Advice needed on whether to rehome

[Jessw]

I really need some advice on whether to rehome my cat Bertie. My husband and I adopted him from a rescue centre 7 years ago and he is wonderful (despite the odd bit of challenging behaviour). Last year my husband and I moved to the states for a year and took him with us. Despite being ten years old he adapted ok. He hated the flight and wouldn't go out for the four months there was snow but he did alright.

My husband and I have decided to go traveling for a year to 18 months. We have a friend who loves Bertie and is willing to look after him for us. The friend currently lives in our house in London with us but will need to move out so we can rent it in the next few months. He is willing to try and find somewhere that would take him and Bertie. I'm slightly worried about how realistic that is. Though I could pay him to care for Bertie, which could go towards rent. After traveling my husband and I are intending to live in New York. I'm not sure how Bertie will manage there. He loves to go out and hunt mice. Though spends a lot of time asleep on a radiator too! I imagine my life will involve quite a lot of moving over the next 5 years.

I'm therefore wondering if it would be fairer on Bertie to try and rehome him. This would obviously be very very emotional for me but my primary concern is his welfare. He may be a little difficult to rehome as he bites and scratches on occasion. He couldn't live with kids, for example. He moved home a lot before we adopted him so I'm sure a lot of his problems stem from that. I don't want to make those worse. Having said that he is an extremely affectionate cat who loves being stroked and curling up on a lap. He still chases any bit of string he sees, phone chargers, tape measures, light cords etc. So he is a great pet.

I'd really appreciate any advice on what people think would be the best option for Bertie based on their experiences.

Thank you,

Jess

[Kay]

I sympathise with the dilemma, but would suggest that given the likely difficulty of finding a new home for him, you might as well start looking - no need to go with anyone you are not happy with - meanwhile your friend could start look for suitable accommodation for himself and Bertie, which might not be that difficult as Bertie is older and there is only one of him

perhaps to improve the possibility of a good new home you could ask rescues to put him on their websites

[Crewella]

You could also try getting your friend to contact Lets With Pets who help to find exactly that. Good luck.

http://www.letswithpets.org.uk/home/welcome