Too clingy and moving again

Okay, Miya is my baby. She follows me everywhere, will sometimes sleep with me and always waits for me to come home. Just recently, after 8 months, she is slowly starting to become a little more independent and hang out with my mother and father without me supervising her.

I am going back to Japan next year and I have really struggled with whether or not to bring her back with me. She is just now starting to get comfortable at my parents' house, so I don't want to take that stability away from her. So my question is: How can I do more to help her be more independent? Mom wants to be in charge of feeding her treats, dad is in charge of her favorite wet food and both care for her when I am away (perhaps too much, as she gained a little too much weight when I was away for 2 months). If she does not become more independent, should I just bite the bullet and take her with me? She howled and cried for a week the last time I went away for a long time and it really broke my heart.

You have not mentioned the age of the cat. She sounds like a kitten. You also did not mention whether this is a short trip to Japan or a permanent relocation.

If she is your cat, and cried when you left, there is no real reason why you should not take her with you to Japan. Just be sure to read about the process of shipping a pet long distance. If you think that this is too much for the cat, or you, to deal with, then perhaps she should stay with your parents.

If I was permanently relocating (as may very well happen to me next year) I would take the cat.

Hi, it's not clear whether you're going 'for good', or just for another trip, and that might be something to consider. What also occurred to me is that when you go, you might have to arrange to take her (and possibly get required shots, line up her airline 'accommodations', etc.) quite some time in advance, as the airlines, and most definitely Japan might have strict regulations about entry, etc. It also would be a very long ride for her, even if you're very lucky and at least 1 of the airlines you use allows her to be in the plane with you, rather than the 'hold' (mine were fine there when we moved, but it was only 2 hrs), unless you're on a nonstop flight. I do think that once she is there and you're in one place indefinitely she will adjust as any cat would, though it may take quite a while. But appreciating that she's a cat, oriented at least as much to territory as people, you could choose to leave her - only you know the answers to the questions!

Miya is 2 years old. So, not really a kitten, but she really acts like one. If I go this time, it will be for about 2 years.