Adopting a kitten to the UK? Should we?

sroyle · #1 01-13-2010, 06:12 PM

Hi all,

I'm new to this site and could really do with your opinions on a dilemma I'm having. My husband and I recently spent some time at a cat sanctuary on Langkawi, and fell in love with a little black and white kitten.

She's safe, she gets fed and she has loads of other cats to play with. But she's very small for her age and may struggle to get the food she needs due to competition from the other cats. She has fleas which you can see bother her a lot, and it's doubtful that the sanctuary would ever be able to treat them successfully given their lack of funds and with so many cats it would be futile anyway. She's also really affectionate and you can see she would thrive from the attention a family could give her.

We would love to adopt her but we live in the UK. There's a new scheme in the UK which means she wouldn't have to go into quarantine for 6 months, but she would have to have shots, a blood test and a microchip, and then wait for 6 months in her current home before being allowed to travel to the UK.

My questions are - would the journey be too much for a 8-month old cat (as she'll be then? It would be a 1 hour flight to KL then a 12-13 hour flight to London.

And would she be happier with us anyway or is she OK where she is?

I'd really appreciate your views on this. We're back in the UK now but we can't stop thinking about her! By the way, we have one other 6-month old cat at home, and a big garden.

sroyle · #2 01-13-2010, 06:27 PM

Hi all,

I'm new to this site and could really do with your opinions on a dilemma I'm having. My husband and I recently spent some time at a cat sanctuary on Langkawi, and fell in love with a little black and white kitten.

She's safe, she gets fed and she has loads of other cats to play with. But she's very small for her age and may struggle to get the food she needs due to competition from the other cats. She has fleas which you can see bother her a lot, and it's doubtful that the sanctuary would ever be able to treat them successfully given their lack of funds and with so many cats it would be futile anyway. She's also really affectionate and you can see she would thrive from the attention a family could give her.

We would love to adopt her but we live in the UK. There's a new scheme in the UK which means she wouldn't have to go into quarantine for 6 months, but she would have to have shots, a blood test and a microchip, and then wait for 6 months in her current home before being allowed to travel to the UK.

My questions are - would the journey be too much for a 8-month old cat (as she'll be then? It would be a 1 hour flight to KL then a 12-13 hour flight to London.

And would she be happier with us anyway or is she OK where she is?

I'd really appreciate your views on this. We're back in the UK now but we can't stop thinking about her! By the way, we have one other 6-month old cat at home, and a big garden.

Maneki Neko · #3 01-13-2010, 07:09 PM

Hello!

Let me say up front that I have no experience with shipping cats across continents, but I can refer you to someone who does.

Liz Tay runs the Scallywags Boarding Cattery here in Petaling Jaya. Amongst other things she has a UK Certificate in Cattery Management, and I consider Liz one of my great "cat gurus." One of the services she offers is preparing cats for transport overseas -- vaccinations, paperwork, etc. She should be able to talk with you and give you some insight on whether bringing this kitten from Langkawi to the UK is a good idea, and then perhaps help you make it all happen. (Liz is British herself, BTW, not that it's relevant...)

Her email address is admin@scallywags-malaysia.com. In case Petfinder blocks that address, you can see her website at www.scallywags-malaysia.com

Good luck to you and the kitten!

Quote:

Originally Posted by sroyle

Hi all,

I'm new to this site and could really do with your opinions on a dilemma I'm having. My husband and I recently spent some time at a cat sanctuary on Langkawi, and fell in love with a little black and white kitten.

She's safe, she gets fed and she has loads of other cats to play with. But she's very small for her age and may struggle to get the food she needs due to competition from the other cats. She has fleas which you can see bother her a lot, and it's doubtful that the sanctuary would ever be able to treat them successfully given their lack of funds and with so many cats it would be futile anyway. She's also really affectionate and you can see she would thrive from the attention a family could give her.

We would love to adopt her but we live in the UK. There's a new scheme in the UK which means she wouldn't have to go into quarantine for 6 months, but she would have to have shots, a blood test and a microchip, and then wait for 6 months in her current home before being allowed to travel to the UK.

My questions are - would the journey be too much for a 8-month old cat (as she'll be then? It would be a 1 hour flight to KL then a 12-13 hour flight to London.

And would she be happier with us anyway or is she OK where she is?

I'd really appreciate your views on this. We're back in the UK now but we can't stop thinking about her! By the way, we have one other 6-month old cat at home, and a big garden.

sroyle · #4 01-13-2010, 08:03 PM

Thanks so much, I will get in touch with her!

nani · #5 01-13-2010, 10:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sroyle

Hi all,

I'm new to this site and could really do with your opinions on a dilemma I'm having. My husband and I recently spent some time at a cat sanctuary on Langkawi, and fell in love with a little black and white kitten.

She's safe, she gets fed and she has loads of other cats to play with. But she's very small for her age and may struggle to get the food she needs due to competition from the other cats. She has fleas which you can see bother her a lot, and it's doubtful that the sanctuary would ever be able to treat them successfully given their lack of funds and with so many cats it would be futile anyway. She's also really affectionate and you can see she would thrive from the attention a family could give her.

We would love to adopt her but we live in the UK. There's a new scheme in the UK which means she wouldn't have to go into quarantine for 6 months, but she would have to have shots, a blood test and a microchip, and then wait for 6 months in her current home before being allowed to travel to the UK.

My questions are - would the journey be too much for a 8-month old cat (as she'll be then? It would be a 1 hour flight to KL then a 12-13 hour flight to London.

And would she be happier with us anyway or is she OK where she is?

I'd really appreciate your views on this. We're back in the UK now but we can't stop thinking about her! By the way, we have one other 6-month old cat at home, and a big garden.

hi,
maybe she will just find.... because finally she will be happy with u guys