To leave my cat with neighbours when we move?

[rogersmellyonthetelly]

our cat is 11 years old and has always been an outdoor cat. He has a cozy place in the shed, and spends his time between 6 different houses on our street, all the neighbours feed him as well as us but we have responsibility for his vet bills etc. We are moving shortly to a house which is near a main road and we also have a puppy who whilst not a danger to the cat, spends all her time chasing him round the garden barking. We are renting our current house to a friend who is happy to take care of the cat as she is an animal lover and we are happy to still pay for any vet treatment etc. Am I being unreasonable to think that due to his age, the location of the new house and the puppy, that it would be the best thing all round if he stays here when we move?
Poor cat must be fed up of being badgered by the puppy, and we have never moved house before, I'm scared that he will try to find his way home and get lost or get run over as the roads here are very quiet so hes not used to traffic. Also, he's not just a part of our family, the whole street is very fond of him.

Why did you get a puppy if you have an elderly cat?

If the friend is happy then I guess it's okay. I don't think the cat will find it as easy as you think, cats get attatched to people much more than they do houses.

Sounds like a great idea to me. Perhaps get your friend round a few times pre-move to introduce them. You can always visit.

I aquired a cat this way. Her 'owners' came back for her several times but she just kept coming back here. She was not willing to move

I also lost a cat this way. Two actually.

Cats are, ime, not the most loyal creatures and don't much give a shit about us. They 'love' us, purr, rub round us, seem like we're their best friend, then when it suits them, they turn and walk away without a backward glance. You never truly own a cat, ime.

He's used to living in the shed, he will still live in the shed, he will still be fed, he will be looked after. He's not really very much your cat anyway, is he? By the sounds of things.

Life won't actually change for him as much as you think. change of some of the staff, that's all

Why not leave him there with her for her to look after him for a while. If he is happy, then he can stay. If he shows any signs of not being happy, then you can fetch him and see if he is happier with you?

To be honest, I don't think that 11 is that elderly for a cat, late middle age certainly, but not in his dotage, as for the puppy, we thought there would be an amount of puppy stupidity followed by cat putting puppy firmly in her place and reaching a point of mutual respect ie you don't chase me and I won't hiss and swipe you round the chops with my claws out. Alas 6 weeks on and there is no sign of a truce yet. Also, we have never moved before, cat has lived here since a kitten. Friend is house sitting while we go on holiday so will see how it goes then. My heart is saying take cat with you as we will miss him horribly, but my head is saying its better for him to stay here.

"I don't think the cat will find it as easy as you think, cats get attatched to people much more than they do houses."

Not in our experience! Our ancient oldest cat (of the 4 we have) is onto his 4th owners (us) as he simply won't leave this place (not that we would we want him to!) The last owners of our property once tried to rehome him with friends that live a 10 minute car journey away and he simply turned up back here 2 days later!

Doh - I just re-read my post and realised it didn't help the arguement at all... It could equally have been the owners that he was trying to return to in that scenario... BUT, I know Kona - we've "owned" him for 6 years - and he really couldn't give a s**t who was around, as long as they fed and fussed him!

We got a dog when our mog was 15, on the grounds we couldn't wait for him to peg out. Gave him a new lease of life putting the puppy in his place. Nearly three years later, the cat will allow the dog to sniff his butt, and the dog is still gagging to be his best mate.

None of this is helping the OP. Sorry.

I'm in the exact same position with my car. She can't stay here, but is going to my friend's where she can continue to be an outdoor cat, and come and go as she pleases. I'll miss her too, but I'll be in a flat and it's not fair to take her with me.

Cat obv, not car.

Well, yes if everyone doesn't mind I guess it's a solution.

Nothing in the world would part me from my cats and I think he'll miss you more than you think I also don't think it's terribly old for a cat, but I guess he'll still be well taken care of...

We rehomed our dear loved cat when DS became a toddler, she was petrified of him, spent most of her life under the sofa or under the hedge wide black eyed and trembling. She also got the shits a lot with nerves.

So we rehomed her via the Cats Protection League to an elderly couple who could give her the time and attention she needed, they sent us a note saying how she would sit fully stretched out purring in front of the fire and be wating in the sunshine on the window sill when they returned from an outing.

So she was happier in the end, I sobbed all the way to hand her over, but it was best in the end.

Do what you feel is best for your cat but ensure one person has the responsibility.

how long are you planning for the friend to rent out the house though? 15 would be what you'd reasonably expect a cat to get to and 20 isn't unheard of...that's anywhere between 4 and 9 years that you could be leaving the cat there for