could say the same about my son. ?

Really, a cat does not take a fraction of the care a child takes unless you have an incredibly sicky puddy or they are having kittens. Or your cat is incredibly spoilt - although really, my cat would have a fit if I spent all day chasing it around, wiping its nose and changing its nappy ?

I'm so with Mrs Winkle on this.

Seriously people, do you really think it's as much responsibilty as children? Honestly? My friends with children would probably be pretty offended at that suggestion. Let's get some perspective here. Owning a pet is a responsibilty, yes but having a child is very different indeed and to suggest otherwise seems a little extreme.

As has my 12 year old step daughter and frequently spends all day lurking round the house with my cat, needing fed, watered and loved.

Cats are obviously more independent than a small child but i do think that once they are yours they are yours and thats it.

obviously the lady whose mum is poorly had to make a very hard choice and did what she felt was right for her but I wouldn't have been able to make that decision. I would have had to keep them both

The point is Noone, you wouldn;t have the choice of keeping both. Sheesh.

Incidently I have 1 daughter 11 months, 1 cat having lost 2 recently, 4 horses and 3 step children 12,11 and 6.

I do think people come first, but once an animal joins my family it is a part of the family and i am as responsible for it as i am any other member of my family.

Other people think differently - i understand that