Saying Goodbye to my Furbaby

In exactly 6 weeks time we will be on our way. All the months of planning and spending and preparing all wrapped up in a proportionately tiny 250L backpack. At that point, whatever will go wrong is going to go wrong, to be worried about, dealt with, and eventually laughed at. There will be no turning back!

Tomorrow, we move all our belongings into storage. For the last week at our house we will have our bed, suitcase, computer and fridge. Natalie's not-quite 20 inch TV will still be there but there will be no couch to watch it from and it will likely end up back in her room - the best furnished room in the house since nothing of hers is going to storage.

A week later, we move to Monty and NurseB's house as they head off on safari to Africa and to climb Kilimanjaro. The carpet cleaner has been booked, utilities cancelled... oven cleaner pulled from the depths of the cupboard. Ergh.

Soul Buddy and her Mister are also off overseas soon, in 5 weeks time. Since they are the ones looking after Izzy while we're away, we want him settled into their house nice and early before they go. So early in fact, that he's going to their house tomorrow. It means he doesn't have to deal with the stress of our stuff disappearing and us cleaning everything, but it also means my time is up. Excuse the melodramatics that follow, but I love my furbabies more than anything so...

I know I'm going to visit him all the time and that he will move back home post-Europe but it's just not the same as having him constantly with me. I can hear him miaow when no one else can, semi instinctively. I get all excited, literally lighting up when I hear the bell on his collar. He is the cutest damn cat in the entire world and I know his every habit, exactly where he likes to be scratched and where his favourite hiding spots are. To that end, you know how when a loved one (including loved furs) dies, you wish you had just one last chance to say goodbye? I have that chance. It's no easier.

Tomorrow, I will bawl my pansy eyes out and I will feel sorry for myself, and if I'm honest, loyal readers, I'll probably consume quite a lot of sugar-based substances, of which I am already ashamed.

We have already prepared Toby by taking him with us to Soul Buddy's house last weekend so that when we visit it again with Izzy in tow, he will recognise it and understand that Soul Buddy is the common denominator and therefore it is a House We Trust. He will come with us to drop Izzy off so that he understands where Izzy is, and we will visit a few times the following week so that he understands Izzy is still there.

Toby's fursister, Holly, died almost exactly 2 years ago and he got to see her body and understand what had happened. He grieved considerably, we both did, together in bed. He was incredibly in tune with my emotions and he still understands her name and comes for a cuddle if we mention her several times in a short space of time. I don't want him to presume the same has happened to Izzy, especially since a month later it is likely he will presume it has happened to us.

So we will visit and Soul Buddy will get insanely sick of us. We're really doing her a favour, since if she is sick of us, she can't miss us for 4 months. Izzy is going to get so many cuddles tonight he will get sick of us too, and then he won't miss us.

I know cats are resilient, but will he miss us? I hope so.

Do you have any tips for rehoming animals as stress-free as possible?