Anyone leave their pets behind, unable to take them?

We are unable to take our pets with us next month, as our cost has been high enough already. I have two cats, 13 and 16, that we cannot take to England. I need to find a good home for them and would be devestated if they were put down. I have contacted some organizations, but just wondered if anyone else has been in this situtation, and what did you do about it? I have no family that can take them, but want to be sure they are well cared for...
Please write if you have any advise or have been in this situation.. Thanks!

I left my two cats w/ my parents.  My mother put up a huge fuss because she positively didn't want any more pets.  I put up a bigger fuss crying and carrying on (kind of sad as I'm in my 30's) and in the end she said OK but that she'd been looking for a good home for them.  Almost two years later and my parents LOVE those two cats and actually let them sleep in bed w/ then sometimes!!  It was really difficult to leave them behind but I just couldn't justify the cost.  If I didn't have anywhere to leave them I might have found a way to bring them w/ me but luckily I didn't need to.

I hope you find a home for them. Maybe some friends??

In our move to California, we had to leave our dog behind.  Fortunately, my parents adopted him and loved him.  He was still our dog when we went to visit though, much to my dad's chagrin!

As far as finding a place for your cats, look at some of the animal shelters.  In San Diego, we had a private no-kill shelter that gave a home to the animals as long as they needed it.  It was a great place and they had a very high successful adoption rate. 

Also, those type of shelters may know of people who would be happy to adopt two older cats. 

I sent my cat to live with my sister in what I had thought would be a temporary situation. It  turned out to be such a drama, that I cannot imagine ever trying to put him on a plane again.

http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=21304.0

Luckily, he and my sister adore each other but I miss him. It is hard to leave them behind and I wish you the best of luck in finding homes.

I had to leave my 10 year old German Shepherd behind when I moved here. It broke my heart. I knew she wouldnt have been able to withstand the long flight and then a 6 months quarantine which was required back then. I left her with my ex who then did god knows what with her. Very sad  :\\\'(

Quarantine was still required when we moved here the first time, so we chose to leave our four cats behind.  Of all the moving issues, that was the most stressful.  I cried and cried about it.  Like Lindyloo, I begged my dad to take them.   In the end, he caved and took two and a friend took our other two.  If there is absolutely no trusted person you can find, I would search all over for a no-kill shelter.  Ask other shelters, vets, animal groomers, ask everyone.

My parents had to give away our dog when they got divorced.  Our vet knew someone who lived on a farm.  We took him there and then went back a few times to visit and make sure he was happy.  Although it's hard to leave your pet with a stranger, you have to trust your feelings.  We got another of our dogs from a stranger who was too old to care for her and we gave her (the dog, not the stranger) a loving home for the rest of her life.

I had to leave my 4 year old Min Schnauzer behind for 6 months becaue of the vet F***ed up the paperwork.  He hasn't been away from me for more than 2 nights in his life so this has been really tough, but in the end I decided that I needed to pay whatever to have him with so I have contacted a company to have him shipped to me.  I will pray for you in this situation, because I know on some level what it is like to have to leave a pet behind.

Thanks everyone for your replies. It is ridiculous how they become a part of your family and you feel guilty for leaving them. But as they are older, but in no means ill or decrepid, I was a afraid for the flight and the cost,, actually as well plays a factor! But My family has no place for them. I left them with my mother the year I moved to England in 95 to marry my DH and that was enough for her... LOL. I have asked my sissy but she has a cat and dog and newborn, no place for my babies. An unfortunately, so far no friends. I will keep searching... it is one of the hardest things to do, leave them behind, second to telling my mother we are leaving California for England....

I hope I never find out their fate, in case it is horrible! 

I had to leave my 2 cats behind when I came over to live with my soon to be Dh at the time. my vet as well gave me wrong info so I had to do all the steps over again.   so that meant my poor cats stayed in 2 different kennels for 8 months total.  :\\\'( cause none of my family could keep my cats either.   but fortunatly the 2nd kennel the people that had my cats were so great to my cats. the 1st kennel wasnt all that great come to find out. my cats stayed in the cages almost the whole time 2 months they were there grrr     but fortunatly my Dh   found a animal courier service that did all the legal stuff to get my cats here. to me it was well worth what we paid to get my cats here in March 2005.  thankfully we shipped my cats when we did. cause the cost of shipping my cats now from where we shipped them before has more than doubled the price than what we paid in 2005.    

We had to leave our black lab at home with my in-laws.  It was sad but much better than the alternative of making him live in a smaller house and then making me walk him times a day .  Plus, he has epilepsy and I think the flight over here would have been too detrimental to his health. 

It is certainly sad but in the end we have to do what's best for them...

Where do you live? If you're on the east coast, I could ask some friends or family if they're interested. My cats stayed with my parents until I was able to bring them last weekend. I think they were surprised how much they missed them once they were gone!

I had to leave my cats, Luna and Mochi. It broke my heart...still does. I was moving to Germany and was planning on taking them but Peter is so allergic and asthmatic that we knew it just wouldn't work out. Days before I left I found a really nice family to take them. I miss them so much.  :\\\'(

I had to find a home for our cat. I took a photo of her and sent out lots of emails with her photo looking for a home and found a home for her with a work colleague who was about to get a cat for her girls---it seemed to work out perfect timing but we didn't chat often enough if I hadn't sent out the group email she would have had no idea that I had a cat who needed a home.

I know for cats there are "foster" organizations where the animals are cared for in a loving home environment rather than a shelter until they are adopted; perhaps there is one your vet can refer you to?  I know many people who have started out fostering an animal and they usually end up falling in love with the animal and keeping it!  Also, the organizations usually come to the house of the foster pet parent to make sure that they are safe and adequate foster parents before allowing the animal to "temporarily" move in, so maybe this will be an option for you?  I am so sorry you are going through this, best of luck to you!