Should I fly with my kitty or rehome her?

I have to move overseas and would really appreciate insight on rehoming cats/cat behaviour. I don't have anyone to talk to about this problem, I hope there's someone here who can help me.

I adopted my sweet kitty from a shelter two years ago. We immediately bonded and I have loved her ever since. I love her with all my heart and I'm torn about what to do. I promised to take care of her for life and I just want to make sure she's happy, whether it's coming with me or finding her a new family.

I recently found out I have to permanently go back to my home country (I'm not a U.S. citizen). I'm prepared to pay the flying costs ($500) of bringing her, but my biggest concern is putting her through the trip.

Is it selfish of me to put her through 30 hours of flying just to avoid the heartbreak of losing her? Would she be okay during the trip or would she just do better with new owners? I actually moved twice with her so far, and we've been through a natural disaster together...she is incredibly good-natured and resilient!

I don't want to put her through the misery of air travel if she would adapt to a new family here. I'm worried that if I rehome her, she might end up in a bad home (she was returned to the shelter by 2 previous owners). I need to be sure that I made the best choice for her. What would you do in this situation?

I think do your research, make sure your country doesn't have months of quarantine their end, weigh up the odds with your cat - you already know she is a resilient little girl and I would say follow your heart.
Yes, 30 hours of flying is grim, heck, it's grim for us and we understand what is going on.. Talk to your vet about ways of maybe making the journey more comfy and less stressful? 30 hours pales when you think of a lifetime together, knowing you're giving her the best home.

Good luck to you both whatever you decide :-)

I wish I could help you. I am in the same boat as you - here temporarily, but I am taking Jed with me wherever I go, until the end of his days. Selfish? Maybe, but he needs to know I will never abandon him (he was abandoned before), and 30 hours of stress is a risk I'm willing to take.

You mention that your cat adapts well to change. Most cats do. They may get stressed out, but ultimately they adapt. It's what makes them such resilient creatures. Wouldn't it be nice for her to see you after 30 hours, to cuddle in your familiar scent again, knowing that whatever it was, it's all going to be okay now because she's with you again?

sandboxpanda said:

 
I have to move overseas and would really appreciate insight on rehoming cats/cat behaviour. I don't have anyone to talk to about this problem, I hope there's someone here who can help me.

I adopted my sweet kitty from a shelter two years ago. We immediately bonded and I have loved her ever since. I love her with all my heart and I'm torn about what to do. I promised to take care of her for life and I just want to make sure she's happy, whether it's coming with me or finding her a new family.

I recently found out I have to permanently go back to my home country (I'm not a U.S. citizen). I'm prepared to pay the flying costs ($500) of bringing her, but my biggest concern is putting her through the trip.

Is it selfish of me to put her through 30 hours of flying just to avoid the heartbreak of losing her? Would she be okay during the trip or would she just do better with new owners? I actually moved twice with her so far, and we've been through a natural disaster together...she is incredibly good-natured and resilient!

I don't want to put her through the misery of air travel if she would adapt to a new family here. I'm worried that if I rehome her, she might end up in a bad home (she was returned to the shelter by 2 previous owners). I need to be sure that I made the best choice for her. What would you do in this situation?

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Not gonna lie. This is going to be stressful for your cat.

However, I still believe rehoming her might be more stressful. Cats can become depressed when their human goes away. My elder cat, who stayed with my dad as I got on my feet when I moved out, became very depressed. And she stayed that way for an entire year. She never improved until I took her back.

The move is going to be high stress for a relatively short period of time.

Rehoming will be lower stress, but over a much longer period of time. Possibly years.

And you already know what she's like under stress. It seems like as long as you're there, she makes it through. And a lot of cats are like that. Yeah, they don't like their environment being changed, but they often dislike losing their people even more.

Now, here's the good news: since you got her in the United States, which is a low-rabies country, it may be possible for you to bring her without having to quarantine her. I don't know your destination, so I can't say for sure, but many countries and the entire EU recognize the US as a low-risk country and will allow entry of the animal without quarantine as long as they are microchipped and have a recent rabies shot.

You want to make SURE you know the exact requirements for your country of destination. Don't trust anything short of their own government immigration site. I would even call the embassy to double check.

I am in a similar situation to you. I will be moving soon, and Pia will have to fly. I know it will stress her out. But she's been abandoned so many times in her life, and I am still witnessing the damage it's done to her. Based on what I've seen so far, I fully believe she will be ok as long as I keep her with me in the cabin. And I believe the additional damage of another abandonment will be worse for her than the stress of a move -- even a big one.

Ok, I tried posting a response once, double posted and both of them got deleted...so I'm going to try this one more time.

For what it's worth, I've moved twice across the Atlantic ocean from the US to the UK and then from the UK to the US (7 years later with 2 different cats).

What I'll say is this: make sure that you keep up to date and are well informed about the import policies for domestic animals to the country you are returning to. Once you know what they are be sure to check back frequently as they have a habit of changing or being "updated" to include things or steps you haven't done. You want to have as much information as possible to minimize the chances of trouble.

I also suggest that you take the time to really look into and research the airlines that you have the option of using. Search for airline animal mortality rates and losses and that will help you to find the airline you'll feel comfortable using. We ended up using Virgin Atlantic for both trips across the atlantic and I would recommend them based on my experience with them. They were genuinely concerned with the care and safety of our cats (and kind as well). (I am not affliated with the airline in any way)

in 2006 I brought my 3 year old Maine Coon, Max and Pudgy-Pudge, a 15 year old, diabetic domestic shorthair. They both made the flight to the UK in fine form and with minimal upset (actually they seemed to be more bothered by the change of kitty litter brands than the plane trip). I wasn't willing to leave them behind -- rehoming them would mean I'd have to trust someone else would take them on as life-time committments and not give them up to someone else at a later date. I felt, in my case(s) it was less stressful to keep them and have them travel than it would be to have them re-home and wonder what happened that I left them.

When I realized I was going to be moving to the UK I was fine with giving up my car, apartment and most of my worldly goods, but I wasn't going to give up my cats. That meant i needed to research what our options were to get the cats over to the UK without them having to sit in Quarantine for 6 months. Luckily for us, the UK had a "pet passport programme" that as long as you followed all of their stipulations, made the required shots & vet visits and tests --in their exact order and time scale-- you could get the cats (and I believe dogs) certified so they wouldn't have to sit in quarantine.

So I did that for Max & Pudge, and they both made the trip well and adjusted. Pudgy-Pudge lived to be 18 before she developed squamous cell carcinoma, and Max lived to be 8 and developed intestinal cancer. (It hurt to lose them, but I had them that much longer because I took them with me.)

My husband and I moved to the US last year (2012), and brought Electra and Harley with us.

Going from the UK to the US was a much easier process (because all we had to show was that the cats had had their vaccinations and treatment for flea & tick prevention) and that they were certified to be in good health (as in safe for them to fly).

In any case, this is abbreviated but if you need to talk to someone about the process feel free to ping me a note.
Good luck with whichever path you choose!