Your Pets and "The Big Move"!

[LadyMarchHare]

I have 3 cats. Well, 2. One of them is my mom's. Whenever I think about the specifics of ending the distance with my SO, I think, "How am I going to get my animals there?" A car ride there would be roughly 13 hours if I just drove straight through no stops or hotels and a flight's roughly 4 hours so either way it's a hectic time for kitties who have never even been subjected to moving to a new house within the same city, much less several states away.

I know some folks end up giving up their pets because they can't take them with them for whatever reason, but I could never do that to my cats and I can't leave them with my mom. One of them became lethargic and depressed when I was gone just 6 days and barely ate.

So, LFAD, ever think about what you're gonna do with your furry/feathered/scaled/whatever friends when it comes time to zip your life up in a suitcase and move to your SO? Better yet, does your SO even want pets? (luckily my SO has a kitty of his own so there's no conflict on what type of animal will be in the house) If your SO has a pet, are you going to be comfortable with it?

Random topic I know, but I was watching Animal Planet a few hours ago and there was a show where a woman was talking about she had closed the distance with her SO just as he got a cat and she was allergic so there was conflict about having the animal. It made me think about what if that happened with others or how they'd feel moving their animals/being told their SO didn't want the animal. I think too much.

[BlueCat]

Ahh pets, I love them. It's because of my relationship with my SO that I don't have any other pets apart from a couple of fish (which I know won't miss me ) and our 16 year old cat. I would absolutely love to own another rabbit after I lost my previous one, but I simply couldn't do it. I couldn't bring myself to by an animal that I was going to love and devote so much time to, to then only leave it for months at a time when I visited my SO. I knew it simply wasn't fair on the animal.

In terms of my cat though, she'll be staying. Who knows how much longer she'll live, she may even have passed away by the time we sort something out in terms of moving. But a cat her age, I wouldn't move anyway, too stressful on her. I know some animals travel with ease (an online friend of mine has rabbits that have flown interstate more times than most people) but I know our cat doesn't.

My SO has a cockatiel which is at least 12 I think, so one could expect a few years from him still, but I doubt he would ever be flown anywhere. That's a lot of stress for a bird as well and his parents would easily and happily take care of him.

In terms of pet conflict. I don't think we would ever have any, we both love animals. He doesn't show much if any interest in a pet rabbit, but that's ok

[CountryGirl]

I'm planning on moving to be with my SO in December. I was originally trying to go in September but with their strict rules in Scotland I cant get her there any time before. I have to wait 6 months from the day I got her microchipped, get her all these shots..blah blah. All together it will end up costing me $600 or so just for her vet stuff, plus almost 1$1200 for her to be shipped cargo and I'll have to go on the same non-stop flight. It's incredibly expensive, but my dog is the closest thing to me other than my boyfriend Luckily, he wants my dog to come just as bad as he wants me there (: Animals are an important part of the package. It will be nice to travel with company in a sense

[Moon]

I have a Dalmatian who's 11, almost 12, and I've had her since she was 8 weeks old. I've made it clear to my boyfriend that I won't even talk about moving as long as she's around, I'm sure she wouldn't make the flight, she has a weird terror of crates, and I'd never try putting her through that. I'd never, ever even consider anything else, I'm a huge believer that when you have an animal, you have it for life, at least for me.

[LadyMarchHare]

I have a Dalmatian who's 11, almost 12, and I've had her since she was 8 weeks old. I've made it clear to my boyfriend that I won't even talk about moving as long as she's around, I'm sure she wouldn't make the flight, she has a weird terror of crates, and I'd never try putting her through that. I'd never, ever even consider anything else, I'm a huge believer that when you have an animal, you have it for life, at least for me.

Good philosophy to have. All my kitties (save my mom's) I've had since they were a month old and while they're only 2 and 3 I've seen what can happen on long car rides. When we had to evacuate for Katrina what was an hour's drive turned into somewhere between 8 and 10 due to traffic and the cats we had at the time were just starting to hit the "senior" age. One was fine, the other hyperventilated and became severely dehydrated and never recovered health-wise from all that stress, the A/C unit in the car blowing out, and not drinking despite us trying to give him water in a saucer. An older animal I can't see handling the stress too well and I don't recommend sedation, especially at that age.

[Sav88]

I'm going away for only 2 years but it's a long time without seeing my pets. I'll miss them more than my family really...(family conflicts all the time make me think this way) so, I just hope my cat who's 12 this year will still be here when I return. I will miss my birdies too and hope my Dad and Brother look after them for me.

[London-FortCollins]

Me and my SO got a kitten together during our first long visit last summer.

There's no way on this earth he's staying behind when my SO cones here.

Luckily they've changed the rules and when you transport an animal internationally they now dint have to spend 6 months in quarantine.

You do need to follow all of the procedures very carefully and be willing to stump up the cash but it is possible.

We love our jasper so much and our family wouldn't be complete without him when he moves.

Licking he absolutely adores his carrier (he sleeps in it!) and he's young so hopefully it won't stress him out too much.

*fingers very tightly crossed*

Some hotels will let you have pets if it's prearranged and for an additional fee. Perhaps you could break the drive up with a hotel stay?

Perhaps even you could research some kennels or vets along the way? Explain the situation and ask if you can stop in and let them have a safe place to stretch their legs and relax other than a service station.

At least you know you have options other than flying them

[nicole]

I have a Labrador who is verging on 10 now, he is slow and old and grumpy, and when I make the move, he will be staying at home with my parents. It will break my heart but he loves living with my parents: he is a dog of utmost routine, and my dad is his "master", I can't take him away from that. Not to mention he is terrified of EVERYTHING, and is prone to anxiety attacks so I think he would scare himself to death being crated up and having to sit in the hanger for an 8 hour flight. He loves being with my and my SO, but he's closest to my parents now and they are very attached to him too; he is the son my dad never had (lol), I would upset everyone taking him with me too. I haven't even looked in to the cost of trying either.

My SO and I are planning on getting a puppy when we've been living together for a year or so, but it won't be the same. I always miss my dog the most when I'm away, because when he hears my voice on skype, he runs off looking for me around my parents house, so I don't see much of him.

[London-FortCollins]

Aw, they do get so confused by skype don't they?

The first time I skipped my so after leaving jasper came right up to the screen, sniffing and nuzzling it. Then he walked behind the laptop trying to work out where I was!

Now he just freaks out when he sees my on skype be side he can't work out why he can see and hear me but I'm not there.

My poor baby...

[Caitlin2009]

HA! lol i would have loved to have brought my cats with me when i moved but looking up all the stuff i had to do in order to move them internationally, wouldnt have been worth it too much stress on them, on me, plus a hell of alot unnecessary spending would have gone on if i did. in order to move them internationally you actually have to get them de wormed, microchipped, rabies vaccinated, they have to have there own pet passport, you have to buy them there own plane ticket, there own pet insurance in case something goes wrong, if you want someone to pick them up at the airport or go with them because sometimes they have to take there own flight thats gonna cost you $800 something, and depending on what country you are taking them too they have to be quarantined for a bit especially if you move to australia where a 30 day quarantine is $800 something....so basically you would be spending $3,000 or more just to do this O_o

[Dziubka]

When I moved away from home I had to leave my dog behind.
It was very hard and I still love her a lot, but there was just no other option for me. She's living with my mum and her boyfriend now and has become a lot calmer recently (she has moved house three times now and apparently suffered more than us from my parents' divorce), so I think she's 'happy' with where she is right now. Even though I wish I could see her more often.

Anyway... I totally understand that you don't want/can't leave them with your mum.
Maybe you can get them used to being in a cage in the car? I have no idea if this works for cats, but start out with just having them sit in the car for maybe 10mins, then go on short drives and slowly extend them? That way it's going to be less stressful for them when you finally make the move.

[Tanja]

If you really think the car ride is going to be hell for the cats then I recommend you have them sedated lightly for the trip. That way they won't remember it afterwards and they won't be suffering through the car ride. Surely your local vet can give you some options as well? If you stop in a hotel somewhere just make sure what their policy on pets is and bring some of your clothes with you that you can put in their crate so that they can smell you and relax. I know the idea of keeping them in the car for that long is awful but they will forget about it in a day and animals settle quite quickly to a new home when their owner is with them.

Andy LOVES his German shepherd more than anything but he had no choice but to leave him behind when he moved here since the dog also lives with his parents and they love him and would never let him go and because he doesn't get along with other dogs and I have 3 myself It broke Andy's heart and he misses his dog very much but it was something we couldn't really change. If it was up to me Sam would be more than welcome here but seeing as we can't make it happen we've agreed to one day get a German shepherd of our own.

[CountryGirl]

HA! lol i would have loved to have brought my cats with me when i moved but looking up all the stuff i had to do in order to move them internationally, wouldnt have been worth it too much stress on them, on me, plus a hell of alot unnecessary spending would have gone on if i did. in order to move them internationally you actually have to get them de wormed, microchipped, rabies vaccinated, they have to have there own pet passport, you have to buy them there own plane ticket, there own pet insurance in case something goes wrong, if you want someone to pick them up at the airport or go with them because sometimes they have to take there own flight thats gonna cost you $800 something, and depending on what country you are taking them too they have to be quarantined for a bit especially if you move to australia where a 30 day quarantine is $800 something....so basically you would be spending $3,000 or more just to do this O_o

I know what you're saying! I've been running around in circles trying to get my dog Pooh over to Scotland. I just had her microchipped this past Friday and I have to get her a ton of shots, take some blood test that cost $200 dollars, pay the plane ticket which is $900 just about. And the only places where you send pet cargo is to London Gatwick, London Heathrow, and Manchester. So I'll have to get a train from Manchester to Glasgow...toooooooo much. But I cant stand the thought of leaving my dog with my dad who doesn't like her. She's too precious to me.

[kiara_silver]

I love animals but im not a good pet owner sadly... lol i leave my kittens to my siblings to care for when they get older, and then it ended up going to my parents, but right now i have no pets. I asked Nathan recently if we moved together would he let me get a pet he said no lol, not even a fish! isn't that mean? haha no but in reality im not great with animals and then you have these issues, if you go traveling anywhere where you going to leave them? so ehh guess no pets for me.... but thing there so cute!

[Dziubka]

I forgot about that. We definitely want to have pets in the future.
Once we move in together we're going to get guinea pigs and somewhere down the line, if we end up having more space and not living very centrally then we're getting a dog. However we both would like to live in a big city, so I don't know how realistic a dog really is. I don't want to have one while living in the city. I don't judge people who do, but I don't think it's the appropriate place for a puppy.