2 female cats.

Fennel I like that answer The positive replies ( aka the ones that agree with you maybe? ) I can see it from both sides but would find it very hard to leave a loved pet of 12 years behind like a piece of furniture France to Uk isn’t too much of a journey but sofa surfing may well be
I have to disagree with you MissAdventure in my experience two stranger cats and two females will probably hate each other I tried it and it didn’t work for us

One question have the people in France said what they will do with your cat if it doesn’t work out ?
I actually think your mind is already made up and you were just looking for confirmation

Thanks for the replies especially the positive ones.
I remember she's lived with several other cats in the past, so hopefully won't be too shocked.

I took three elderly cats to New Zealand. The lovely 17-year-old boy was with us for almost a year and loved the fact that for the first time in his life he had a proper garden. The two girls lived until they were 19, nearly 20. I think pet cats adapt quite happily to major changes in their lives as long as they have some familiarity – the people who feed and stroke them, most of all, plus the same furniture and the same regular meal times. If I were you, I would take your cat with you. Cats establish a pattern of territory and I would guess that she will do the same. Twelve is only middle age for a cat, but she might well not take kindly to an interloper, but having her put down would, I think, be wrong

Surely it would be extremely difficult to ‘sofa surf’ with an outdoor cat which presumably toilets outside. A housebound cat possibly, as it is used to a litter tray and will be happy wherever it’s human lap and food provider is.

Surely it depends on the cat. My friend has moved with her cat three times but she was an indoor cat who hates the Big Outside and spends most of the time curled up asleep. A cat who loves being outdoors and spends much of the time away from home would probably prefer to stay put.

I think Fennel's move is imminent so there's little point in adding to her stress by making her feel guilty about the cat.

The new owners may be perfectly capable of coping with the situation.

merlot glad things worked out but the difference is yours and your dd cats are not living in the same house. Sharing a large garden is somewhat different as they can wander off elsewhere as all cats do.

About cat ages our last cat, not the one above, lived til she was 20. Not unusual, so your cat could have another 8 years. I agree with the other grans, Please dont leave her with strangers with a cat, in her home. She really won't be happy. Sorry.

When DD moved next door to us two years ago (we share a large garden) she brought her cat with her. I worried about our cat who was seven at the time but everything was fine and although they keep their distance and patrol their own territories there have been no fights.

Fennel's cat will have the advantage of already being in her territory. The new cat might find it harder to settle - not the other way round. I think taking a cat who is getting on in years on a long journey to a strange suburban garden where there might be neighbourhood cats to bully her could be stressful.

Given the options I think I would leave the cat in France and hope for the best. Cats are very good at looking out for themselves.

We moved with our cat only to find the previous owners had left their cat at our new house. It was a lovely cat but ours was very put out and spent all day upstairs, had to be fed and toiletted upstairs while the new cat lay happily diwnstairs in front of the fire. We gave it a month or two, it didnt work so we had to contact the owners to pick up their cat. Once Cat left our cat came downstairs and life resumed. Though she held a cat grudge for quite some while.

Oh I remember your thread about the bully boy cat.
Some do, though.. I suppose its not fair though, to leave it to luck, and move away.

I am afraid that I have to disagree. Cats do not necessarily ignore another cat if they don't get on. We had to return one of the sibling cats we took on just before Christmas. The dynamics of their relationship clearly changed when they came to live with us and we actually feared for the life of the one we kept. As soon as the bully left the remaining cat became a very different little cat and is now relaxed and enjoying life. In our own experience the females are worse than the males for being territorial over their people and their territory.

It must be possible to organise something better than 'selling' your pet with the house! I just cannot see how you could just leave your pet after 12 years of living together. You would surely need to have the cat in a cattery if you move back to the UK which would probably be about right timewise to fit in with your house purchase. The costs should be seen as part of the moving costs surely.

Cats will generally just ignore each other if they don't get along.

You could leave her until you are settled and then ask the new residents how things are. If not going well you could then go and collect her. Is that an option?

Cats just simply aren’t meant to get along together, it would be so cruel to leave her anyway, and more so if there’s another cat coming into ‘her’ home. I would not be able to do it, I’d probably not consider moving while she is still around. But then most people aren’t as soppy about their pets as I am. I think if you’ve taken her on all her life you have a duty not to abandon her, the very least you can do is to find her a new home where she will be looked after and not threatened by another cat.

Sorry, Fennel, it was another poster who suggested the pts route if your cat and the new people's cat couldn 't get along. Some years ago, my daughter and her ageing tabby spent well over a year sofa surfing. The puss was, iirc, fifteen when the upheaval started and coped remarkably well with four different homes in a few months. She was, of course, fortunate that her temporary hosts had no objections to cats. If it hadn't been possible for her to keep him with her, then the back up plan was to find a cattery where he could be boarded for a few months and where she could visit him regularly. (Yes, the bank of M&D would have stepped in). Is that something you could consider?

I don't think I said we were considering having her pts - I agree that sounds cruel at her age.
We have a further complication now - we won't be able to move straight into our 'own' house for several months, and in the meanwhile will be going from one temp. accom. to another.
So can't decide.
We're moving from SW France to England btw.

Please bring her with you. 12 years isn't old for a cat and she may have another 8 to 10 years of good life left. She will take time to adapt to her new place but, after all those years of faithful feline friendship, doesn't she deserve to stay with her purrsons? We moved with our 13 year old cat last year and she's settled in well. We're finding that she doesn't seem to wander as far as she used to and think this may be as much due to middle aged lethargy as to any qualms about the new environment. Certainly, I think your puss deserves better than to be abandoned with strangers and having to cope also with another cat in her space. And as for the notion of having her put to sleep: the mere suggestion makes me extremely angry. A pet is - or should be - for life.

Twelve is not that old for cats, some can live until 18 or 20. I would not like the thought of a healthy animal being put down just because she didn't get on with a new arrival .
DGD have new kittens and resident cat-in-chief ignores them and maintains a superior attitude, but they do not fight at all. She will hiss if they annoy her.

Can you bring her with you, even though her life will be rather curtailed in this country, at least she will still be with you?

Not sure how you could contemplate leaving her after 12 years with you . The chances are she will live outside most of the time if she does stay behind - a new cat invading her space will be very stressful for her. Would there be any kind neighbours who would be willing to look after her?

She is twelve, so she has had a good life, so I would suggest you either take her with you, or tell the family who is willing to take her on, that if she and their cat don't get on, you are ok with them putting her to sleep.

I know the thought is horrible, and she might well live well and happily for four years more, but she is elderly now.

I'd take her with me, as the older I get the less I like the thought of handing animals over to other people.

We had a rescued female Arabian mau (AKA Dubai street cat) When DD moved back home for a while with her two female cats, it was all out war. The two incomers were sisters and very peace loving, but the resident cat hated them both, despite all the Feliway we could throw at them. I’m with joannapiano on this. At 12 she will not take kindly to the ongoing situation, whereas a move will hard but short term stress. Good luck! ?

We have also used a Feliway diffuser for our new timid rescue cat, and she is curled up beside me on the settee so we think it helps!
Personally, I think a 12 year old cat with her family moving and new owners, plus a younger puss in 'her' house may make her very stressed out. Can't you take her with you, even though the new garden is smaller?

I took in a rescue cat age about two and half years and she settled in well. A year later I adopted a female rescue kitten and they did not get on at all.
Feliway diffuser helped enormously to keep the peace - I soon learnt if the diffuser was running out then war was imminent!
Good luck to the new owners