Has anyone had to leave a pet behind?

[piratemama]

I will have to leave my 14-year-old cat behind when I move to be with my SO. It's possible she won't live long enough to see that time come, though. My SO is very allergic to cats, and she wouldn't do well with a move anyway. She is accustomed to living in the country with large spaces, and she loves to hunt little critters. When I move, it will be to a more closed-in neighborhood with smaller yards. I think she would rather stay here and move to a farm where she can live in peace. Cats are peculiar. I've had them all my life, and I know each are as different as humans, but I sense that my cat could care less if I were here or not. Just bring on the meals! Her mother is gone already, but she was different. She liked people more, and I would have hated to move away from her.

[Hollandia]

Me and my Ex had two dogs and two cats together. All raised from babies. The one dog was really more his and the other was more mine and quite frankly the cats were always his. I love my dog more than anything. I would love to be able to take her but the problem is she loves her home and her yard and her other dog. He gets the house in USA so how could I ever take her from there? Both the ex and my SO said I could have my dog here in NL but there is no yard here and a small apartment and she is a Siberian Husky. She needs room to run and she has a 2800 sq foot house with a 3/4 acre yard there. My Ex's dog is getting older and so I also would hate to take her sister away from her. Long story short a few months ago, I excepted that visitation would be the best I could hope for and my Ex agreed.

Not long after this me and my SO got two kittens. I adore these babies now too. Now after growing our furry family in NL for a few months I have to leave NL for 3 months again. My hurt aches when on either side of the ocean but at least I have visitation with my dog when I miss my kitties and I have my kitties when I miss my dog. If anything were to ever happen that my Ex did not want her then she is coming to me and so I did not really give her away but I feel that I have to do what is best for her. She loves my Ex too so she is quite happy in her home, with her yard and her sister and will have my visits whenever I am in USA. I look at this as just another incredibly painful part of my LDR.

[rubydissolution]

IMO - if you can't take your pet due to lease restrictions, find a new place to live. I understand that can be a challenge, but families require compromise. Pets are family.

Since I was the only one who mentioned an apartment lease being an issue I assume this is directed at me. I just want to clear this up. "My" cat was a family pet. She was only deemed mine because she liked me the most out of all my family members. I was also the one who paid (and continue to pay) for her veterinary expenses. My parents and I discussed at length what would happen to Muse when I moved out and we decided as a family it was in her best interest to stay with the family. She is familiar with the outdoor environment, and neighbors there. So rather than uproot her, I left her there. It was not an easy decision, I miss having her around, but she's happy where she is. Why cause her undo stress when it's not needed? It's not like I left her hat a shelter or gave her to complete strangers, she's home.

[Heavenly_Love12]

My SO is going to be moving to me when we close the distance but if/when we move somewhere else, I'd move Heaven and Earth to take my cat with me! She is family and I love her too much to give her up without a fight. If it was absolutely impossible, I would find her a nice home. I don't think there is anything wrong with rehoming an animal if it is in their best interest. I got my cat in October so my SO wasn't able to meet her in person until he visited earlier this month. I told him that if she didn't like him or they didn't get along, then we would have to reevaluate our relationship. Thankfully, Whiskers LOVED my SO and he is a pet person so he loved her right back.

I think it would be difficult to leave your pet behind when closing the distance and I hope it would only be temporary for anyone who has to do so.

[NerdyChick]

My SO and I have talked about this when we discuss closing the distance. I would never ever want to leave my pets behind. I have a dog and a cat, and I'm in that group of "a pet is a commitment for life" I made the choice to adopt them, they are very precious to me, and they are my responsibility. We have talked about both options, him moving here, me moving there. The problem is finding a trusted airline to move them and know they will be safe. I have no issue with the rest of the paper work and payments, just I've found it to be more of a challenge to find an airline that accepts animals and will fly from the US to the UK and doesn't have a pile of lawsuits against them for animal mistreatment (Has anyone on here done this?) But if at all possible I would never want to leave them behind. My SO understands this and is very supportive, thank goodness. He never grew up with any pets, but after seeing my dog and cat on webcam for the past 2 years, I think he's fallen in love with them too.

[lyonsgirl]

Since I was the only one who mentioned an apartment lease being an issue I assume this is directed at me. I just want to clear this up. "My" cat was a family pet. She was only deemed mine because she liked me the most out of all my family members. I was also the one who paid (and continue to pay) for her veterinary expenses. My parents and I discussed at length what would happen to Muse when I moved out and we decided as a family it was in her best interest to stay with the family. She is familiar with the outdoor environment, and neighbors there. So rather than uproot her, I left her there. It was not an easy decision, I miss having her around, but she's happy where she is. Why cause her undo stress when it's not needed? It's not like I left her hat a shelter or gave her to complete strangers, she's home.

No, it wasn't directed at you, ruby. It was a general statement. I have heard this from plenty of other people (not on this forum).

In your situation, I think it's different. It irritates me to no end when someone takes their pet to the shelter because the place they are moving to doesn't allow pets - and that's the only reason. Your reason for leaving her at the house is fair - and I probably would have done the same thing in your situation.

[Hollandia]

I would have my left arm cut off before I ever took any animal to any shelter. Leaving them with other loved ones is not the same.

We dropped off our babies tonight. They are going to be staying with close friends for the next few months as we leave schengen together this time. These friends are huge cat lovers and we have agreed to watch their cats when they want to go away and we our available. This time away will hurt like hell but we are in a very delicate point of working on baby making and age that 90 days in and 90 out is not condusvie to.

We have requested them to web cam our kitties with us weekly and they agreed. We brought them every form of cat toy that was transportable and yet not overpowering to their place, we offered a cash account to help alleviate the expenses and provided them with a key to the apartment and his parents agreed to check in daily should that need ever occur.

I don't know if I sound silly or not, but my heart is aching tonight. I am not leaving my SO this time, we are leaving our kitties for some months together. Life is so hard and full of these very difficult decisions and I long for the day I don't have to leave any of my loved ones, because our kitties are most definitely our loved ones too.

[lucybelle]

I'm taking my doggy up to the USA in a few weeks where I'll have to leave her for a few months til we move. I'm so scared about flying her I have nightmares. And I know I'll be sad to leave her. So yeah, I get it

[Hollandia]

I'm taking my doggy up to the USA in a few weeks where I'll have to leave her for a few months til we move. I'm so scared about flying her I have nightmares. And I know I'll be sad to leave her. So yeah, I get it

LB, I flew my dog as puppy and another one for my parents I bought as a gift. They were fine. What is her breed? As long as she is not a short nosed dog she should be fine. My parents dog was a Japanese Chin(short nosed) and he was fine. Make sure the temps are not either too hot or too cold the time of year you are flying her. There is a site that list which airlines are the best for flying pets. Do not sedate your pet it is not a healthy thing to do. Do not feed them too much right before they fly. Make sure you spend the extra few bucks to have a sturdy and comfy crate for them. This link is very helpful.

https://www.klompenkees.com/flying.htm

We are looking at the possibility of flying our pets over and I understand your stress over it.

[nicole]

I left my family dog with my parents- he was originally supposed to be mine, but as he grew up it turned out my dad was his master and my mum was his mum, I couldn't separate them... he was also absolutely terrified of everything so crating him and taking him on a 10-hour flight would have probably killed him at that age.

I got to see him last year, as I returned home for my wedding, I think he at least knew it would be the last time I saw him as he was very affectionate and let me hug him goodbye- not in his character at all. He died less than a week after I left of a ruptured spleen. It was for the best in the end, as they found cancer on his liver too.

As for my current dog, we had to move into an expensive apartment because this complex is the only one in the area which allows dogs- I would have refused to move at all if we hadn't found this place. We also could never move to a place which requires flying- most airlines do not allow brachycephalic dogs to fly, as they are more likely to have breathing issues. As it is, after a 24-hour drive from OH to CO, it has taken months for my Dog to jump into the car again- he's terrified we're going to go on another crazy long journey lol

[lyonsgirl]

I left my family dog with my parents- he was originally supposed to be mine, but as he grew up it turned out my dad was his master and my mum was his mum, I couldn't separate them... he was also absolutely terrified of everything so crating him and taking him on a 10-hour flight would have probably killed him at that age.

I got to see him last year, as I returned home for my wedding, I think he at least knew it would be the last time I saw him as he was very affectionate and let me hug him goodbye- not in his character at all. He died less than a week after I left of a ruptured spleen. It was for the best in the end, as they found cancer on his liver too.

As for my current dog, we had to move into an expensive apartment because this complex is the only one in the area which allows dogs- I would have refused to move at all if we hadn't found this place. We also could never move to a place which requires flying- most airlines do not allow brachycephalic dogs to fly, as they are more likely to have breathing issues. As it is, after a 24-hour drive from OH to CO, it has taken months for my Dog to jump into the car again- he's terrified we're going to go on another crazy long journey lol

Poor Dave!

[nicole]

Poor Dave!

I know but the alternative was leaving him behind with my in-laws and that wasn't happening- he's my baby! He's finally going back to car = park/hike though, so we mostly only have trouble getting him back in the car on the way back home now lol

[lyonsgirl]

I know but the alternative was leaving him behind with my in-laws and that wasn't happening- he's my baby! He's finally going back to car = park/hike though, so we mostly only have trouble getting him back in the car on the way back home now lol

I bet if he was a kid he would throw a fit when you try to take him away from the park/hiking. (Then again, he may throw fits now! A friend's cat will whine at them if she's not getting enough attention. Come to think of it... so do mine...)

[ThePiedPiper]

I bet if he was a kid he would throw a fit when you try to take him away from the park/hiking. (Then again, he may throw fits now! A friend's cat will whine at them if she's not getting enough attention. Come to think of it... so do mine...)

Maslow walks in circles and screams (literally SCREAMS) if he doesn't get his way or something changes. I'm sure moving will be somewhat hellish but we'll hopefully deal without noise complaints re my autistic cat. :P