Potential Rehoming/Moving Advice

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amyavicii+furbo
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Potential Rehoming/Moving Advice

Post by amyavicii+furbo »

Hi all,

My name's Amy and my partner and I have two cats, Avicii & Furbo. They've both been neutered/spayed and are both a year old. They're not siblings/related and are about a month apart in age. We've had them both for the same amount of time and picked them up on the same day. Avicii is a ginger and white domestic longhaired tomcat (he's almost 1st in weight) and Furbo is a black and white domestic shorthaired queen cat (she's about half a stone). They both have access to food full time and neither seems under or over-weight. They're quite independent but enjoy one another's company and enjoy a good cuddle. They're mainly indoor cats as we live in an area where there is a busy main road near us but there is farmland behind us. Avicii would have an interest in the outdoors and would roam a little further than Furbo. They both like being outside but have no interest in it when it's not dry/calm. Furbo is more social when we've had people over, she will keep her distance but won't hide and come over to inspect the newbie before relaxing. Whereas Avicii is more anxious around new people, though he can warm up to them once he's gotten to know them! He doesn't like loud noises and runs every time the doorbell rings. They've only come into contact with a child/toddler once. Furbo was fine with him (18months-2yrs old) though she was more cautious around him than his parents and Avicii was terrified of him and would refuse to come downstairs. We live next door to four children and them playing out in their back garden doesn't bother him.

Basically, we want to move to Australia for a year or two once Covid allows and we were not expecting it to be as expensive as it is to move and quarantine the cats from Ireland to Australia. Just wondering if anyone has any advice on rehoming (really don't want to do it but it may be the less traumatic experience for them and least expensive for us) or if anyone has any advice/tips on moving with cats and/or pet mover recommendations. We had been thinking we could maybe have one of our parents look after them while we're away but if we like it there and want to stay 2 or 3 years it's a lot to ask of them to mind them for that long. No decisions have been made yet, I've contacted various Irish pet movers for estimates and I've looked at going through NZ (as when I was last quoted on quarantine facilities it was half the price in NZ than in AUS) but we'd have to go through the pre-travel vet visits again and stay in NZ for 90+ days before we could go to Australia and so far I haven't been able to get a quote on moving/transport costs from Ireland to NZ but have gotten quotes for transporting the two cats from NZ to Australia and it's more or less the same price as moving them from Ireland to Aus...

Any advice welcome! Open to new suggestions if there's something I haven't thought of. I really don't want to lose them.
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Cat-FAQ
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Re: Potential Rehoming/Moving Advice

Post by Cat-FAQ »

Hi Amy,

The following pages might be useful for you, if you haven’t already seen them:

Cat Chat’s rehoming advice page, which includes a section on ‘Emigrating Abroad’: https://www.catchat.org/index.php/rehome-pet-cat

Gov.uk advice on taking pets abroad: https://www.gov.uk/taking-your-pet-abroad

Advice website ‘Pets and Travel’: http://www.petsandtravel.co.uk

You could also email Cat Chat’s Help Desk for further advice: cat.advice (at) catchat.org

Hope that helps.
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Mollycat
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Re: Potential Rehoming/Moving Advice

Post by Mollycat »

Hi Amy,

Just a thought for you to consider - you don't want to lose them but are you thinking what's best for them? On the one hand there's the move which would be huge for them, and then the potential move back home again which is huge upheaval again. Or, there's giving them up for temporary rehoming, have them get used to a new home and new people, and then potentially take them back to presumably another new home back with you again, also two huge adjustments.

Is this move out of the blue or was it already a thought a year ago when you got these cats? Is it really fair to put the cats through the two moves, or would it be kinder to give them up completely and let them settle and have a good life with another family in Ireland that isn't so keen to travel the world at the drop of a hat, and for you to adopt cats when you're ready to settle yourselves?
amyavicii+furbo
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Re: Potential Rehoming/Moving Advice

Post by amyavicii+furbo »

Thanks for the advice & links.

We are thinking about the cats but it is difficult not to be selfish as we both would miss them very much if they don't come with us. The only realistic option for temporary rehoming would be with family that they are comfortable with and are comfortable in their homes. Otherwise, we would have to surrender them to a local cattery for them to find a new home for the two cats and we'd have no way of knowing who they're with or if they're kept together and we wouldn't be able to get them back.

I know that whatever the outcome will be, it will be an adjustment for the cats but we love them and want to bring them with us if we can find a less expensive option because we both know we'll love Australia and may want to try to make it a permanent move if possible. We're just looking into it at the moment and I'm finding more and more information and finding out more about our options and what would be achievable, then we'll look more about what will be best for us all but we really don't want to break up our little family if it's not absolutely necessary.

It's a big decision and that's why I'm taking my time to collect as much information as possible to make the most informed decision I can make and yes, this should have been researched more before we got the cats but we genuinely did not expect the cost of their quarantine in Australia to be so expensive (double-triple the price of having them moved from IRE > AUS). I'm waiting on replies from more companies and charities for more information and then we'll speak to our family and we'll speak with their vet too before any decision is made. They'll also be going to a local cattery for a week in July where we'll be with the in-laws for a stay-cation and that will help our decision in seeing how they react to that and how they adjust for the week (if it does/doesn't put them under much stress, how they adapt to being back at home, etc.) If quarantine wasn't so expensive for them it would really only be a question of how much stress it would put on the cats.

*EDIT* The more I'm learning about the quarantine, the more stressful it seems it will be on them, going to get confirmation that they would be kept separate from each other for the 10 days and the flights. If so, that definitely would be too stressful for them and our decision is more difficult for us but less difficult for the cats in the long term.
Mollycat wrote: Sun Apr 11, 2021 3:05 pm Hi Amy,

Just a thought for you to consider - you don't want to lose them but are you thinking what's best for them? On the one hand there's the move which would be huge for them, and then the potential move back home again which is huge upheaval again. Or, there's giving them up for temporary rehoming, have them get used to a new home and new people, and then potentially take them back to presumably another new home back with you again, also two huge adjustments.

Is this move out of the blue or was it already a thought a year ago when you got these cats? Is it really fair to put the cats through the two moves, or would it be kinder to give them up completely and let them settle and have a good life with another family in Ireland that isn't so keen to travel the world at the drop of a hat, and for you to adopt cats when you're ready to settle yourselves?
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Mollycat
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Re: Potential Rehoming/Moving Advice

Post by Mollycat »

Oh yes I get you, I couldn't give mine up and I can only imagine how hard it would be.

So they still have to go through quarantine even if they have all jabs? I only know about rabies for European quarantine into the UK which used to be 6 months. If it's the same that does sounds pretty stressful. My cat was in hospital for 2 weeks a couple of years ago, that was bad enough.

Wishing you all the best, sorry I don't have any helpful info.
amyavicii+furbo
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Re: Potential Rehoming/Moving Advice

Post by amyavicii+furbo »

It's a 10-day quarantine after all vet visits and import documents with all going well but from what I've read (yet to be confirmed) they're kept in separate areas on their own for the 10 days (all going well and no further tests needed). Glad your cat is doing well, can't imagine having one of mine in hospital at all never mind for 2 weeks!

Thanks all the same, it's good to get more opinions and thoughts.
Mollycat wrote: Sun Apr 11, 2021 4:56 pm Oh yes I get you, I couldn't give mine up and I can only imagine how hard it would be.

So they still have to go through quarantine even if they have all jabs? I only know about rabies for European quarantine into the UK which used to be 6 months. If it's the same that does sounds pretty stressful. My cat was in hospital for 2 weeks a couple of years ago, that was bad enough.

Wishing you all the best, sorry I don't have any helpful info.
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