Please help, if you can.
From:
(name removed)
Message:Dear AnimalCare,
I have a problem that I do not know how to solve. A friend gave told
me about you and I thought you may be able to help me.
Our family is leaving Malaysia for UK and we feel it wouldn’t be fair
to bring our two dear cats, Findus and Sahara, with us. Three reasons
for this: 1. The long flight in a small box. 2. We’ll live in a town
in UK where the landlord does not want us to keep the cats. 3. Findus
and Sahara love Malaysia.
Findus and Sahara was born in Morocco in our home on the 14th of May,
2001. Their mother sadly died when they were just 8 weeks old so we
had to take care of them as our own babies. 2004 we moved to India and
they lived with us there for 4 years until we moved to Malaysia in
2008. Now, we feel it will be too much for them to move to UK. They
love the climate in Malaysia and will probably have big problems with
the weather.
I do not know if your organization would be able to help. This is very
heartbreaking for our family and we do not know what to do. Please
advise.Kind regards, (name removed)
I have urged (name removed) to re-consider taking Findus and Sahara along (after health certification from the vet) and perhaps seek a dwelling place which allows cats. After all, Findus and Sahara are definitely part of her family. They are elderly cats. To rehome them now can be quite stressful for them.
But in the event that (name removed) doesn’t take them along, please could you help by forwarding this link to your friends? Let’s hope we can find them a good home.
Dr Susanna, as I know, has many pets and they travel the world with her. She says the most stressful part is the journey from home to the airport. After that, it is home-free. That’s what she tells me. But I’d admit, I would also worry myself sick if my pets had to go on any journey. That is why I’m not going anywhere. I’m not even leaving my cats and Bobby unattended even for a day.
Comments
14 responses to “2 elderly cats looking for a good home, owner leaving for overseas (name removed)”
Hi, Malin — If you are really determined to re-home your cats in Malaysia, I think it would help if you provided a bit more information about Findus and Sahara. Gender? Spayed/neutered? Vaccinated? FIV/FelV status? Do they get on well with other cats, dogs, or children? Are they strictly indoor cats? Also, what is your adoption deadline?
Also, I would suggest creating an adoption profile for them on http://www.petfinder.my, if you haven’t done so already.
I asked the same details from her friend who asked for help forwarding the request for help, good to know they contacted Dr.Chan but if help is needed I think one has to provide complete details.
Most of my cats moved 13 times with me within the US. A few them when moved with me back to NL were more than 10 years old. The mother cat definately was about 14 or 15 years old. And CAT is definately OLD.
We moved from Chicago to Amsterdam. The flight was about 8 hours. But the door to door, for them was 24 hours. After 911, they had to be picked up by Pet-handler assigned by KLM. We traveled on the same flight. After they arrived in NL because I had to leave for Malaysia a day later, they ended up at a local shelter (the lodging section) for 2 weeks. And then finally home with me at, yet, another new environments. They survived all that without any problems.
I always find a place where I do not have problmes to bring my cats. AND eventually, because I have so many cats, I bought houses for my cats! First a mobile home. Then progressively when I could afford, a real home so to speak.
I know I go to very extreme for my cats, but, hey, they are family. I adopted them. We built ‘true’ relationships. Till death do us part!
The decision to have to leave a part of your family behind is tough. I feel Malin because we are going through the same thing. Although our pets will be following us to Australia, we also have one we believe will be too old to safely make the trip and also a few that are not even allowed into the country.. It’s really sad to leave them behind but all we can hope for is that they can find good homes.
Actually, I would like to dispute that the pets are “home free” once they arrive at the airport. Just googling would make any would be owner thinking of transporting their pet worried.
And since we’re in Malaysia and MASKargo would be the main option for transporting the pets, just remember the bulldog’s case. Doesn’t make for good reading.
So let’s put “home free” into perspective.
I feel badly for the cat’s owners and the poor kitties. Given that the cats have traveled from Morocco and India to Malaysia I would hope that they recognize their cats can handle the travel. Although the cats are getting up there in age the fact that they HAVE been on planes before is a bonus. While they might not be thrilled about the flight it isn’t as if as a senior kitty they are encountering a plane ride for the first time.
As for the town in the UK that the landlord doesn’t want them to keep cats- I hate to say it but I have to question- is there only one landlord in the town? In MY experience ( and I stress MY) I found MOST places in the UK to be agreeable to most dogs and cats (much more so than my experience in KL). It just seems odd to me that after having these beautiful creatures in their lives that they would consider giving them up in their senior years (at a time when our companions learn to lean on and love us even more because time is limited).
If it is of any help to the cats owners.. I moved to KL in 2007 with my then older kitty (age 11) who had some health issues and my then 8 year old 70 lbs. long coated/furry dog. The 30 hour flight wasn’t their idea of a great time but they dealt with it. They missed their four seasons and cool weather but learned to love KL sunshine and the fresh smell of tropical rain. All that mattered was that as a family we were together.When we moved back in 2010 I brought back a Malaysian street kitty w/us (Fearless- you posted his info on animalcare as I was looking for a home for him). He too hated the flight but has settled into his adoptive home (we couldn’t keep him-my old man cat kept fighting him). He has learned to love the warm air that comes from the heating vents/radiator and was very perplexed/ didn’t care for snow. : ) I think really it boils down to that saying of home is where the heart/family is… be it Malaysia, India, Morocco, or the UK. Our companion animals can adapt to a lot of different situations in terms of climate and environment as long as they have the love and companionship of those they know well. I hope for the best for all involved and will pass along the info to friends still in Malaysia. — Mutt
We keep hearing of how easy it is to move animals. Yes, migrating animals into Malaysia, easy. Try moving them back from Malaysia.
Donovan, I don’t think anyone who has done even preliminary investigations into moving animals from Malaysia to the UK would say that it’s EASY. (And Australia is even more of a challenge.) It takes a lot of planning, a lot of leg-work in terms of blood tests, vaccinations, paperwork on both ends, etc., and it’s far from inexpensive. A British expat recently told me that it will cost her about RM850 to get her 3 cats back to the UK, excluding airfare. From what I’ve read, you should budget about RM10,000 per animal to migrate to Australia. Is that number in line with your experience?
On the other hand, a lot of people give up before even investigating what’s involved, jumping to the conclusion that it’s simply untenable. I wouldn’t tell these people that it’s going to be easy, but I would certainly encourage them to make the effort if at all possible. 🙂
Once again, I would like to spread the word about these two cats in the event that Malin is really committed to leaving them in Malaysia, but I really need more information about them.
Actually, you’re preaching to the choir here. We’re actually on our last leg of the migration process for our 3 cats. We’ve already spent close to 20 grand and the flights costs have yet to be calculated in. So one can calculate the cost it entails. However, this is because my wife did a lot of the leg work herself to research the requirements and get the permits, etc done ourselves. Of course there’s the “easy” way of just letting an agent do it. From the quotes I’ve seen, it will take anywhere from RM10K to 20K per animal (depending on the agent). However, they take care of almost everything for you.
I definitely agree with you that leaving a pet behind must be the last option and only done if there either the risk of taking the animal over is too high or if one really can’t afford the time or cost to take them over. Unfortunately, there’s always the long quarantine certain countries like Australia and the UK require. Heck, we would have left the country early this year if it wasn’t for the arrangement of the quarantine. Not many people can afford this wait. Most people I’ve spoken to about our migration have been asking us why bother taking the “pets” if it’s so expensive and difficult. To put things into perspective, I always ask them if they would leave their children behind if they were leaving the country.
It’s very sad of us to have to leave our poor old cat (who has respiratory problems) and our guinea pigs (who are not allowed into the country) behind. Unfortunately for them (and us), they will need to be rehomed. An extremely difficult decision for us but sometimes we have no choice.
Moving animals around is never a thing that I enjoyed doing even though I have done closed to 20 times. Once Sin-NL, once US-NL. The rest by roads. BUT I would rather do that than leaving them behind. I once drove 5 days wtih 8 cats meowing behind me in a van and every night I had to sneak them into a motel room. I flew the same flight with them. I would never let them travel on their own.
When moving back from US to EU initially I wanted to move to Ireland. BUT Ireland requires my cats to stay in quarantine for 6 months. So I moved directly back to NL instead. NL has one of the most humane understanding of animals. The same goes to France. Therefore I understand how difficult it is for some to migrate with their animals to certain countries. Countries such as UK, Ireland, Australia, NZ .. I will never go because of LONG-quarantine for animals.
Right now I would not move back to Malaysia because of my cats. I am going to wait till all 9 of them are gone, or me first :(, before I can leave EU. This time is because quite a few of them not only very old (around and over 20), but also sick.
Accident can happened to anyone, human or animals. Therefore we have to accept IF that ever happened. Make sure you have a good and experienced pet-handler take care of transporting your pets. Make sure the cage has peforated holes on ALL SIDES … up, down, front, back, sides … this is to make sure IF the cage tumbles during the journey, the anmal would not suffocate. Do not put water in the dish. Instead the day before travelling made ice using the water dish. Your pet can licks the ice cube and avoid the chance of chocking. No food. For the same reasons. I have learned these tips from the pet-handler who took my cats to the airport in the US.
My cats are well travelled. Perhaps that was the reason they faired well. But what I found most guilty was, I could not make them understand why they have to go through all these scary journeys.
KLM has very good reputation for transporting animals. I used them twice and I do not have any complains. Their rate is reasonable as well.
HI Cindy, some very informative tips on the ice and food. Will take note on that when my cats travel. Just wanted to clarify on the ice thing, how much difference does that make considering it would probably turn into water within half an hour?
Actually, if you’re in Malaysia, it’s not so much the airline one has to worry about, it’s the ground crew. Regardless of what airline one takes, it’s the local airport crew that handles the animals (and we all know how they are over here). Once, the pet is in the air, my battle is more than half won.
Hi and thank you all for your concerns and suggestion. I am happy to hear about all the wonderful stories of transitions of your cat. I don’t have these happy story to tell, unfortunately.
Both Findus nd Sahara has been with us for many years. Every time we have been travelling has been for us and not for the cats. This time I think different. I know them very well and I know they would be more happy to stay here in Malaysia. If it was for our family we would bring them but why should we put our emotions and feelings in the first place. This is a hard decision but I need to put Findus and Sahara in the first place.
Both Findus and Sahara has been suffering a lot each time we have moved. It has been especially hard for Findus… As I said, I am very happy for all of you who have been able to move around the world with happy cats. This is not our case. Our cats has not been happy at all and that’s the reason why I don’t think it is fair to bring them with we. I also should say that my son is studying ethology (scientific study of animal behavior) and my discussion is based very much on his advice.
Details about Findus and Sahara:
They are both lovely cat sisters. LOVE food and LOVE to sleep. Both of them gets along well with people, however Findus does not like when too many people or people she doesn’t know pet her. I have four children myself so they are very used with lots of children. They are in and out of the house during the day but always in the house during night time.
Vaccinations are up to date. I am not at home for the moment but I will check full details as soon as I get home this afternoon.
Here’s some info on the heartache…Money notwithstanding.
– It will cost about RM7000 per cat to migrate them to Australia from Malaysia
– Drawing of blood for 2 blood tests (really stressful procedure for some of them)
– Be at terminal 4 hours before departure, followed by an 8 hour flight, all within the confines of a box.
– Minimum 30 days of quarantine in Australia if you get your timing right, otherwise it can be up to 6months.
– They cannot travel as access baggage, and must fly as manifested cargo.
– We cannot see them or check them out from the airport once landed in Australia, they would have to be picked up by the quarantine officers and transported directly to the quarantine station.
– Only allowed to visit 2 times a week (Tues-Fri only, 1 hour slot in the morning, 2 hour slot in the afternoon)
Wow. Kudos to you for your devotion to your cats! And I agree completely with what Donovan wrote about the elderly or frail animals that simply cannot make this trip. Out of curiosity (and I apologise for getting off the subject of this post a wee bit), have you reserved spaces in one of the 3 quarantine stations? And if so, were you able to get the station of your choice?
You are simply superb, Cindy, so loving, especially when you mention “Till death do us part”. That’s my policy too, be it human or animal.