Getting Cats When Abroad For Months A Year?

[DaenerysSnow]

Hi there,

this is something I've been debating about for years and years. I've wanted to get a cat ever since I left my parents' home, which is 15 years now lol The problem is that I now live abroad with my husband, and while the majority of the year we are in one country (7-8 months a year), the rest we stay with my folks. We used to travel frequently throughout the year though we tend to just have one long stay now instead of yo-yoing back and forth.

My concern is if this would be a horrible factor for cats to go through? I had thought about getting two instead of just one, so that at least they would always have each other. My husband's family has a lot of experience with cats (his parents have 5 and his aunt also has one. His mom and aunt feed stray cats daily, they absolutely adore them.), so they would be able to care for any potential cats when we are away, they would never be left on their own. However they would need to stay with family rather than at our home... and I'm aware of how territorial cats are.

I'm constantly dancing the line of 'should we or shouldn't we?'. It would greatly sadden me if I was never able to have any cats of my own, since our situation with travelling like this will never change as I need to see my family, who are unable to travel to see me. However if it would be a horrible experience for cats to go through this every year, then I could not do that to them.

Basically... I need advice. Any would be appreciated

Thank you!

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! Thanks ever so much for coming here!
So, to summarize, you are always going to be away for 7-8 months a year, every year. When you're here your cat(s) would be with you, when you're gone they will be with another family.
Cats are very adaptable and resilient.

However, I see several difficulties. I'm sure your relatives love you very much, but this would be asking quite a lot of anyone to take care of someone else's animal(s) for that length of time, repeatedly.
I also could see the cat(s) considering itself the feline of whichever family it is with for the greatest length of time.
And, as you mentioned, what if the resident cat or cats don't like your cat(s).
One other thing is, what if your cat(s) get sick while you are gone?

What if instead you informally adopted one of the five cats?
What if you made donations to shelters if you don't already, specifying for a specific cat, or for surgeries, or for kittens?
What if you volunteered and provided those shelter cats with much needed love and attention? This is very rewarding, I can guarantee.
Whatever you do decide, I hope that it works out - all the best of luck to you!

 

[DaenerysSnow]

Hi! Thanks ever so much for coming here!
So, to summarize, you are always going to be away for 7-8 months a year, every year. When you're here your cat(s) would be with you, when you're gone they will be with another family.
Cats are very adaptable and resilient.

However, I see several difficulties. I'm sure your relatives love you very much, but this would be asking quite a lot of anyone to take care of someone else's animal(s) for that length of time, repeatedly.
I also could see the cat(s) considering itself the feline of whichever family it is with for the greatest length of time.
And, as you mentioned, what if the resident cat or cats don't like your cat(s).
One other thing is, what if your cat(s) get sick while you are gone?

What if instead you informally adopted one of the five cats?
What if you made donations to shelters if you don't already, specifying for a specific cat, or for surgeries, or for kittens?
What if you volunteered and provided those shelter cats with much needed love and attention? This is very rewarding, I can guarantee.
Whatever you do decide, I hope that it works out - all the best of luck to you!

Hey there, thanks so much for replying!

Concerning us staying, it's the other way around, we will be home for 7-8 months a year, every year, but away 4-5 months.

You're right about it being a great responsibility for family, but they look after cats and dogs for friends and other members of the family all year around. Every time we go over there's another furry friend waiting to say hello lol Where my in-laws are concerned, I think my MIL would have as many cats as possible (they had 12 when I first knew them lol) but my FIL has put a limit to 5 cats lol Just MIL manages to bend the rules by babysitting other cats lol They have a very large home, three floors in total and then the attic (which is completely furnished and cat friendly) and the basement, as well as a large garden that is cat-proofed etc. The cats that get along all live on the bottom floor and in the basement, while the quieter, more unsocial cats live on the upper floors, and cats that don't get along are also kept from each other. They are the luckiest cats in the world lol They rule the house

If cats of ours are sick while we are gone? It would be extremely worrying but I know they would be in the best hands. My MIL has dealt with health issues with cats she looks after in the past. She's friends with at least two vets that I can think of, one that she can call on at any hour. Can remember while I was staying there she would call the lady over in the middle of the night if she was concerned about one of her cats. So I have no doubt that they would be well looked after in any case, though I certainly wouldn't be happy to be away from them if they were ill. It would effect my travel plans, that's for sure.

Volunteering is something I would love to do but as my husband's health is not fantastic, I am his carer at the moment, it would be extremely difficult for me to get involved with shelters on a regular basis. He can be fine for days, sometimes even weeks but then others he's ill for weeks and weeks. So when we are at home, we're almost always indoors. We very rarely go out just to keep things calm for the sake of his health. That's why I've always thought having cats would be ideal since we would always be there. I work from home, as does my husband. But then I worry that that will in itself be a problem... going from seeing us constantly every day all day to seeing us not at all for months....

The idea of 'adopting' one of my MIL cats is an interesting idea though, and one that I think she may be happy to help us with. She is always asking me that if something happened to her and my FIL, if I would take care of her cats and not give them away. Of course I would love all of them lol So I think she would see it as a positive experience herself, so thank you very much for that suggestion! I really appreciate it.

Sorry for prattling on :S lol It's just a subject that has been in my head forever and I keep going back and forth on it lol

 

[Furballsmom]

It sounds to me as though you have a pretty incredible extended family! Not to worry, discussions are why we're here

going from seeing us constantly every day all day to seeing us not at all for months....

Every cat is different, some aren't clingy and wouldn't be bothered by this at all, but you're right, some cats who are clingy or for instance who are the type that completely bonds with one person might not be happy while you're away.
Sooo, your cat(s) would be pushing your FIL's limit....hmmm.
In any case, I did want to mention that volunteering can be the type of situation where you aren't having to make a commitment. In my experience, I was allowed to show up, and welcomed, whenever it was possible to work it into my schedule.