Would you emigrate and re-home your pets?

I think in our case we were idealistic about how children would fit into our lives. Possibly lack of insight, since neither one of us had had a dog before.

I had two house rabbits for 4 years but over that time my H developed asthma so we did everything we could but their flying fur balls couldn't really be eliminated from the house so we made the decision to rehome them. I could have kept them in the garden but they would have less quality of life for a number of reasons. I rehomed them through the internet and I think that's a good route in this day and age, actually I proposed it on Hitched first and I'm glad I didn't get a backlash for wanting to rehome them responsibly. I still vetted the new homes with a house visit etc. to make sure they would be just as happy if not happier than with us. It was the best decision all round. I gave them 4 good years of their life and they will no doubt most likely live the rest of their 4/5 years happy with their new owner. I think there are lots of good reasons (including immigrating and putting your family above the pets) where there is a need to rehome pets and I don't think you can pre-empt all those reasons. As long as the animals are happy and well looked after is there really a problem as they existed already before most owners acquire them?

A new baby is the single biggest reason pets get rehomed. There are 150 000 dogs a year rehomed in the UK, and at least 10 000 put to sleep without homes (not all pounds give figures as to how many strays / unwanteds they PTS). Those put to sleep are the ones that can't find rescue spaces / foster homes. Of course, many other people do have dogs / cats and babies together. Battersea almost refused to rehome a cat to us because at the time we were TTC - despite the fact that we already had a cat and wanted another one because he was missing our other cat who'd died. There isn't an oversupply of homes, but it makes more sense, to some rescues, to hold out for a home that has a greater chance of being a forever home than one where the pet may get returned in a few years. Some rescues also insist that the pet is returned to them if the adopter dies, rather than being rehomed through whatever private arrangement the person may have made.

Pooch's post gives excellent examples of why people give up their dogs when they have a new baby - most often it's because they lack the time, and the dog is no longer a priority or their no longer interested because they now have a baby. LTP is also very honest when she says they possibly underestimated the committment because they hadn't had a dog before. If people didn't buy as many dogs as they do then there wouldn't be the market in puppy farming with 100000s of dogs born each year, sold to the first person who wants one with no thought as to whether it's a 'good' home or not. There is an oversupply of dogs in the UK. I'd rather the dogs weren't bred in the first place than put to sleep because they were no longer wanted. If the market wasn't there people like my (almost) neighbour wouldn't have two American Bulldogs, bought solely for the purpose of breeding, totally undersocialised and who will be dumped as soon as they stop making her money.

My SIL does volutary work for a Weimaraner rescue and the number of ex-breeding b*tches that get dumped on then is appaling, they even get puppies who's owners can't sell them and won't keep them because they're costing money.

Just to back up Boops point about new babies in a home and rehoming pets because of it. When our cat Zippy died last year and we were looking to rehome a couple of rescue cats the Cats Protection centre we visited had little boards for each cat with their background, likes/dislikes and reson for rehoming. Half of the cats we saw were in there because a new baby had arrived in the house. It broke my heart. Our two, Pinot and Pernod were in there because the previous owner had moved home into a flat that wouldnt allow animals, so he wanted them rehomed.

Since then we have acquired Guinness who we reckon was dumped by someone in our area as they no longer wanted him. We took him in, made sure he was checked out at the vets and neutered. He is a gorgeous loving cat, that someone didnt want any more, which again breaks my heart.

What Im trying to say is, yes there are people out there with no regard to the responsibility or duty of care they have to a pet, and theyre thought of as disposable, which I think is a sad reflection on society today. There are also, as examples have been brought to the forefront earlier in this thread, people that are placed in a set of circumstances beyond their control that probably get very upset at the fact that they have to let their pets go to another home.

Theres arguments on both sides as everyone has seen here, but I do agree with Boop that there are a lot of people out there that think of pets as a more here and now thing rather than a long term commitment.

Sorry, that was rather long!

Boop, would be interested to know what you think of my situation. We got our cat from rescue 3 years ago and he is a loved and adored member of our family. Shortly after we got him he was diagnosed with an illness that means he has to have prescription food meaning the cost of keeping him is roughly three times what we would have expected but we didn't even contemplate rehoming him at that point.

We don't have children now, but hope to start trying for them next year. Now the issue with this (which we did not know when we got him, but do now) is that our cat is incredibly nervous. He's terrible with new people especially when there is more than one at a time in the house. He is particularly afraid of toddlers and small children. Now, our hope is that when we have children of our own they will start off as non-threatening babies that he can get used to and as they grow we can teach him and them how to live together. However there is a possibility that he will not get used to them - if this was the situation and he was unhappy (whether or not the children were at any risk) I would reluctantly consider rehoming him for a happier life. Would you consider this a valid reason?

You see I think the issue here is that a lot of rehoming that may seem at face value to be selfish and treating the animal as 'disposable', will have in reality come after a lot of heartache and trying to find solutions. I know there are people in the world who do not treat animals as they should - that's how I got my cat, and probably why he's so nervous around new people and still flinches if I make a sudden move even after 3 years of never hurting him. But I would like to think that most rehomings take place because circumstances change in unexpected ways. At the end of the day whilst I adore my moggy, he is not what I live my life for and therefore all decisions will not be based on what is best for him, although he will always be a factor in such decisions.

I hope that makes sense, I seem to have rambled on a bit ?

I'm not Boop and I don't have an answer to your question other than we have 4 cats and one very nervous cat who is very frightened of other people and children especially and do you know what, she adores my LO so please try not to worry too much. I don't know why she is not scared of my LO, he is a boisterous little 18 month old although we have always from being very little taught him to be gentle with the cats and another thing we did is never stop him touching them if he wanted to so they didn't become something that he desparately wanted and wasn't allowed IFYSWIM. We also have safety gates so that the cats can get away if they need to to somewhere quieter. It's worked extremely well and I'm so proud of my little kitties for being so patient with my LO.

I find it hard to feel the same connection for our cat as I have done to the dogs we've had as a family. I certainly didn't get the feeling that once the dogs could work our how to get the tins open, my usefulness would be at an end. This is certainly the case with Binx. Which no doubt explains the amount of time he spends whoring himself next door for somewhere different to sleep and a change in variety of food.

I don't doubt Binx likes us, but TBH, if someone else moved in here and wasn't objectionable, he'd rather stay here, where he knows, than come with us. I'm under no illusions. But then I think cats and dogs are generally very different (though I know there are some exceptions - some cat breeds are very owner-specific).

If I were to emigrate I don't think I would take my pets. I wouldn't consider emigrating in my dogs' lifetime, but I possibly would in my cat's. I just think my cat is

1. more fickle and porbably couldn't give a toss who he lives with

2. wouldn't like the stress of a long journey

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love my pets, I am still grieving for the loss of my cat last year. It would certainly hurt to rehome my cat, but at the same time if I thought he was happy enough then I might do it.

I possibly have a different take on this as via my business I know an awful lot of pet owners and I see a lot of dogs rehomed and mostly the rehomed dogs seem really happy. I think if someone is being responsible in finding a home for a pet then that's good enough. I don't believe that pets are like children (although I do treat mine like furry kids) but I do think there is a tendency to believe that all pets are one home animals where that's not necessarily true.

There is a massive difference between abandoning a pet and rehoming one.

L
xx

Didn't want to bounce it back earlier but as it's on page 1 again just wanted to say thank for taking the time to write a lengthy reply to my questions.

Hmm.. I do agree that many people get and then rehome pets too easily. For example I would love a dog, but I'm at a time in my life where it wouldn't be fair to have one - out all day at work, H working long hours so being on my own a lot, young child/ren occupying most of my time without having to fit walking a dog in all weathers into the equation. My friend and her dopey brother and equally dopey mum have adopted a pair of springer spaniel puppies recently - I am so sad that I just don't feel they've looked into it properly, and tbh I'll be very surprised if the dogs are still with my friend or her family by this time next year. I hope I'm wrong, I really do. But there's a vast difference between that, and rehoming a pet that you feel is a danger to your family, or where your life circumstances change to the extent that it becomes impossible to look after the animal.

? to all those having to make the painful decision to rehome much loved pets. It must be so hard.

Thanks for your reply, that's encouraging. As I say, he gets used to people (adults) over time so I can only hope if he was around a child growing up, getting active gradually etc that he would get used to it. I've come home from work tonight and looking at him has made me well up at the thought of maybe having to rehome him in the future. I know I'll fight like hell to stop that happening, but at the same time if that was the best thing for him and us then I'd do it.

Mrs Jess, that's fair enough but what if you had the pet before you were even thinking of TTC? Don't worry about not reading the rest of the posts as it goes round and round in circles with two very distinct groups of opinions.

So really we should all make a decision if we want to have children or pets as we can't predict how the pet would react with a child.

I have heard this is true too, and know people who feel the same way. When I was pregnant I was really disturbed by the number of people who asked me "what were my plans for the cats?" or “When were they going?”. Granted it was only 2/3 people but it had never crossed my mind, we were always going to have a good go at making it work. As it goes my cats are very tolerent of my baby, they allow her to stroke them but really appreciate there cat flap and various well thought out gates around the house. I asked my friend who is a vet nurse and she agreed that there are a few couples that she has seen with babies on the way who do give up there cats/dogs because of the baby. Having pets was a massive part of my childhood, it makes me so sad that some people think it has to be one or the other.

However I'm really not sure what I would do if one of them went for her, she does come first and if it wasn't working, and we had tried every avenue then they would be rehomed - I can't see that happening myself but I think her safety would come first.

I understand the sentiment behind people should think ahead re children etc but I still think it is an extremely idealistic view. I think there are worse circumstances for a pet to be taken in under. Think of how many people have dogs and work full-time hours (oops, may get flamed for that but am under the impression this is considered to be 'cruel' by many?), some people tie their dogs up all day in the garden, leave them out in all weathers, basically there must be hundreds if not thousands of cases or real cruelty and neglect (so Simon Cowell tells me). So imho, there is much worse you can do to an animal than overlook the prospect that a future child may result in them being rehomed.

When I was first married, we knew we wanted a pet and also children.

We decided that since we were both working fulltime and out of the house all day, that we would wait until I was on maternity leave and then get said dog.

We actually didn't get the dog until the baby was 4years old!?

It worked well for us that way and dog was introduced to the whole family at the one time.

When second child came along, we made a great fuss of showing the dog that she was still very much a huge part of the family and the most she ever did when the baby was being fussed over was run around wagging her tail furiously!

True ? I didn't write it very well at all. I just think people can be forgiven for not foreseeing that a pet might have problems once children came along, particularly if they got the pet at a time when children weren't even on the cards. Some people are adamant they don't ever want children but may meet a different partner or for another reason decide they do. So I think it is extremely idealistic to suggest that people need to consider these things at the time of getting a pet as it's impossible to foresee the future and also impossible to foresee problems. As I think Boop agreed with earlier, many people do successfully have pets and then children without problems so surely it would be a bit extreme to say at aged 19, no I won't get a cat just in case I do decide in 10 years I want children and also jsut in case the cat has issues with the children.

My head hurts now. But of course, I would agree that if someone was actively TTC or close to it then yes, they would be foolish not to think about the potential problems if they took on a pet at that time. I just felt that mentioning the 3 hitchers with children and subsequent rehoming followed by ith a 'general' statement saying people should think more carefully was singling them out as examples of people who should have known better. But I am also open to the possibility I misinterpretted ? Nevermind. I think I know what I was trying to say but not making a good job of it. A lot of this thread has confused me to be honest.

Good grief, i had no idea hitched was such a hotbed of (very specific) animal rights activists. did the cats get rehomed? good luck with that,

fwiw, it's a long way from my own thoughts on the subject. i have rabbits and i love them, they hop and they are unspeakably adorable. i don't want anyone to be cruel to them and i want them to live long happy lives with me. but i love them in a rabbit way. if i had children and it was a survival scenario (don't ask me how ?) i'd cook the rabbits and feed them to the children, not the other way round. this points out to me the fundamental difference in my feelings towards animals and people. i love my rabbits as much as i could love any animal, which is plenty, thank you. but equally i know the difference and that fits in with my beliefs. i eat meat (not with massive enthusiasm, i'm not keen on the taste) and it all makes sense.

much in the same way that i know women who don't have children (for various reasons) who dote on their pets, and i think go for it - people are entitled to whatever happiness they can find in life - i also think that the people who emigrate are entitled to rehome pets. it's not as if they're leaving them on the street. and i may be different to the majority of people on this thread, but i'd need to have serious spare money before i spent thousands moving my pets abroad. perhaps i don't understand it, really, as i have no desire to move abroad and can't really conceptualise it. but really, how is rehoming pets an evil thing to do? a former colleague of mine recently rehomed her dog after a long while, because as her family had changed (children moved out, she was working more hours etc) the dog was on its own at home for long periods. i'm trying to hold in the snide remarks, but i have been amazed at the vitriol that a perfectly reasonable notice provoked. some very holier than thou expressions of points of view. it has wound me up a bit, but hey. each to their own. flame me if you like, i do think some of you sound a bit bonkers ?

I haven't had time to read all of this but we have 3 children (under 5), 3 dogs, 2 kittens and 2 guinea pigs and have moved to Dubai and back twice in the last 3 years. It's not easy to move with animals, it can be costly (if only you got skywards miles for dogs!) and it can be hard to find accommodation where pets are welcome but we've manged (we owe our neighbours a years worth of guinea pig cleaning out mind!). We had 2 of the dogs before the children and do have to be careful with one of them as he's a bit grumpy but we just get on with it tbh and always have. At least the cat owners are trying to rehome them and aren't just dumping them, easy to judge until it's you in their shoes and all that.

All my pets apart from 2 rabbits have had 'forever' homes. We had to rehome the bunnies because they chewed through their hutch one night and were loose in the garden when H let our 3 scotties out the next morning. It was absolute mayhem, we were trying to catch the dogs who were determined to have a bunny breakfast, but 2 rabbits and 3 terriers are not the easiest things to catch at 7am but we managed in the end.

The poor rabbits were so traumatised by the experience that they hid in their bed and wouldn't come out so a friend of ours took them. The wierd thing was that the dogs ignored them the whole time they lived in the hutch.

We emigrated 2 months ago and our elderly cat was flown from Scotland to England to live with my Dad. She is very happy there. Most landlords here don't allow pets and I don't think a 17 hour journey and 35C heat would have been a good option for her (plus we were living in temp accommodation until a week ago so she would have spent 8 weeks in a cattery out here - not a very nice option). Now she has her own garden and can come and go as she pleases - she has really taken to my Dad. We plan to spend 2 months a year in the UK and wouldn't have wanted our cat to spend those 2 months in a Singapore cattery - very very different standards to the UK.

I don't think you can make a judgement on this until you have been in the situation and looked at all the options that apply to your own particular case. For us, it was immediately clear that staying with family in the UK was the best option.

? I am just about to post the opposite because I HAVE done this.

We have three cats and took them to live with us in Singapore. I absolutely didn't want to leave them. I didn't have any family to leave them with so maybe that influenced my decision? I am afraid I did take the view that they are part of my family and that we shouldn't me moving abroad if it meant leaving them. In fact, I wouldn't have moved if i had had to leave them behind.

All my cats were teenagers (13, 17 and 17 yrs) at the time of travel. It was expensive for us to fly them to Singapore, and time consuming to arrange all the vet work, paper work etc, even wth an animal moving company involved. Luckily there is no quarantine to Singapore with UK pets. I agree with you about Singapore catteries - not nice, even the airconditioned ones. The best thing is to use petsitters out there.

We deliberately didn't go into serviced apartments (ie temp accomodation, where in the nice ones you can't have pets) becuase we didn't want our cats in catteries for any length of time. We moved straight into our apartment and had rented furniture until our furniture arrived via sea shipment. I never came across any landlords not allowing cats in apartments though, I thought that dogs were sometimes a problem (but for HDBs?) - sorry if I've got that wrong.

So yes, we went completely out of our way to move so that we could accommodate our cats. Having the cats also affected the type of appartment we went for too.

In some ways, I do wonder if I was doing what was best for me in taking the cats to Singapore. Was it really fair on them? It was nice for me to have them with me, but we did go to an awful lot of trouble and expense to ensure the move was a smooth as possible for them. Was it really fair to make them all have the rabies injection (which can cause cancers)?

They all made it back to the UK alright when we moved home, and I do believe are much happier back here.

Would I do it again? If it meant quarantine, no. If it there was no quarantine, I would consider it, but still think very carefully about it. I would certainly want to know the kind of home they were going to, so like Hitched in Paris, a family member to have them would be the best choice.

It is such a hard decision with so many factors to consider.

(We did re-home our fish - two massive Oscars as shipping them was never going to happen).

Whereas, at the risk of sounding as rude as you, you sound a bit dim with your non seqitur riddled post- we're not talking about survival scenarios or unforseeable life upheavals, but commenting on the sad fact that many people fail to take into account perfectly forseeable factors when deciding to take on a pet. Thank goodness you held in the snide remarks, phew!

We brought our cats with us to Belgium, which was quite expensive but well worth it.

However, if we were in a situation where we had to choose between our ultimate dream life (without cats) or staying put (with cats), we would consider rehoming them. I can't really imagine how such a situation would arise though. I also think it depends on the animals- our cats are quite independent and much more interested in each other than they are is us- I'm confident they would be happy with other humans, provided they were together. I think dogs are a different kettle of fish entirely though.

I'm glad you're relieved - just think, if I'd put my limited mind to it, I might have decided to insult named individuals, but fortunately my restricted mental acitivity meant that it never occured to me.

If the question is 'would you take on a pet without due thought?' my answer's no. Before I bought my rabbits I discussed it with family and agreed a back-up home for them in case I couldn't look after them for any reason - also as I have never had a pet as an adult before, and wanted to make sure there was a loving home for them if I wasn't up to the job. But to equate the responsibility of looking after children with looking after pets seems much too far to me, in comparing animals with children, as I tried to point out with the slightly outlandish survival scenario. But there again, my limited brainpower holds back my explicatory prowess.

It seems a bit unfair to me for you to say outright what's being discussed and what isn't - surely my interpretation of the content of the thread is as valid as yours? It started as a small ad style notice to see if anyone could rehome some cats, but turned into the proverbial can of worms, with some views expressed that seemed extreme to say the least. But go for it, if you want to put me in my place, be my guest. I'm all for a healthy, if rather fruity, debate.